We know our friends over at the Red Cross have been expertly using social media for disaster response for years now, but this weekend, with Hurricane Irene set to touch down all along the east coast, we saw many other organizations and government entities reaching out via social media, as well.
For Hurricane Irene, the Red Cross used volunteers to listen as well as respond in the social media space, to ensure 24 hour coverage during the storm. Their team of digital volunteers, already trained in public affairs and talking to the media, used specific language to represent themselves as Red Cross voices online. The organization also worked with Twitter to create a special badge that marked volunteers' Twitter accounts as valid and official sources of information. You can find out more about how the Red Cross used social media throughout the weekend in this video.
Another organization expert at nonprofit disaster response via social media, the Humane Society, posted tips on where to take your pets and locations of animal shelters throughout the weekend, all tagged #IrenePets.
Government agencies jumped into the social space on both Twitter and Facebook. The National Hurricane Center used their twitter account (separated by coast line, to @NHC_Atlantic & @NHC_Pacific) to post updates and weather advisories as the storm progressed.
FEMA updated their Facebook account with survival tips, like how to navigate around a flooded city, and information on how to access FEMA on your mobile phone.
The Department of Homeland Security used their Facebook status to spread the word with official updates, along with information telling Facebook users how to find shelters from a mobile phone. They also suggested that followers pass the information on to those who may have lost power.
The New York City Mayor's office ran an official stream of information on their Twitter account and linked to other useful local information.
One of those was the MTA Twitter stream, offering updates and pictures – storytelling to keep New Yorkers updated and in the loop on public transportation.
Following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Facebook set up a Global Disaster Relief page, with the intention that it "serve as a collaborative resource for individuals, non-profits, governments and industry to raise awareness for those in need around the world". This time around, they added a Resource Center to the page, as well as a tab encouraging users to "Share Your Story". Last Wednesday, they posted a write up on how to use "social media before, during and after a natural disaster".
It's clear that the social space online has taken on a huge role in disaster preparations and response in the United States. Particularly encouraging to see was how federal and local organizations, government agencies, and the social media sites themselves worked together to highlight each other's resources and keep people informed.
What were your most useful resources for keeping track of Irene via social media?