Google and San Francisco Launch Real-Time Crisis Map

In the event of future emergencies that may strike San Francisco, the city plans to launch a new online crisis map with real-time displays of affected areas so residents can respond appropriately.

The map, dubbed Crisis Mode, is currently running live in conjunction with SF72 – a new open source digital platform that provides online resources and updates for emergency preparedness – and was developed by Google.org, the search engine's charitable arm. In the event of a city emergency, the crisis map becomes the home page of SF72. Francis Zamora, the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management’s public information officer, said the map is currently in soft-launch mode, as the city is still fine-tuning the processes around sharing information. But the plan is to display real-time emergency related information on the map and use the tool to push out official updates regarding those emergencies to the public.