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In the aftermath of a devastating earthquake, the world turns its attention to the affected region, watching search-and-rescue teams race to save lives, supplies pour in, and journalists talk to impacted residents. While the focus usually only lasts for several days, for those at the Humanitarian Informatics Lab in George Mason University's Department of Information Sciences and Technology, another phase begins after the cameras leave. "The response is critical, but recovery continues for months and years," said Hemant Purohit, lab director, and the co-director of the Center for Resilient, Adaptable, and Safe Communities (C-RASC). That's where he feels he and his colleagues can make the greatest contribution.
Purohit’s approach builds on decades-long collective expertise of C-RASC colleagues and nearly a decade of work on human-centered AI technologies by the Humanitarian Informatics Lab, which develops technologies that transform large volumes of data into practical decision-making tools for disaster response and humanitarian operations.
For example, within days of the June 2026 earthquake in Venezuela, Purohit and colleagues at C-RASC began asking how George Mason could help organizations that will be rebuilding communities long after the immediate crisis passes. The answer became the Venezuela Earthquake Recovery Initiative, a collaboration between George Mason's C-RASC and the Gulfstream Foundation that is developing artificial intelligence and data-driven tools to support governments, nonprofit organizations, and humanitarian agencies during the long-term recovery effort. The team will soon approach the U.S. State Department about using their tools to assist the South American country as it recovers.
Lin Wells, executive advisor to C-RASC, noted that George Mason has much to offer. “From our years of experience, we’ve found that those who want to help must recognize technology alone is never enough. They must build trust with local people and develop solutions along with them. Sociology always tops technology. Also, rebuilding efforts should empower the damaged communities to keep developing on their own after the aid ends. Don’t just bounce back, bounce forward better.”
“Information is essential as interventions remain dynamic and earthquake visible effects are static,” said Gilberto Guevara, a humanitarian expert affiliated with GulfStream and C-RASC, with over 35 years of work in the humanitarian world. “One hopeful sign is to track progress and share the joy of constant activity. Information flows, validated and verified, are what make the difference and keep the momentum going.”
Rather joining the crowded emergency response underway, the team chose to focus where its expertise could have the greatest impact. "Showing up without the right capabilities during the response phase can be counterproductive," Purohit said. "Instead, we asked how research and technology could provide information for the organizations leading recovery."
One technology is Citizen-Helper, a platform launched in 2016. Originally developed through National Science Foundation–supported research, it uses social media and citizen-generated information to identify needs emerging in disaster-affected regions. During the Venezuela recovery effort, Citizen-Helper is being adapted to understand what people are requesting, where those requests originate, and how needs vary across different communities.
"If people are talking about shelter, clothing, medical care, or volunteers, we want to be able to identify those patterns quickly," Purohit said. "That kind of citizen-generated information can provide valuable information."
The team is also developing the AI-powered Recovery Intelligence and Support Engine (RISE), combining geospatial mapping with conversational artificial intelligence. The platform solves disaster recovery's persistent challenge of having too much information spread across too many sources.
"Our goal is to make complex information easier to access for the people making important decisions," Purohit said. "Instead of searching through scattered datasets, they can interact with the vast amount of information in a much more intuitive way."
The project grew out of ongoing collaboration with the Gulfstream Foundation, an organization with extensive experience supporting resilience efforts in Puerto Rico. During a regularly scheduled meeting the week of the earthquake, participants shifted from discussing existing projects to exploring how they could support recovery in Venezuela.
The team brings experience from multiple major disasters, including crisis mapping efforts, Puerto Rico recovery initiatives after the 2017 hurricane season, and humanitarian relief coordination since the Haiti earthquake in 2010. The informed strategy focuses on practical tools rather than theoretical research.
Future adaptation of these tools could help convert damage assessment data into recommendations for health care delivery, support temporary housing decisions, and provide analytics that identify communities at risk of being overlooked.
For Purohit, the initiative reflects the broader mission of the Humanitarian Informatics Lab and C-RASC: using engineering and artificial intelligence to strengthen the work of those serving communities during times of crisis.