In watching the coverage of today's F5 tornado in the Oklahoma City area, I'm reminded by the Joplin, Missouri F5 tornado almost exactly two years ago on May 22, 2011.
In the video above our pal @DocForeman talks about how she used twitter following that Joplin tornado to try to get the word out and to coordinate emergency services (her section is 9 minutes and 25 seconds into the you tube video above). It is a moving story.
Here are a couple of important quotes from this talking about using social media in the emergency/disaster setting (#SMEM on twitter, aka, Social Media Emergency Management):
- "You don't have to be a doctor to do this"
- "The public (i.e. the normal citizen) should have guidelines on how to be helpful on twitter following an event.... Tell me the three things that people should know from first responders"
You'll see more tweets below that @DocForeman was sending out tonight. If you haven't already, also check out my previous post on how a local physician on the ground in the Oklahoma City area is also using twitter. Social Media and Emergency Management: I know there will be more stories like this one in the days to come...