As we get into the stronger part of the storm, news gets more and more important about what’s closed and what’s not, what’s been damaged and what’s fine, and the state of things. We’re working with some friends who are using crowd sourcing reports to build maps of the DC area outages.

If you want to make a report, you can tweet it with #dcirene2011 or emailing dcirene2011@gmail.com, or by submitting a form with the report.  They’re also using Ushahidi in the App Store and Android Market to work with your mobile phone, as well as the crowd map.

While Metro’s doing better than expected, there are still quite a lot of power outages in the area. Let us know how you’re faring!  We’ve got a few more instructions for mobile participation below the cut.

We need contributions. I know this may be a long shot, but if you all could install the app for Ushahidi:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ushahidi-ios/id410609585?mt=8

click the “+” button to add a new map and choose within the km area to include all of DC and you will see the map: Hurricane Irene 2011

you can also see us online at:

http://irene2011.crowdmap.com/main

where you can fill out reports. Also please follow us on Twitter: @dcirene2011 http://twitter.com/#!/DCIrene2011

you can also report via twitter hashtags: #DCIrene2011 or #IreneReport

alternatively you can email:

dcirene2011@gmail.com with the info and Ravi or myself will make the report and post it.

Tom Bridge

I live and work in the District of Columbia. I write at We Love DC, a blog I helped start, I work at Technolutionary, a company I helped start, and I’m happy doing both. I enjoy watching baseball, cooking, and gardening. I grow a mean pepper, keep a clean scorebook, and wash the dishes when I’m done. Read Why I Love DC.