indepth’s posterous

Twitter's Role in Emergency Management

By Tom Nocera

It's June 1, 2009 - the date that marks the beginning of the 2009 hurricane season.  I am currently in Tallahassee at the request of a federal agency with an important job to do in disaster preparedness and a major role in  funding disaster recovery.  I am here taking part in Florida’s Hurricane Preparedness Drill. 

This drill is a statewide exercise - a 5 day work out for emergency managers at all levels of government as well as the private sector.  It involves the military, leaders of volunteer organizations and even companies like Walmart.  The goal is to make sure all the emergency management systems, all the lines of communication, every facet of it is working according to the “Sunshine State’s” exemplary hurricane plan. 

A recent development is the realization by leaders in emergency management of the role Twitter can play in disaster communication.  Twitter has already achieved a favored status by several emergency management organizations.   The newest player in social media is this year making a big splash as federal and state emergency management’s newest means to assist with the timely communication of important emergency notifications.

For example, the state of Florida’s Department of Transportation recently announced it will be using Twitter as one of the ways it will spread the news when mass evacuations become necessary and the governor orders specifically designated major multiple lane highways (key toll roads and interstates) to be converted overnight to One Way Evacuation Routes.   

Implementing this is not an easy undertaking.  It will require hundreds of the state’s emergency workers - including the highway patrol - to make the overnight conversion.  It can only be done safely in daylight hours.  This has never before been done in Florida.  But, the good news is that now the processes, plans and equipment are in place to make this kind of escape from devastation possible.  Those of us living in Florida’s exceptionally vulnerable, heavily populated coastal areas will learn of the One Way Evacuation Routes via all the usual means of communications via radio and TV, but now, for the first time, Twitter will be utilized.

As for who is leading the way with Twitter in emergency management applications, the kudos go to FEMA.  To its credit, our nation’s leading provider of disaster help has been actively using Twitter for months.  (Check out, or you may want to follow FEMA at: http://twitter.com/femainfocus )  FEMA’s External Affairs section has found Twitter uniquely helpful in passing along important disaster related news and helpful disaster preparedness information.  Often FEMA fits the category of providing "leadership by example".  

Besides the recognition of Twitter, here is a quick "take away" from the first day of the current hurricane drill:  

Everybody in Florida's Emergency Operations Center were reminded that contrary to what many people think, FEMA is NOT a first responder in disasters.  FEMA comes in at the request of a state, and is there to support and augment with federal resources, those provided by the state.   First responders are those who put their boots in the streets immediately following a disaster. They are your local fire departments, county emergency response team members as well as members of the national guard.  Often they save lives in the course of their work.

 And here is an easy prediction:  Expect to see more organizations involved in emergency management follow FEMA and the states'  lead, and begin usingTwitter to enhance the overall effectiveness of their communications to the public.