When extreme weather strikes, access to trusted, real-time information can mean the difference between confusion and safety. In dense and diverse metropolitan areas and smaller rural communities alike, critical updates are often fragmented across official alert systems, social media, and informal neighborhood networks.

To bridge this gap, the CO2 Foundation provided a catalytic grant to support Helpmap Agency in deploying the first North American instance of CogniCity OSS—a proven, open-source technology originally developed with the MIT Urban Risk Lab. Designed as a free public utility, Helpmap requires no app download. Instead, it allows residents to submit geolocated ground reports through familiar messaging channels, converting neighborhood observations into a live, verified map of emerging hazards, clean-air sites, flood zones, and mutual aid resources.

Working alongside fiscal sponsor Centre for Applied Ecological Remediation (CAER) and cartographic design studio Stamen Design, the Los Angeles County pilot conducted 21 community workshops and engaged over 45 local organizations, research institutes, and first responders. From refining multilingual workflows in English and Spanish to testing resource-tracking tools for post-fire debris flows and toxic smoke advisories, the pilot demonstrated how open digital infrastructure can connect frontline groups, emergency managers, and residents in a shared situational response.

Building on these achievements, in response to increasing warnings about the 2026-27 El Niño, Helpmap is accelerating its expansion into a West Coast Readiness Strategy across California, Oregon, and Washington. By establishing an integrated, multi-state emergency information layer ahead of winter storm seasons and severe weather patterns, Helpmap is ensuring that communities across the Pacific Coast have the accessible, community-led tools needed to prepare, respond, and adapt together.

The CO2 Foundation is astonished and very pleased at how rapidly the team has been able to scale their ambitions in response to the emerging information. Helpmap.us is live and freely accessible as of November 2, 2026.