HelpMap · DocumentationDOCUMENTATION · HELPMAP
Usage guide
Everything HelpMap VE can do, explained step by step. You don't need to read it all: the first four sections are enough to search for someone. The rest is here for when you need it.
The essentials in one minute
- To search for a person: type their name or ID number at the top.
- To see who is at a place: tap that point on the map.
- To help someone be found: open their record and tap "Compartir" (Share).
Note: When you open the app you won't see a list yet. That's on purpose: the screen says to search for a name or tap a centre. The list appears once you search or pick a centre.
1. Search for a person
At the top is the "Search by name, surname or ID" bar. Type and the list filters as you go. The search looks at three fields: first names, surnames and ID number. It does not search by hospital, municipality or age.
- Accents and capitals don't matter: "jose" finds "José".
- You can type just a fragment: "gonz" finds "González".
- If you haven't selected a centre, it searches across all of them at once.
If you search by ID: Type the real digits. On screen the ID is shown masked for safety (V-••••••789), but that's only the display: the search needs the full digits, not the dots.
If nothing appears: Try just the surname, or just the first name. If you type two words, put the first name before the surname. If they're still not there it doesn't mean something happened to them: that centre may simply not have sent us its list yet. Use "Report a missing person" (section 10) so the team searches for you.
2. Reading the results list
Each person appears on a card with their photo or initials, name, age and sex, the centre they're at and their status. The most recently updated ones come first.
The three statuses:
- Admitted (blue): they are at the centre.
- Discharged (green): they have been released.
- Deceased (grey): we use a sober grey, never red or alarming, and it is only published once confirmed.
The green check: A green check next to the name means our team confirmed that record directly with the centre or the family. Without it, the record comes from an automated source and may still contain errors.
Above the list: You'll see how many people there are and a line like "List updated 6 h ago". That time refers to the most recent record in the whole list, not to each person: an individual's exact date is on their record card.
3. The person's record card
Tap a card and the full record opens. The first thing you'll see, in large type, is when that record was last updated. We put it first on purpose: in an emergency there are constant transfers, and the date matters as much as the data.
Below are the details: status, ID, age, sex, centre, centre type, municipality, state and whether it's verified. If the record came from a dated list, you'll also see "List date". Next to "Verified" there's an info button explaining what it means.
What the record does and doesn't promise: At the bottom there's a notice worth reading once: this list does NOT guarantee the person is still at that centre, since they may have been transferred. What we do guarantee is that the published record is truthful and its date is accurate. Use it as a search tool, not as a certainty.
The buttons:
- Share: send the record via WhatsApp, Telegram or Instagram.
- Contribute photo / info: if you know that person and can add something (section 11).
- See on the map: takes you to the centre's location.
- Directions: opens the route in Google Maps.
- WhatsApp and Call: these appear only if that centre gave us a contact number.
4. The map
Each pin is a centre. Tap one and you'll see who is reported there; tap it again to deselect. Hospitals show their name beside the pin.
The colour means the type of place, not severity: Red is hospital, amber shelter, purple donation centre, teal free kitchen, rose civic initiative and grey morgue. The colour never indicates how serious things are inside. The type buttons under the search bar double as the legend: each carries its type's colour.
The number inside the pin: It's how many people at that centre match what you're currently filtering. If you change the search or the filters, the number changes. A pin that drops to zero fades out.
The heart: Shelters, free kitchens, donation centres and initiatives show a heart instead of a number. They don't keep a list of people, and a "0" would make them look closed or empty when they aren't.
Grouped pins: When many centres sit close together the map groups them into a larger pin with a count. Tap it and the map zooms in. Past a certain zoom level you'll always see the pins individually.
On a phone you pinch to zoom; on a computer there are + and − buttons.
5. Filtering what you see
By state: The "All states" picker moves the map to the state you choose and limits the list to it. It doesn't remove the other states' pins: it leaves them visible but dimmed so you keep your bearings.
By centre: The "All centres" picker has its own search box and groups places by type. Pick one and the map flies to it, limiting the list to that place.
By type of place: The coloured buttons (Hospital, Shelter, Morgue, Donation centre, Free kitchen, Civic initiative) do hide pins from the map. You can turn on several at once. With none active you see them all; tap an active one again to turn it off.
By status: The All / Admitted / Discharged / Deceased buttons appear only when a hospital is selected, which is where they make sense. If you switch to a shelter or donation centre the filter clears itself so it can't hide results without you noticing.
6. My location and the damage layer
My location: The round crosshair button centres the map on you and draws a blue dot with a circle around it (that circle is the GPS margin of error). It only runs when you tap it: the app never locates you on its own. If your browser has the permission blocked, it will tell you.
Damage: The "Damage" button turns on a heat layer showing where the quake was felt most strongly, and marks the recorded aftershocks. It starts off. The "Felt intensity" legend runs from Mild to Severe and states where the data came from: the USGS seismic service, or "Preliminary data" when we're still using our initial estimate.
It's a context layer, not a damage census: it helps you understand which area to search, not how many buildings fell.
7. Shelters, collection points and initiatives: how to help
These places don't have a list of people: they have needs. Tap one and you'll see what it receives, what it needs right now, its hours, who's in charge and its address.
When none is selected, an amber bar at the bottom says how many centres need help. Tapping it opens the full list, sorted so the ones with a concrete need come first. From there you can get directions, message via WhatsApp, or share that need.
Ways to help: Some initiatives state how you can help: volunteering on site, donating supplies, trades and services, spreading the word, or financial support.
Much of the shelter and collection-point information comes from AcopioVE (acopiove.org), and we credit it on every record sourced from there.
8. Rescued people
This is a separate list, reached from the bottom of the screen. These are people rescue teams pulled out alive but whose destination centre we don't know yet. It exists so a family can learn as early as possible that their relative is alive, even while the rest is missing.
That's why they have no map pin (we don't know where to place them yet) and don't appear in the main search. Once their centre is confirmed they move to the normal list and appear on the map.
9. Sharing
Sharing is the feature that most helps someone be found: the more a record circulates, the likelier it reaches someone who recognises them.
On a phone, "Share" opens your system's share menu directly and you pick the app. On a computer it opens a screen previewing how the link will look when pasted, with four options: WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram and copy link.
Instagram: Instagram doesn't allow automatic link sharing, so the app generates a vertical image ready for your story. On a phone the share menu opens; on a computer it opens in another tab for you to save. Remember to add the link sticker.
You can also share a shelter's or an initiative's need, using the same mechanism, from its card or from the needs list.
What is and isn't shared: The link shows name, status and centre. The automatically generated preview never includes the person's photo, and the story image only shows a photo for a verified adult. Person records are not indexed by Google.
10. The "Collaborate" button: two paths
The + button opens two options. The difference matters:
Report a missing person: This is for when you are SEARCHING for someone who isn't on the list. You tell us who you're looking for (name, ID, age, last known area, identifying details) and how to reach you. The team checks the database and lets you know if anything turns up. This report is not published on the map: it's a lead for us, and your contact details are never shown to anyone else.
Contribute data: It's the reverse: when you HAVE information about someone at a centre. It asks for name, age, ID, the centre (required), the status and the date the information corresponds to, which may not be today. If you mark them as a minor, the app removes the ID and the photo field: minors carry neither.
What you contribute is not published immediately: the team reviews it with medical contacts before it appears. If you submit it without signal, it's saved and sends itself once the connection returns.
11. Contributing to an existing record
If you find someone already on the list and can add something — a photo, or where you saw them — use "Contribute photo / info" inside their record. It's mostly for putting a face to a record that only has a name, which is what most helps someone recognise them.
Your contribution isn't published automatically: a team member reviews it. Meanwhile the photo you send is stored privately, visible to no one. If the record belongs to a minor, the app doesn't accept photos at all.
12. Donate
The heart button at the top opens the list of organisations helping on the ground. Tap one to expand its donation details (mobile payment, account, etc.), with a button to copy them, plus its social media and donation link.
HelpMap neither receives nor manages funds: donations go directly to each organisation. If you deliver food or verifiable medicine, you can ask to be listed from that same panel.
13. Joining the team or writing to us
The hands button opens "Join us". We're looking for doctors, nurses, health workers and rescuers with first-hand access to information. You can sign up right there: you create your account with your email and password, and it stays inactive until an administrator approves your request. We vet every person before enabling them, because the reliability of the data depends on it.
The envelope button opens "Write to us", for any other message. You can attach up to four images, for example a photo of a list.
14. On a bad connection or offline
The app is built for poor connections. It saves what it last loaded, so if you lose signal it keeps showing that information with an amber notice reading "Data may be out of date (offline)". When the signal returns it updates itself and the notice disappears.
- The map areas you already panned over are saved too, so the map still renders without signal.
- Anything you submit offline is queued and sends itself once the connection returns.
- All of this requires having opened the app at least once online. The very first visit does need a connection.
Installing it on your phone: You can add it to your home screen like an app, which makes it open faster. On Android (Chrome): menu → "Add to Home screen". On iPhone (Safari): Share → "Add to Home Screen".
15. Language
At the top right you can switch between Spanish, English and Portuguese. Note that the app returns to Spanish every time you reload it: if you use another language you'll need to pick it again.
16. What we protect
- For minors we never show the ID or the photo anywhere: not in the list, the record, or anything you share.
- ID numbers are shown masked, leaving only the last digits.
- We never publish where a person lives or which medical ward they're in. That data exists, but only for the verification team.
- Person records are not indexed by search engines.
- We don't record who you search for. What you type in the search bar never leaves your phone.
For the full detail, see the Privacy and data handling section.
17. If something isn't working
The map is empty or records are missing: If you see a red maintenance notice at the top, we're re-verifying the data and some records are temporarily hidden. It doesn't mean they were lost. Try again shortly.
I can't find the person: Check you don't have active filters hiding them: clear the state, the centre and the type buttons, and search by surname alone. If they still don't appear, report them as missing.
The location button does nothing: Your browser has the location permission blocked. Enable it in the browser settings for this site.
I can't upload a photo: Try another image. If the record belongs to a minor, the app doesn't accept photos and that is intentional.
You can replay the welcome tour any time with the "?" button at the top.
Need something or want to collaborate? info@helpmapvzla.net