News

Maps, Mapping News

A Journey Beyond the Maps: Community-Led Volcanic Preparedness in Karangasem, Bali

"Communities play a very important role in the mapping process because communities know best the condition of the area that we will map."

Driven by this belief, disaster management agencies in Karangasem and Bali have been working with local communities around Mount Agung to better prepare for volcanic disasters. Through community-driven mapping and accessible technology, local knowledge is turned into actionable maps, with communities continuing to shape and strengthen their own preparedness.

Oct. 16, 2026

Maps, Mapping News

From Maps to Action: Strengthening Volcanic Disaster Preparedness Around Mount Agung

Oct. 16, 2026

Maps, Blogs

The Missing Ingredient in Early Warning is People and Maps

Early warnings only save lives when people understand and act on them. Here’s how community-made, layered maps close the last-mile gap in Africa.

Here's how community-made, layered maps close the last-mile gap in Africa.

Oct. 14, 2026

Maps, Blogs

Equal Earth vs. Mercator: The Newer Projection Trying to Fix an Old Distortion

This post was originally published in Saïd Abou Kharroub's Digital Geography Dispatch newsletter. You can subscribe to it here.

Most people have only ever seen one shape of the world —the familiar rectangular map with Greenland looking almost as big as Africa. That's the Mercator projection, and it's nearly 500 years old. In 2018, three cartographers introduced a genuine alternative: the Equal Earth projection. Here's what it actually changes, and why it matters.

Sept. 8, 2026

Maps, Tech and Tools

Why Damage Assessments Can Vary: From Image Pixels To Microwaves

When twin earthquakes struck northern Venezuela, seven rapid damage assessments produced vastly different building collapse estimates. From top-down optical satellite photos to multi-angle Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) scans, discover why remote sensing models differ and how to make sense of the data.

Aug. 6, 2026

Maps, Tech and Tools, Blogs, Mapping News

The Night Venezuela Shook: How Open Mapping Data Made the Emergency Response Faster

July 9, 2026

Maps, Tech and Tools, Blogs

Mapping Through the Storm: How Dominica's Office of Disaster Management Responded to the April 2026 Trough System

Dominica's Office of Disaster Management used HOT's ChatMap to coordinate real-time damage assessments during the April 2026 trough system, mapping flooding, landslides, and infrastructure impacts across affected communities.

June 13, 2026