Montgomery County CERT (MCCERT) successfully implemented initiatives in response to a winter weather emergency in March 2013. MCCERT provided social media monitoring support at the local Emergency Operations Center and developed and consolidated situation reports (SITREPs), proving volunteers are a valuable asset in times of emergency. This presentation covered the initiatives, key takeaways, and lessons learned.

1. May 13-14, 2014
Walter E. Washington
Convention Center
Washington, DC
Steve Peterson, President
Montgomery County Community
Emergency Response Team (CERT)
A Role for CERT in Social Media
Monitoring

2. Agenda
• Share details on CERT’s role in social media
monitoring and situation reporting initiatives
– Key takeaways
– Lessons learned
– Future enhancements

3. CERT Can Help

4. May 13-14, 2014
Walter E. Washington
Convention Center
Washington, DC
Initiative #1:
Social Media Monitoring

5. Weather Forecast – March 6, 2013

6. Pre‐Deployment Strategy
• Began contacting pre‐identified participants
• Developed timeframe to monitor social media
platforms (contingent upon EOC’s length of activation)
• Sought additional CERT members’ participation
• Captured contact information of newly identified
participants
– Developed a communication thread between this small
group

7. Authoritative
Tweet
ReTweet
ReTweet
Authoritative
Tweet
3
ReTweet
ReTweet
ReTweet
ReTweet
ReTweet
ReTweet
ReTweet
ReTweet
4
provided verified
info for
2
Posts
Tweets Tweets
Posts
Posts
Tweets Tweets
Posts
1
GENERAL PUBLIC
COMMUNICATIONS
GENERAL PUBLIC
COMMUNICATIONS
AGENCY
COMMUNICATIONS
GENERAL PUBLIC
COMMUNICATIONS
AGENCY
COMMUNICATIONS
GENERAL PUBLIC
COMMUNICATIONS
Deployment: How It Worked

8. with certain terms
or combination of
terms
– E.g., snow +
hospitals
How It Worked: Finding Information
• Hashtags provided a quick and easy way to follow a
discussion:
– #mocosnow, #mdwx, #saturn, #mdsnow, #moco,
#snowquester, #snow, #dcwx, #vawx,
• Search strings provided the ability to look for tweets

9. How It Worked: Verification
• Is the information from a reliable source?
– Was the report made by a trusted source?
– Individuals’ input desired but verified more closely
• Is the information confirmed by several sources?
– Retweets do not qualify
• Does the information fit into the larger picture for
the snow storm?
– Is this information just “noise” or does it improve your
situational awareness?

10. Trending Topic: D.C. Snow Ball Fight

11. Assessment of Beneficial Posts
6am 7am 8am 9am 10am
Need information about Maryland
roadways and bridges? Follow
@MDSHA @MDOTNews @TheMDTA
for the latest. #MDSnow
You can also follow our live
updates on Winter Storm
#Saturn, including photos,
storm reports, and analysis
here: wxch.nl/14oZhb3
MT @MontgomeryCoMD: County's 311
Call Center is open today. Call 311 (or
240‐777‐0311 from a cell phone),
bit.ly/YBQlLF. #mocosnow
The Baltimore County Emergency
Operations Center will be opening
at 10:00a.m. ^JW
Va state police: I‐81 northbound
Exit 235 (Weyers Cave) blocked by
disabled tractor trailers.
MT @AndrewFreiden: Let me be
clear. Snow will be extremely heavy
through 10 AM Western Hanover,
henrico, Chesterfield. Don't drive #rva
Power out? Please do NOT call
911! Use 911 for true
emergencies! List of power co's
contact info:
ht.ly/irmTi#mocosnow
Help us filter out the noise of millions of
tweets by using #MDSnow to discuss the
winter storm in #Maryland. #smem
State Power Outage Map:
http://ow.ly/ir5mV
#MDSnow

12. May 13-14, 2014
Walter E. Washington
Convention Center
Washington, DC
Initiative #2:
Situation Reports (SITREPs)

13. Situation Reports (SITREPs)
• CERT members developed
29 SITREPs from home
• Provided a comprehensive
picture of weather
conditions
• SITREPs were readily
available for decision
makers within the EOC

14. 2014 CERT SITREP Participation
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
1 2 3 4
NumberofSITREPs
Tues, Jan 21 Mon, Feb 3 Thurs, Feb 13 Mon, Mar 3
113
32
125
83

15. Expanded County Coverage
Within
one
year
March 2013 SITREPs February 2014 SITREPs

16. 2013 Honorable Mention Award

17. Key Takeaways
• Social Media Monitoring Initiative
– Pre‐established understanding (proactive vs reactive)
– Non‐disruptive EOC physical presence (transparent)
• Observed verbal and nonverbal cues within the EOC
• Disciplined in providing updates to EOC manager
– Overlap in shift times (debrief)
– Same computer for each shift (centralized)

18. Key Takeaways – cont’d
• SITREP Initiative
– Data available in real‐time at the EOC
– Complete, consolidated report provided to officials within
24 hours

19. May 13-14, 2014
Walter E. Washington
Convention Center
Washington, DC
Future Enhancements

20. Enhancements: Team Participation
• Seek to expand number of CERT members who
participate
– Solicit participation at general meetings, social media
channels, website, and email messages
– Assess skillsets before assigning to specific roles and
responsibilities
• Example: Volunteers who are skilled in producing, analyzing, and
organizing information would be an asset to use in the EOC for
monitoring social media

21. Enhancements: Training Offerings
• FEMA EMI Training IS‐42a
• Red Cross webinars
• Social media basic training from a variety of sources

22. Enhancements: Internal Training
• Monitoring strategies
– Who and What to Monitor
• EOC Standard Operating Procedures
– Standardize information flows and formats
– Develop standard style of handout and verbal
communication
– Identify set times to report
– Identify instances where immediate communication
would be preferred

23. Enhancements: Mobile App
Integration
Montgomery County CERT is pursuing the opportunity to utilize
the FEMA mobile app

24. Conclusion: Volunteers
• Volunteers are an effective resource for providing
both on‐site and virtual support to public safety
agencies
– They are always on standby 24/7 and are available to
monitor social media traffic
– They are trustworthy, credible, trained, and experienced
and flexible to changing assignments

25. May 13-14, 2014
Walter E. Washington
Convention Center
Washington, DC
Thank You
Steve Peterson
Montgomery County CERT
president@montgomerycert.org
@montcocert