Google has launched an initiative to use social networking technologies to assist in rapid response to natural disasters and rapidly spreading diseases. The nonprofit organization, Innovative Support To Emergencies, Diseases, and Disasters (InSTEDD) is an innovation lab that seeks to use technology to speed up the response time to the aforementioned emergency situations.

The idea for the program was developed by Dr. Larry Brilliant, an epidemiologist and the director of Google.org, Google’s charitable foundation. Dr. Brilliant (Ed: Isn’t that a great name?) received a TED prize in 2006 for the idea of networking those working in disaster zones.

Google.org has kicked in $5 million to fund the effort, with another $1 million coming from the Rockefeller Foundation. By using open-source code and integrating the features of programs like Twitter and Facebook with Google Maps, InSTEDD hopes to connect aid workers and doctors to respond more rapidly to emerging threats.