Emergency manager calls for adding Facebook and Twitter to NIMS practices
Last March, Rhode Island experienced record flooding that at one point closed nearly 100 roads and 20 bridges. The state Department of Transportation used its RIDOT website, as well as social media like Facebook and Twitter, to keep the public advised of new closures.
"On a typical day, the RIDOT site sees about 2,100 hits," said RIDOT spokesperson Dana Nolfe. "At the height of the flooding, we saw 84,000 hits." Twitter followers jumped from double digits to 1,150.
In Texas, the use of Facebook and Twitter by the Plano Department of Emergency Management allows that city to push information to local communities instantly.
"Rather than posting information to a website and hoping citizens look at it, we can engage them online where they are," said Hal Grieb, senior emergency management specialist.
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References: Homeland1. 2010. "Social media have become the elephant in the EOC" Doug Page
Posted: October 28, 2010
Available At: http://www.homeland1.com/Emergency-Management-Operations/articles/901421-Social-media-have-become-the-elephant-in-the-EOC
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