What Harvey and Irma Taught Us About Using Social Media in Emergency Response


Hurricanes Irma and Harvey showed the power of social media to share real-time alerts and information as well as get resources to people more quickly when official channels like crisis hotlines are clogged. Officials originally discouraged the use of social media fearing panic and misinformation, but those attitudes changed as they saw the immediate impact it had on getting people help. More local and national organizations shifted to using social platforms to guide their emergency response efforts.

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