Shutterstock/Pixel Embargo. All rights reserved.On 8 November 2013 Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. It remains the strongest storm recorded, with over 6,300 casualties and more than 12 million people displaced or otherwise affected.
Within minutes, the internet was also flooded: with optimism, particularly about the promise of communication technologies in disaster recovery and humanitarian relief.
Such optimism is recent, although it predates Haiyan. The 2013 World Disasters Report uses the term 'humanitarian technology' to refer to the empowering nature of digital technologies such as mobile phones and social media for disaster recovery.
