New York City's crowdsourced Severe Weather website kicked into gear for Irene, as it did for last December's Snowpocalypse, an example of crowdsourcing at its best.
The site lets residents report issues by category: downed power lines and trees, flooded roads, power outages, contaminated water and property damage among other things.
While the city escaped much of Irene's wrath, local officials were prepared with the always-changing data map created by citizen contributions.
No New York snark is allowed on the site — and doesn't appear to have slipped through so far. Says the city:
The City may take down any posts that do not concern weather conditions and weather-related service disruptions. Because conditions are constantly changing during a storm, the City does not verify the accuracy of any posts. To submit a formal service request to NYC, use 311. For emergency assistance, call 911.
However, there are other categories the city may want to add, as of Monday. They include: "Stranded at JFK" and "Couldn't get to work."
— Via Mashable
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- Twitter's top lessons from NYC's Hurricane Irene
- For Irene, Newark mayor Cory Booker has your back
- Irene: How to help
- See Irene through the eyes of iPhone users
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