According to Skanda (2011) “the biggest part of using social media during a disaster is that it's not about the government helping the public; it's about the public helping themselves." Social media has become a most valuable communication tool in emergency management as information can be disseminated to the public quickly and efficiently giving the public the opportunity to prepare and respond in the event of disasters. While most emergency management organization have used social media to disseminate information, there are instances where the public can use it as a means to share information about their community status as well as making a request for assistance.
The primary benefit is the ability to circulate information in real time supported by live images which give a firsthand view of what is happening. In my country, Trinidad & Tobago, the agency responsible for emergency management, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) partnered with two major telecommunication organizations, Digicel and BMobile to dissemination early warning messages via phone text messages (SMS). This initiative has been very effective as it gives the public the opportunity to take the necessary mitigation measures to either shelter-in-place or seek additional assistance. The agency has also developed a Web page which provides details of vulnerable areas in the country, how to prepare for disasters, the location of available shelters and listing of all supporting agencies. Also, the Web page is used to post information about training events and emergency exercises.
The Challenge of Using Social Media
Social media and emergency management have become close allies, and this medium is impotent because it can provide accurate, reliable, and timely information which is vital for public safety before, during, and after an incident (Lindsay, 2011). However, due to the unlimited access to social media, there is a possibility that inaccurate and outdated information might be disseminated to the public, causing hysteria and uncertainty as to what to believe and what they should do. The impact on the appropriate actions of response agencies might comprise their ability to operate efficiently.
Strategies to Address this Challenge
McCormick, (2016) stated, “emergency responders have come to find that social media and other mobile-based technologies can be valuable in quickly setting up infrastructure to improve interagency communication and coordination for increased situational awareness” (p.209) as a such the reliable and accurate information is imperative. To combat the dissemination of inaccurate information government might consider imposing criminal sanctions against individuals’ and organizations that deliberately misuse social media with circulating false information to the public.
References
Lindsay, B. R. (2011). Social Media and Disasters: Current Uses, Future Options, and Policy Considerations. Journal of Current Issues in Media & Telecommunications, 2(4), 287-297. Retrieved from: http://www.nisconsortium.org/portal/resources/bin/Social_Media_and_Dis_1423591240.pdf
Skarda, E. (2011, June 9). How social media is changing disaster response. Time. Retrieved from http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2076195,00.html
McCormick, S. (2016). New tools for emergency managers: an assessment of obstacles to use and implementation. Disasters, 40(2), 207-225. doi:10.1111/disa.12141
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