Study title

The dataset contains semi-structured interviews with 80 people affected by Typhoon Haiyan which hit the Central Philippines in November 2014 and remains the strongest Typhoon ever to make landfall. The interviews explored how participants' experienced the disaster recovery and in particular whether - and if so how - they used social and mobile media in that process. The dataset also contains 20 semi-structured interviews with humanitarian agency workers, project managers, national and local government officials, NGO representatives, local journalists and other stakeholders involved in the recovery from the Typhoon.

This project provided an assessment the uses and consequences of communication technologies in the disaster recovery from Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest storms ever recorded with over 6000 casualties and more than 12 million people affected. The research investigated the uses of digital technologies and innovations such as mobile phones, SMS, crisis mapping and social media both by directly affected populations in the Philippines and humanitarian organisations. The study weighed the optimism surrounding so-called ‘humanitarian technology’ against actual benefits to users. It specifically examined the impact of communication technologies in the following critical areas: - information dissemination - collective problem-solving - redistribution of resources - accountability and transparency of humanitarian efforts - voice and empowerment of affected populations. This 18-month ethnographic study took place in two disaster-affected locations in the Visayas region of the Philippines. This is a mixed-method project combining qualitative interviews, participant observation and online ethnography both with affected populations and representatives from humanitarian organisations, government agencies and digital practitioners.