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Reliefweb Discovery Spider

The Reliefweb Discovery Spider is a powerful Apify Actor designed to scrape and extract disaster-related reports, news, and updates from ReliefWeb, the leading humanitarian information service. By inputting specific queries, it efficiently gathers timely and relevant data on global crises, enabling users to stay informed on humanitarian efforts, natural disasters, and emergency responses. This tool is invaluable for organizations, researchers, and analysts needing structured, up-to-date information from a trusted source.

Features

• Comprehensive Data Extraction: Scrapes detailed reports including titles, summaries, sources, dates, and URLs from ReliefWeb's extensive database.
• Query-Based Filtering: Supports multiple search queries to target specific regions, disasters, or topics for precise results.
• High Reliability: Leverages ReliefWeb's official API and scraping techniques to ensure accurate, real-time data without duplicates.
• Scalable Performance: Handles large query sets efficiently, with built-in pagination for extensive searches.
• Structured Output: Delivers clean JSON data with metadata like posting dates and formats for easy integration.
• Error-Resilient: Includes retry mechanisms for network issues, ensuring robust operation.
• No API Key Required: Runs directly on Apify's platform, simplifying setup for users.

Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description	Example
Queries	array	No	An array of search queries to filter ReliefWeb content. Each query targets specific keywords like countries or disaster types.	["nepal", "earthquake"]

Example Usage

To run the actor, provide input in JSON format:

{
  "Queries": ["nepal", "flood"]
}

Example output:

[
  {
    "title": "Children and families at risk after 6.4-magnitude earthquake hits western Nepal",
    "url": "https://reliefweb.int/report/nepal/children-and-families-risk-after-64-magnitude-earthquake-hits-western-nepal",
    "country": "",
    "date_posted": "4 Nov 2023",
    "date_posted_datetime": "2023-11-04T16:20:06+00:00",
    "source": "UNICEF",
    "format": "News and Press Release",
    "summary": "UNICEF teams are on the ground providing urgent assistance to families in need and have already dispatched emergency supplies to the most affected areas in Jajarkot and Rukum West districts.",
    "query": "nepal",
    "actor_id": "Czjnfr8dEctUv4RuA",
    "run_id": "AScrEokG2IgOUJeoc"
  },
  {
    "title": "Continuous earthquake aftershocks displace thousands in Nepal, IFRC warns",
    "url": "https://reliefweb.int/report/nepal/nepal-earthquake-2023-dref-operation-mdrnp015",
    "country": "",
    "date_posted": "13 Oct 2023",
    "date_posted_datetime": "2023-10-13T15:10:02+00:00",
    "source": "IFRC",
    "format": "Situation Report",
    "summary": "Following a magnitude 5.3 earthquake earlier this month, an aftershock of equal strength has affected 36,250 people, and either fully or partially destroyed more than 7,000 houses.",
    "query": "nepal",
    "actor_id": "Czjnfr8dEctUv4RuA",
    "run_id": "AScrEokG2IgOUJeoc"
  },
  {
    "title": "Climate situation wreaks havoc in Asia Pacific, causing relentless floods, diseases and life-threatening heat",
    "url": "https://reliefweb.int/report/bangladesh/climate-situation-wreaks-havoc-asia-pacific-causing-relentless-floods-diseases-and-life-threatening-heat",
    "country": "",
    "date_posted": "10 Aug 2023",
    "date_posted_datetime": "2023-08-10T04:54:40+00:00",
    "source": "IFRC",
    "format": "News and Press Release",
    "summary": "As the full impact of El Niño is expected in the coming months, IFRC urges authorities and humanitarian organisations to brace for multiple disasters hitting simultaneously, with more intensity.",
    "query": "nepal",
    "actor_id": "Czjnfr8dEctUv4RuA",
    "run_id": "AScrEokG2IgOUJeoc"
  }
]

Use Cases

• Humanitarian Monitoring: Track real-time updates on disasters for NGOs and aid organizations to coordinate responses.
• Academic Research: Gather historical and current data on global crises for studies in environmental science or sociology.
• Media and Journalism: Aggregate news and reports for in-depth coverage of international emergencies.
• Government Intelligence: Monitor regional threats and humanitarian needs for policy planning.
• Risk Assessment: Analyze patterns in disaster reports for insurance or urban planning purposes.
• Content Aggregation: Build databases of humanitarian information for websites or apps.

Installation and Usage

1. Search for "Reliefweb Discovery Spider" in the Apify Store
2. Click "Try for free" or "Run"
3. Configure input parameters
4. Click "Start" to begin extraction
5. Monitor progress in the log
6. Export results in your preferred format (JSON, CSV, Excel)

Output Format

The actor outputs an array of JSON objects, each representing a scraped report. Key fields include:

• title: The report's headline.
• url: Direct link to the full report on ReliefWeb.
• country: Associated country (may be empty).
• date_posted: Human-readable posting date.
• date_posted_datetime: ISO 8601 formatted datetime.
• source: Organization or entity publishing the report (e.g., UNICEF, IFRC).
• format: Type of document (e.g., News and Press Release, Situation Report).
• summary: Brief excerpt of the report's content.
• query: The original search query that matched the report.
• actor_id and run_id: Metadata for tracking the Apify run.

This structured format ensures easy parsing and integration into databases or analysis tools.

Support

For custom/simplified outputs or bug reports, please contact:

• Email: support@getdataforme.com
• Subject line: "custom support"
• Contact form: https://getdataforme.com/contact/

We're here to help you get the most out of this Actor!