Colombian civilians moved quickly to help after the earthquake, but their improvised relief network could not reliably get the right supplies to the right people. An AI-built mapping tool became a rapid workaround for gaps in both coordination and the official response.

The 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck Colombia last month, knocking out water, electricity and cellphone service for more than 1.5 million people. It killed more than 300 people and injured over 4,500, officials said, with the worst impact centered in a remote, impoverished area.¹

As formal systems faltered, civilians opened donation points in homes, cafés, universities, churches, gyms and even a brewery. The response was energetic but chaotic: one site might have food but no water, another water but no clothing. Diapers ran out, while demand for underwear suddenly surged.¹

Sebastián Mejía, who opened three collection points at his coffee shops in Pereira, saw the central problem as a lack of coordination. “We’re very disorganized when it comes to the donation drop-off points and the distribution of help,” he said.¹ He contacted Felipe Restrepo Lebrun, a tech entrepreneur, to ask whether an app could help.

Intermittent connectivity delayed the message until the following day — itself a sign of the disaster’s communications breakdown. Once Restrepo Lebrun received it, however, he used AI to build a website within two hours, mapping donation locations and organizing what each hub needed or had available.¹

The tool did not replace public disaster relief. But it gave volunteer-run hubs a shared picture of shortages and surplus, part of a civilian effort intended to fill holes in the government response — echoing grassroots relief efforts after earthquakes in neighboring Venezuela.¹