The online noise surrounding the effects of Hurricane Irene was to say the least, loud and wide-ranging. Regardless of what you personally thought of the storm, it’s irrefutable that it was a highly talked about subject across all journalism mediums. It may have only landed in New York City as a tropical storm, but Irene was a category 5 in terms of a social media storm.
Across Facebook and Twitter, people were sharing their own personal stories, pictures and updates on the status of how Irene was affecting them. Some even created a Twitter account for Irene to personify all of her actions.
Not only did people take to social media to share their personal stories, but news stations, weather emergency agencies and businesses used both sites to keep people updated on the storm’s progress, latest warnings and safety tips. Even though many people were left without power after the storm had passed, people were still able to keep in touch with their online social network through the use of their smart phones.
For instance, Red Cross invested time and money into training “digital volunteers” to monitor online social media portals like twitter to help people in this time of crisis. As stated previously, they provided information on shelter locations along with real-time storm safety information. In order to back their reputability, they were awarded certification badges for their training.
Some utility companies, like Easton Utilities in Maryland, used their Facebook page to keep customers in the know about outages and restoration times.
The New York City Office of Emergency Management (OEM) kept updating their Facebook page with weather reports, city evacuation plans, mass transit news and even tips on how to report the damage done to your property. OEM is now hosting National Preparedness Month Kick-off events in Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. These events are to recognize September as National Preparedness Month and to educate people on how to prepare for all types of emergencies.
As far as one survey was concerned, all of the above was very prudent. American Red Cross actually reached out to the public via telephone and the Internet to find out exactly what gateways of communication were most important. They found that the Internet is the 3rd most popular, with 18% of surveyors claiming that FB was their most desired and reliable source.
Almost 32% of the online survey takers said that they used various social media portals to let loved ones know that they weren’t in harms way, or had made it out alive. Almost 70% of online survey takers also said these sites (i.e. – American Red Cross) should be constantly monitored and updated frequently. And with almost 50% stating that they would expect help to arrive in less than an hour following a tweet or cry-for-help status update, it’s no wonder why organizations like the Red Cross continue to put money into updating their digital response team(s).
Since social media sites allow anyone to post almost anything they want, there was also a lot of false information floating around in cyber space and being spread as truth.
For example, this photo was circulated as being Hurricane Irene approaching the shores of North Carolina. It was actually a picture taken in Pensacola, Fla. taken a few weeks before Hurricane Irene. However, the photo was widely circulated and believed to be Irene with over 250,000 views on Twitter. However, there’s much little evidence to support the claim that social media is in fact detrimental to the effectiveness of an online emergency response presence.
Many people also felt that many lives had been saved by following through on evacuation plans. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said that any criticism over the decision to evacuate those out of southern New Jersey will be dismissed. Gov. Christie said, “I did not want to leave resources on the table and leave people in parts of the southern part of our state where they could end up losing their lives.”
Without a doubt, social media has helped keep citizens informed during the wrath of Hurricane Irene. As many people are still cleaning up the mess that was left behind, social media will keep evolving to not only allow people to connect, but to help people stay informed in emergency situations.
Courtesy of Douglas Elliman Real Estate Company, agents for Bronx Condos.
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