The document summarizes the use of social media during disaster events. It discusses how social media is used for collaboration, expressing gratitude and grief, and sharing experiences during crises. It provides examples of how government agencies and organizations used social media before and after Hurricane Sandy to plan, respond to, and recover from the storm through information sharing and situational awareness. Key metrics on social media mentions and photos related to Sandy are presented to demonstrate the scale of engagement on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Foursquare. The importance of verifying information before sharing on social media is emphasized.

1. FINAL INTERREGIONAL CONFERENCE
“Regional Policies on Disaster Prevention”
8th of November 2012
Social Media & Disaster events
Entities, theory and social media numbers
Nondas Syrrakos – Digital Business Strategist

2. Contents
I. Social Media semiotics
II. Social Media & Disaster Management
III. Community response in disaster…
IV. Lessons learned

3. Social Media Semiotics
Circle
 Community
(critical mass!)
 Technology
(all surfaces!)
 Mobility in communication
& interaction

4. Social Media Semiotics
Entities & Crisis
Framework of citizens
communication which
is…
in…  Non filtered!
&
 All included: Truth,
Lie, Right, Wrong!

5. Social Media & Disaster Management
5 ways to use…
 Social Media are used for online collaboration to aid those in need
 Social Media facilitate expressions of gratitude
 Social Media facilitate expressions of greef
 Social Media are used to share and individual’s experiences of the
crisis or disaster
 Social Media are used to provide information after the mainstream
media have left the story

6. Community response in disaster
Framework of response
 Establishment of Disaster Recovery Centers
State, local, voluntary, and nongovernmental organizations determine
the need for and location of Disaster Recovery Centers
 Coordination with the private sector on restoration and recovery
Working with owners/operators to ensure the restoration of critical
services, including water, power, natural gas and petroleum, emergency
communications, and healthcare
 Coordinating mitigation grant programs to help communities reduce
the potential impacts of future disasters
Activities include developing strategies to rebuild resilient communities

7. Community response in disaster
Systematic Use in phases
Pre-event planning
Emergency communications and issue warnings
Inter-event response activities
Receive victim requests for assistance
 Monitor user activities / postings to establish situational awareness
Recovery efforts after the event
 Uploaded images use to create damage estimates

8. Community response in disaster
… (Planning, Responding, Recovering) Before Sandy
PLANNING
Hurricane Irene & Social media for residents preparation
 Federal level - FEMA
FEMA operates a Web site, Ready.gov, linked to Facebook page and Blog with
a Twitter feed, on which it gives safety tips in Spanish and English (tagged
#saftytip and #consejo)
 Local level - Montgomery County, MD
Incorporating an SMS/email alert system that sends out messages in advance
of an event telling residents what they can expect and giving links to pages on
the County Web site with detailed information.

9. Community response in disaster
… (Planning, Responding, Recovering) Before Sandy
RESPONDING
 Alert of emergency managers and officials to certain situations by monitoring the
flow of information from different sources during an incident
 Increase the public's ability to communicate with the government
RECOVERING
 Information concerning what types of individual assistance is available to individuals
and households, including:
 how to apply for assistance,
 announcing application deadlines and
 providing information and links to other agencies and organizations that
provide recovery assistance, such as the American Red Cross.

10. Community response in disaster
… (A roadmap) at Sandy

11. Community response in disaster
… (A roadmap) before Sandy

12. Community response in disaster
… … (A roadmap) before Sandy

13. Hurricane Sandy in Social numbers
News feed into a scrollable section where the number of friends on your account
that have posted about particular subjects are listed.
Mentions of “Hurricane Sandy” and “Frankenstorm” increased by 1.000.000%,
spiking hits for “hurricane” with a 21,962 % increase.
Those who shortly called the hurricane simply as “Sandy” gave Facebook a 6,578
percent mention increase, and “storm” is by approximately 3,000 percent.
Users were utilizing the social network as a way to reach out to friends and family,
with the top shared term of “We are ok”.

14. Hurricane Sandy in Social numbers
via TechCrunch

15. Hurricane Sandy in Social numbers
Information and real time data
from National Weather Center!
Reaching info…
Engaging with…
Sharing…

16. Hurricane Sandy in Social numbers
 Twitter was one of the largest go-to sources of the most recent updates by city
officials, public transit authorities, and news outlets on top of the average
tweeter sending in their perspectives of what was happening in their
neighborhoods.
Set up its own #Sandy hashtag page for news relating to the event, complete
with top tweets of the most shared news links and photos.
Search of hyperlocal tags to check out what was happening in their
neighborhood, such as #ConeyIsland

17. Hurricane Sandy in Social numbers
 Some companies also used Twitter to clarify rumors that virally spread over the Web.
Con Edison, took to its official account to shoot down false information about workers
trapped in a building post-explosion at its 14th street power plant.
 New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) used Twitter to update
commuters with damage notices to certain train stations, and estimate when services
may be restored. American Red Cross used twitter intensively all the way through….

18. Hurricane Sandy in Social numbers
Photos are the best way to illustrate the magnitude of the hurricane’s devastation.
 10 photos per second uploaded onto the social network related to Sandy.
 As of 12:30 p.m. eastern time, the Instagram tag #Sandy has accumulated more
than 484,600 photos while #Frankenstorm garnered roughly 38,000.

19. Hurricane Sandy in Social numbers
More than 40,000 check-ins were made at the New York City-
based Frankenstorm Apocalypse – Hurricane Sandy, with photos, updates, and
tips shared amongst users.
Not all tips are particularly helpful, however, since Foursquare users tend to
joke around a bit with Apocalypse-type locales.

20. Hurricane Sandy in Social numbers
 “Google Crisis Response” map, provided up-to-the-minute information on
Sandy’s path, areas of high wind and flooding, best evacuation routes and links to
webcams in the surrounding areas.

21. Hurricane Sandy in Social numbers
Fake viral images and posts…
A photo of the Statue of Liberty with an ominous cloud swirling behind her!

22. Lessons learned
Social Web is not for believing everything you see
Before start sharing information with your community,
verify them
 Tips, news, information and resources that you provide
to others have to be credible
 Advertising and push market information during a
disaster it a NOT TO DO!

23. Thank You!
Nondas Syrrakos
Digital Business Strategist
Website: www.one9six.com
Email: syrrakos@one9six.com
LinkedIn: gr.linkedin.com/in/syrrakos
Twitter: twitter.com/sindiastis