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Nepal Earthquake, Cyclone Pam and Yemen Crisis significantly increase ReliefWeb usage in 2015

More than ever humanitarian workers are seeking timely and reliable information to help them plan and deliver humanitarian responses to disasters and crises that are happening worldwide. As the humanitarian community’s leading source of information, ReliefWeb has been providing humanitarian information services since 1996. In the first half of 2015, ReliefWeb access has grown substantially, with a 19% increase in the sites usage from the same period in 2014.

Three major events have tested the international humanitarian community during this time, demonstrating the need for timely and reliable information systems. The Nepal earthquake, cyclone Pam and the crisis in Yemen, prompted humanitarians worldwide to visit ReliefWeb more than ever before. Here are some of the statistics of how humanitarians have used ReliefWeb during these events.

Nepal Earthquake

On 25 April, a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal, causing widespread destruction and loss of life. As the humanitarian response grew in the days following the earthquake, ReliefWeb became a leading source of information for the international community.

A week after the earthquake, on 2 May, we experienced our busiest day on record with 81,911 visits to the site, the vast majority of these seeking information on the Nepal situation. This number is more than double the average daily use of ReliefWeb.

Visits overview (data range Jan-June 2015):

  • More than 2,000 humanitarian reports, maps and other updates on the disaster posted on ReliefWeb.
  • More than 514,000 pageviews of humanitarian information.
  • Nepal Earthquake: Foreign Medical Personnel Snapshot (as of 30 April 2015) was the most viewed report with 133,743 pageviews
  • Top 5 countries where visitors came from: USA 12.57%, India 5.8%, Japan 5.74%, Germany 4.96%, UK 4.93%.
  • 3.28% of users were from Nepal.

Nepal earthquake humanitarian information on ReliefWeb

Yemen

Political instability in Yemen throughout the second half of 2014 led to armed conflict between various actors. Since the conflict escalated in late March 2015, the country’s humanitarian needs were exacerbated. More than 21 million people are in need some form of humanitarian assistance, with 1.4 million people are internally displaced.

Visits overview (data range Jan-June 2015):

  • 1,127 reports, maps and other updates posted about the situation.
  • More than 95,700 pageviews of humanitarian information.
  • Flash Appeal for Yemen (1 April 2015 to 30 June 2015) [EN/AR] was the most viewed report with 1,369 pageviews.
  • Top 5 countries where visitors came from: USA 22.2%, Jordan 15.75%, UK 7.91%, Kenya 4.40%, Somalia 3.7%.
  • 6.95% of users were from Yemen

Yeman humanitarian updates on ReliefWeb

Cyclone Pam - Vanuatu

On 13 March, Tropical Cyclone Pam struck Vanuatu as an extremely destructive category 5 cyclone, causing serious damage to infrastructure and leaving debris strewn across the capital. The storm affected around 188,000 people on 22 islands who were in need of some form of humanitarian assistance.

Visits overview (data range Jan-June 2015):

Cyclone Pam humanitarian information on ReliefWeb

ReliefWeb Usage

Overall ReliefWeb has seen a substantial increase in usage in the first half of 2015

New Reports added Disasters covered Jobs published Trainings published
30,793 43 15,238 1,773
Sessions/Visits Users Pageviews
7,358,962 +19% 3,016,701 +17% 36,361,167 +17.25%

During the same period we added new features and continued to make improvements to ReliefWeb’s usability. Here are some of the updates we’ve made:

We hope this snapshot provides you with a brief overview of ReliefWeb humanitarian information usage in the first half of 2015. If you have any questions about the ReliefWeb statistics please leave a comment below or contact us. We’re always keen to hear from the humanitarian community in order to help improve the service we provide.