Social media affects our lives in many ways but perhaps none more significantly than when we deal with a crisis. Whether it’s a runaway fire, a buckled highway or a hurricane (Isaac, anyone?), it’s becoming increasingly clear that social tools are an essential component of communications in a time of shared need.

There are many examples where social tools have become the go-to channel for communicating during severe weather situations.

With regard to the most recent severe weather situation, the use of social media to communicate during Hurricane Isaac is a great example. A recent article on NextGov highlights how the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the White House and the National Weather Service (NWS) all used Facebook and Twitter to spread the word about the storm as well as offer tips on how to prepare for the disaster.

On a local level, the City of Minneapolis has leveraged a number of digital communication tools, from emails to text messages and social media, to alert and respond to residents after a tornado caused major damage to the north side of the city this past spring. E-mail alerts were sent to city subscribers informing them of severe weather and warning non-locals to avoid the area to prevent interference with first responders. Continuous posts were made to the city’s social media channels, such as Facebook. In addition, since the city has a subscriber system that allows residents to identify their zip codes to receive specific update that focus on their precinct, the city was able to quickly tailor alerts to areas that needed information, including directly informing citizens in the affected areas about local rescue and relief efforts.

In another part of the country, Kitsap County, Wash., has turned to Twitter and other digital communication outlets to reach residents. In January, Seattle was faced with a major two-day ice storm that grounded planes and left many roads dangerous to travel. A Kitsap County official was stranded in the Sea-Tac airport, which had lost its Internet service. However, the official was able to use his smartphone to access digital communications tools, including social media, and was able to continue sending out timely messages about road closures and other pertinent information. Messages were sent simultaneously to subscribers who had indicated interest in topics such as road reports, inclement weather, front-page news and emergency management, thereby increasing the reach of the message. The salient messages also were posted to Facebook and Twitter, further magnifying the reach of the updates by further spreading to followers’ friends and social groups.

As a result of this proactive “pushing out” of the message, county officials reported that their call center—which generally receives up to 1,800 calls a day during inclement weather—recorded only 310 calls the first day, and 420 the second. After the storm subsided, the county reported a significant increase in both subscribers and social media followers.

The importance of using social media and digital communication tools resonated deeply with Steve Ressler, found of GovLoop and resident of Tampa, Fla. After a recent severe weather situation, Steve wrote a blog post about his experiences with a tornado that touched down near his home. {Link to  He and his wife had spent a stormy day watching television at their home as rain poured outside. While they were watching local broadcasts, storm alerts scrolled across the bottom of the screen, but when the two popped in a DVD to watch a different program, they no longer saw those updates.

Instead, he and his wife’s first warning about the tornado in their area came from a text messaging system that the University of South Florida offers for emergency alerts. The couple and their pets took shelter in a bathroom inside the house, and Steve noted that they continued to track the tornado’s progress from there via Twitter. They also found out when the tornado had passed via Twitter. (Hillsborough County, where Tampa is located, offers both an e-mail and text-based emergency alert service for which subscribers can sign up.)

Finally, when a “hurricane-level” storm struck the Washington D.C. area, social media and other tools definitely proved their worth. A local news reporter collected information from citizens via both Facebook and Twitter, and then used that information to help report the story. Local Facebook posts from citizens announced their willingness to help others who had lost power during the event. The local power company also provided continuous updates on the process of restoring electricity to affected areas. And finally, a local couple reached out to an area news station via Twitter to say that they had lost power and were in trouble because the loss complicated a pre-existing medical issue. The station re-tweeted the information, and local Stafford County officials responded directly to the couple via Twitter to offer assistance.

It’s clear that the public has come to rely on digital communications, especially social media, to connect and share information. Government communicators should be prepared to leverage these tools to effectively communicate with stakeholders. Although it’s only one component of an effective emergency notification solution (ENS), social media is quickly becoming a critical channel to distribute information to the public.

In addition to the public’s growing tendency to gravitate toward social media in times of crisis, social media channels address some key challenges to effective communication, including enabling mass distribution of messages and, with the proliferation of mobile devices, facilitating communication without the need for power.

Reaching the public through fundamental digital communication tools, like email, and through newer channels, like text messages and social media, is now indispensable in managing times of crisis and in protecting citizens during severe weather and other dangerous situations.

If your government organization would like more advice on overcoming the key barriers to managing an effective ENS and tips for avoiding the pitfalls of putting a solution in place, download this recent white paper titled, “Breaking Down Barriers to Effective Emergency Notifications.”