NFPA Journal - January/February 2014 - (Page 40)

A home destroyed by Superstorm Sandy in 2012. New York City beefed up its social media and online presence in advance of the storm and included a plan to monitor social media chatter. develop emergency protocol procedures for various social media channels. As Sandy rolled in, Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office closely monitored social media chatter. Daily reports summarizing this information made their way across departments and agencies. Some of the information was very good; Facebook and You- Tube highlighted crucial points from official news conferences, and Twitter provided near-immediate responses to questions from residents unable to access the city's information hotline. The city's efforts led to an astronomical response: New York's total digital reach following the storm was more than 2.7 million people, the press conference videos were watched nearly a million times, NYC.gov had 16 million page views, and the city's Facebook page had a reach of more than 320,000 people, according to "Lessons Learned: Social Media and Hurricane Sandy," a report produced in 2013 by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). But there were problems, too. Social media helped spread misinformation during and after the storm, including reports that the New York Stock Exchange had been deluged by three feet of water. Social channels disseminated a doctored photograph of a massive wave smacking into the Statue of Liberty-a still from the 2004 disaster movie "The Day After Tomorrow"-that had been Sharks in a Midtown building lobby? Not true, as it turned out, but it was one of the inaccurate images that was circulated via social media during Superstorm Sandy. 40 NFPA JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014 made into a screenshot from a local news "broadcast." Yet another widely circulated-and inaccurate-image depicted sharks swimming through the flooded lobby of a building. To correct some of the wrongs, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) established a "Hurricane Sandy Rumor Control" website; false or misleading information circulating on social media-wrong locations of shelters and bridge failures, among others-were posted alongside accurate information. "The public, media, and digital volunteers, both ad hoc and official, enhanced these efforts organically by seeking out inaccurate photos and rumors and locating, sharing, and disseminating accurate information," according to the DHS "Lessons Learned" report. Despite those efforts, the misinformation circulated during Sandy-and the larger, more troubling sense that it might be difficult to determine in general what was true and what was not-only upped the confusion and fear around an already potentially catastrophic event. The power of social media-or simply "social" to the cognoscenti-is its ability to disseminate shareable information while permitting user feedback, all at speeds approaching instantaneous. To balance the drawbacks of social media with its vast potential- see "#DoubleEdgedSword" on page 42-NFPA and other organizations are developing improved guidance for social media use during emergencies while leveraging its benefits throughout an event. At the Red Cross, for example, monitoring social media platforms is now a 24/7 operation. The humanitarian organization has partnered with computer giant Dell to create what it calls a national "digital operations center" that disseminates safety information and gathers crucial online data from social media users before and during national incidents. FEMA has vowed to use social media during all stages of a disaster. DHS has enacted an online forum for Photograph: Ken Cedeno/Corbis http://www.NYC.gov

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - January/February 2014

NFPA Journal - January/February 2014
Contents
First Word
In a Flash
Perspectives
In Compliance
First Responder
Research
Wildfire Watch
Outreach
Firewatch
#Are You Prepared?
Life and Death at Memorial
Barrier Smarts
Perfect Storm
Conference & Expo Preview
Section Spotlight
Product Showcase
Looking Back

NFPA Journal - January/February 2014