The ERT’s efforts to help those impacted by the Morocco earthquake

On September 8, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck the Moroccan Atlas Mountains, a normally peaceful area with thousands of small villages scattered throughout and a population of approximately 400,000 people in the vicinity of the earthquake epicenter. The impact is severe and devastating, with over 800,000 people affected and the death toll climbing to nearly 3,000.‍

‍monday.com’s Emergency Response Team (ERT) arrived in Morocco shortly after the earthquake to collaborate with and support local aid groups on the ground in digitizing their core emergency operations. So far, we’ve supported two nonprofit organizations in managing their response on monday.com’s tailored emergency response solutions and with our latest KoboToolbox collaboration, which allows offline data collection to automatically flow to the monday.com platform once there is internet connectivity – this has been key to our efforts given internet connectivity is limited or non-existent in the vast Atlas Mountains region.

Saving time on data management to maximize support

High Atlas Foundation (HAF), a nonprofit in Morocco that works with farmers to plant and monitor trees for carbon offset units, and promotes women’s cooperatives, education, and other community-designed initiatives, shifted its operations to disaster response in the wake of the earthquake. They’ve been using their team’s vast network to collect information on the affected communities and sending necessary supplies – ranging from tents and food to diapers and blankets. The ERT worked with HAF to transition their operations from WhatsApp and Excel to the monday.com platform, where they can easily collect and manage all the data from the field, as well as manage their distribution of relief items based on those needs. By using the monday.com platform, HAF has created a substantial database of over 190 village’s needs and assessments, as well as delivered over 108 tons of much-needed supplies to over 4,200 households.

Real-time data to support decision-making and donations

CADENA, an international aid organization we’ve previously worked with to revamp their field operations, was conducting medical and general assessments, providing medical assistance, and distributing equipment, especially to children. The ERT spent the day with CADENA during their initial field assessment, leveraging the monday.com platform to gain real-time situational reports and analysis of the affected villages through our automated workflows and reporting capabilities. Having this information readily and quickly available helped CADENA make real-time decisions and appeals to donors. Within one day, CADENA received approval for purchasing relief items for children which were immediately distributed to affected communities, and have already returned to the field to distribute these items as needed.

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Technology is key to efficient disaster operations, which translates to more lives saved and smarter, dedicated aid. The ERT was built to help nonprofit organizations and government agencies bridge the digital divide to ensure that no community is left without the power to effectively manage and execute future humanitarian projects. By providing support and our robust emergency response solutions – as opposed to old processes of pen and paper – aid organizations can operate quicker, with data-driven decisions, and make an even greater impact in the communities they serve now, and for years to come.

We are honored and humbled to provide digital aid in Morocco, and have one thing in mind guiding us: to ensure that the affected communities in disaster zones can receive more help, in less time, and with greater accuracy. We will continue to support the High Atlas Foundation and CADENA, as well as other aid organizations in Morocco over the coming days and weeks – both remotely and in the field.
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