MCUrgent (Morris County Urgent) is used for emergencies where the impact crosses municipal boundaries. MCUrgent includes emergency information that is timely and originates from the source, typically local jurisdictions. It is accessible without power, available 24/7, and is device independent. MCUrgent information spans municipal boundaries, is freely available (no subscription or membership required) and accessible anywhere.

1. MCUrgent
A Shared Emergency
Information Network
Getting the
word out with
social media
Carol A. Spencer, Digital & Social Media Manager
Morris County NJ November 1, 2014

2. NJ Major Disasters or Floods
• Hurricane Floyd, Sept 1999
6 NJ deaths, $53M damage
• Severe storms, mudslides, August 2000
2,700 homes damaged
• Torrential downpours, July 2004
1,000 homes damaged
• Hurricane Ivan, Sept 2004
• Flooding disaster, April 2005
43% of NJ impacted
• Severe storms, heavy rains, June 2006
• Severe storms, flooding, April 2007
• Nor’easter, March 2010
• Hurricane Irene, August 2011
• Tropical Storm Lee, Sept 2011
• Halloween Snowstorm, October 2011
• Superstorm Sandy, October 2012
346,000 homes destroyed, 37 fatalities, Billions in damages

3. People need information in a crisis
• What roads are closed?
• Where can I find shelter?
• Are my family members okay?
• How long might the power be out?
• How high is the river?
• Where are charging stations?
• Is information rumor or fact?
• Where can I get ice and water?

4. Finding information can be difficult
• Town websites
– Maintenance typically contractor or volunteer and not
typically updated 24/7
– If hosted locally, could be offline due to power issues
• County or OEM websites
– Information typically coming from towns
– Towns can’t update County website
– County doesn’t have 24/7 web staff
• Limited or incorrect information in the press
While government is actively working during an
emergency, the public doesn’t know emergency
responders are doing anything without
information!

5. When disseminating information…
Situation updates need to:
– be timely and trustworthy
– originate from the source
– be accessible even without power
– be available 24/7
– be device independent
– cross municipal boundaries
– be freely available
(no subscription or membership required)
– be accessed anywhere

6. Crafting a solution
MCUrgent (Morris County Urgent):
– grabs information at the source
– aggregates it
– make it available so the public can:
• view it
• use it
• parse it
• share it

7. Using Twitter to Share Information
Messages can be posted from a desktop, laptop,
mobile device
Message can be retrieved from a desktop, laptop,
mobile device
Subscription-free access
Fast Follow text messages
Twitter users can retweet (share), search by
#hashtag, upload pictures
True social media use allows citizen contribution & sharing:
Twitter users can add #hashtags to their own postings
Twitter users can message @MCUrgent
Tweets can be geo-coded which includes location data
Tweets can be mapped so emergency responders can
determine primary response locations

8. What Twitter IS:
• A news service, a microblog
• Information-only notification methodology
• Technology dependent notification
• 140 characters only
Very brief announcements or links to more information
• Available on multiple media
Computer, laptop, wireless, smartphone, tablets
• Available without registration

9. What Twitter is NOT:
• A formal, guaranteed notification system
– No guarantee that notices will be posted
– No guarantee on uptime
– No guarantee that applications that pull Twitter feed
will function
• The sole notification system
– TV, radio, Twitter, Facebook, text messaging,
reverse 9-1-1, email must all be used
• A Substitute for an official emergency
notification service

10. Using Facebook to Share Info
Messages can be posted from a desktop, laptop,
mobile device
Message can be retrieved from a desktop, laptop,
mobile device
Access requires an account
Links available to individual messages
Facebook users can comment on and share posts
Facebook is the largest social network in the US
Facebook messages can be up to 2,000 characters
Photos and videos can be embedded in Facebook messages
Facebook commenting policies are a must for gov’t accounts
Inappropriate Facebook posts should be deleted.
Inaccurate Facebook posts should be addressed.

11. Our vision of MCUrgent
Parsippany
Morris Twp
Denville
Riverdale
Dover
#MCParsip RT 46 WB between New Rd and Rt 202/Parsippany
Rd flooded. All lanes closed. 6:37 AM Mar 15th via Twitter
Towns create a tweet
#hashtag post

12. Our vision of MCUrgent
Towns create a tweet
#hashtag post
Twitter
(MCUrgent)
Facebook
(MCUrgent)
Parsippany
Morris Twp
Denville
Riverdale
Dover

13. Our vision of MCUrgent
Towns create a tweet
#hashtag post
Twitter
(MCUrgent)
Twitter
(MorrisCountyNJ)
Facebook
(MorrisCountyNJ)
Twitter
(Town feed)
Facebook
(Town page)
Parsippany
Morris Twp
Denville
Riverdale
Dover
Facebook
(MCUrgent)

14. Social Media Spreads the Message Quickly
Twitter
(MCUrgent)
Facebook
(MCUrgent)
Twitter
(MorrisCountyNJ)
Facebook
(MorrisCountyNJ)
Twitter
(Town feed)
Facebook
(Town page)
3,881
9,142
6,618
2,262
157
235
22,295 people could get
the message with just a
single click of the mouse
or tap on a mobile device.
Twitter “Fast Follow” users
are not included here so
the contacted number is
even higher.

15. MCUrgent
in practice

16. MCUrgent
in practice

17. Summary of MCUrgent
• What: Emergency notifications from
participating towns: MCUrgent
• Web: MorrisCountyNJ.gov Twitter widget
Town info on town website if they want
• Social: Twitter.com/MCUrgent
MCUrgent.org / .net / .com / .info
Facebook.com
(Morris County Office of Emergency Management)
• SMS: text follow MCUrgent to 40404

18. Contact Information
Morris County Office of Public Information
Website : MCUrgent.com
(includes templates for posters, postcards, icons, etc.)
Email : PublicInformation@co.morris.nj.us
Facebook : Facebook.com/MorrisCountyNJ
Facebook : Facebook.com/MCUrgent
Twitter : Twitter.com/MorrisCountyNJ
Twitter : Twitter.com/MCUrgent

19. MCUrgent
A Shared Emergency
Information Network
Getting the
word out with
social media
Carol A. Spencer, Digital & Social Media Manager
Morris County NJ November 1, 2014