Social Media and Emergency Communications

The field of emergency management can be defined as those activities undertaken to mitigate, prepare for, respond to and recover from a major emergency or disaster. In British Columbia, the Emergency Program Act and Local Authority Emergency Management Regulations outline the responsibilities of the provincial government and local authorities (e.g. municipalities, regional districts) to develop plans and emergency management structures which would enable an effective response to a major emergency as well as an efficient recovery.  One of the key responsibilities of local government is to educate the public before a disaster occurs about: the nature of hazards in their community, what individuals/families should be doing to prepare and the role and responsibilities of government to return social services and structures to normalcy after an emergency event.  Similarly when a major emergency/disaster occurs (e.g. forest fires in the summer, freshet flooding in the spring) there is a requirement to keep the public informed of the status of the emergency, activities of government, expectations of the public and the availability of resources to support individuals and families. 

As an emergency management professional, I am keenly interested in learning more about social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook and Blogs to determine what value these platforms can offer to emergency communications, particularly following a major emergency or disaster.  When an emergency occurs, news coverage provided by traditional media including radio, television and larger print media is an important means of keeping the public informed particularly when proactive media relations strategies are utilized by the local government.  Posting current information on the City’s web page and activating telephone help lines are other communication vehicles that are used.   

One only has to look to disasters around the world to see that social media networks are being used by the public and organizations during crisis situations.  During the 2007 California wildfires, local media websites featured updates from local residents or hosted discussion boards.  Individuals who had been able to return to their homes, reported on what they witnessed upon their return. Following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Facebook was used by individuals to try and locate friends and family.  During this same event, social media tools were also used extensively by the Red Cross to solicit donations and volunteer support.

In August 2010, the American Red Cross conducted an online survey of social media users to examine the potential of social media tools. This survey yielded some interesting results:

·    The majority of respondents said they would seek emergency information from social media rather than from an official government website or an emergency text message system;

·    Social media sites were the fourth most popular medium for receiving emergency information after television news, radio and online news sites; and

·    In the event regular phones lines and/or 911 was down,  35% of respondents said they would post a request for help directly on a response agency’s Facebook page and 28% said they would send a direct Twitter message to responders.

As emergency managers we will need to find opportunities to incorporate social media networks into our emergency communication strategies.  In doing so, we must consider the following points.  First, the organization/program must establish an online presence before an emergency disaster occurs.  This will allow us to build followers before an emergency/disaster occurs, educate them on the need for preparedness and provide them with critical information in the aftermath of an event.  Second, sufficient staff resources must be assigned so as to regularly engage this audience.  It’s not enough to establish an account that lays dormant until an emergency occurs. Third, we must be prepared for the increase in a need for information during and following a major emergency and be prepared to engage the public regularly with timely and relevant information sharing.