Using Social Media for when Disaster Strikes

When Disaster Strikes

Consider that feeling in your gut as you try to instant message, text or call your children to know if they are okay, or to notify them that you are okay...but none of your social media platforms work.

Is there a worse  feeling than being in a disaster and not being able to contact your loved ones?
As minutes pass and you cannot reach them, ideas that you would have never entertained just moments before start to enter your subconscious and rise to your conscious mind.

This is the case in a catastrophic disaster, such as an F5 tornado, when every necessity and comfort you normally enjoy is gone.

No food. No water. No electricity. No shelter. No transportation.

With power down, you cannot even use your cell phone to find out if your family or friends are safe or to notify them that you are safe.

The new reality is that everything you took for granted just hours before no longer exists. And it is anyone’s guess as to when everything will return to normal.

The purpose of this piece is to offer you strategies and tools to avoid being in that situation and to cope with it if it does happen to you and your loved ones.

I know because I have been there.

Let’s examine a brief history of this technology and capability.

Historical Evidence of Social Media Helping Cope with a Disaster

For all that is wrong with social media, the flip side is that it can be a life-saver and a comfort when you can use it to stay in touch with family members before and after a disaster.

One of the best examples of social media reconnecting families was after an E5 tornado struck  Joplin, Missouri on May 11, 2011. (For a complete discussion of this event, see https://poetslife.blogspot.com/2012/05/social-media-lessons-from-joplin.html.)

The F5 tornado spanned more than a mile wide tore through Joplin, MO, and killed over 120 people and leveled the the city. The mother and daughter team of Rebecca and Genevieve Williams immediately created a Facebook page to provide accurate information during the response to the disaster.
Using social media, they squelched rumors, answered questions, and directed people to help, including water, food, shelter, and tetanus shots. (See: https://www.facebook.com/joplintornadoinfo

As in the Joplin event, knowing how to post on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to contact family members and friends is now essential. Answers to please like this, “...lookin for scott morris, chris miller, stormy miller, and chris elseworth. anyone that knows them from my joplin friends needs to help me find them“ were posted by thousands.
The answers to those pleas can be life savers.

Whereas in the past we relied on the authorities to update us on conditions, what to do, or the fate of survivors, now we can conduct Social media is particularly good at rapidly sending such pleas for help and locating family and friends via a wide audience.

Remember, to access social media in a disaster, out of area contacts are critical. When family members are unable to contact each other who are geographically close to each other they can often contact relatives far away. These relatives, because they have power, can oftentimes contact other family members.

The following warning from a Joplin tornado survivor applies to the aftermath of all disasters. “After recently going through ths, please be careful where you donate money. Unfortunately, there are many who are not honest and will take advantage of this tragedy.“

WARNING: Grifters, criminals, and quick buck artists know that social media donation solicitations are unregulated. Vet and be certain of anyone or organization that is raising money after any disaster before donating.

In contrast, multiple legitimate organizations will solicit over social media to raise relief funds and to organize volunteers. Here is one such example from Joplin. “You can sign up as a volunteer on United Way.”

Avoid the grifters and support the honest recovery caregivers on social media.

Connecting with Family after a Disaster

Let’s examine ways to connect with your family using social media during and after a disaster strikes.

Each individual and family is unique and so is their social media use. For disaster response and management, what is most important is not the social media platform you and your family choose, but that everyone know how to use it when they need to use it. Act now to ensure you have the social media platforms downloaded, used, tested and ready for the next disaster.

Instant messaging (Facebook Messenger, Google Hangouts, the one included with your cell phone) is particularly useful for immediate responses during and immediately after a disaster. Skype enables a group chat.At first LinkedIn may not appear to be that useful, but it is for unique disaster needs. 

For example, in many disasters mobility is at a stand still until trees, debris and objects are removed from the roadway. How does that? Skilled construction workers and tree removal experts. Where do you find them when you need them?Yes, you can use search engines, but LinkedIn may be the better choice to find one who is not overwhelmed, busy, or not the right one for you. LinkedIn will provide details on such critical service contacts.

When my house burned down, we had great difficulty finding a builder to do the job. And we were only one job. After a disaster, it is often hard to find contractors as they have already committed to other jobs. So using another nontraditional search engine such as LinkedIn can help identify and hire skilled professionals.

Always include a few contacts who are out of your area or state. In a disaster environment, your local lines my be jammed or not working, but you can often reach someone out of your area. Also, due to the strength of how they are built, cell towers for 911 will often work when all other lines do not.

Best Social Media Platforms for Disaster Communications

The best social media and apps for you to use during and after a disaster are the ones you currently use with your family. You know them well, and in the heightened stress of a disaster you do not need another thing to worry about.

Below are additional social media and Internet platforms options.

Apps: You may want to research other Apps that may be better for your needs. The best way is to enter a search term,  Emergency apps, preparedness, disasters“ in a Google Play or the App Store. You can then identify, download and test apps that may be best suited to you.

Browsers: Download and use less used browsers like Brave and Firefox. Like most people, you use Google, Bing, or Chrome but there are numerous social media platforms you can use for disaster communications. By downloading and using multiple social media platforms, you ensure you have more choices available during and after a disaster.

Blogs: Many blogs have excellent tips, procedures, and useful disaster advice. Blogger (Blogger Help )  and WordPress (https://wordpress.org/) are two of the better known platforms you can use. 

Do not overlook corporate (https://blog.constellation.com/disaster-preparedness/) or government blogs (https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2018/04/10/when-disasters-hit-help-close-your-usda-service-center).

As weather impacts EVERYTHING and especially disasters, follow meteorologist Mike Smith’s science-based weather blog: http://www.mikesmithenterprisesblog.com/.

Search Engines: DuckDuckGo, DogPile, Gibiru, Search Encrypt, StartPage and other less known search engines do not invade your privacy like Google. They do not keeps logs, sell data, track you with cookies, and do not bring up similar ads to what you search to buy. Try them. I know you will enjoy all they offer...such as privacy.

Social Media Search Engines: Remember that social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn are also search engines. They can be used to identify people, products and services just like traditional search engines. Since Captain Scully landed his plane on the Hudson River and it was on Twitter an hour before the New York media, Twitter has provided real-time information on disasters in advance of traditional media every time.

Podcasts: You can listen to podcasts while driving your car or doing yard work. Search for relevant podcasts by going to Stitcher (https://www.stitcher.com/) or Podcasts (https://tunein.com/podcasts/) to find disaster podcasts. Here are a few natural disaster podcasts: https://civildefenseradio.com/category/podcast/episode/

https://player.fm/series/natural-disasters-2538998

https://player.fm/series/disaster-podcast

Securing Social Media to Maintain Privacy and Security

To use your social media when you need it, you must set them up and maintain them to protect your privacy and security. Be aware that hackers and other criminals are always probing your social media devices (cell phones, computers, tablets) to corrupt, steal and sell your data.

You must also have a multi-layered strategy to protect your data and privacy. This is a big topic, but here are three simple rules to follow to maintain your privacy and security.

·            Use difficult passwords

·            Keep software, apps, accounts updated

·            Set privacy settings to limit access to your accounts to family and friends

When Disaster Strikes — Implementing Your Social Media Connections

The key to implementing your social media connections when a disaster strikes is to create, test, and use them BEFORE a disaster strikes.

That sounds more simple than it is.

In this day of remarkable cell phones when you download an app for every need, the ability to use both your cell phone and it’s apps when disaster strikes is assumed.

But everything changes in a disaster.

I know this because I have been through disasters. And no disaster is worse than one that hits you and your family.

I have known the humiliation of standing in front of my now destroyed house as my burned wife was taken by a medical helicopter to a burn unit.

I only realized that I was doing so in my underwear when a neighbor said, "Do you want a pair of my pants.“

When I asked why he replied, ‶Look down.“

Only then did I realize I didn’t even have a pair of pants on after I fled our house fire after I got my wife and sons out. 
(For more information see https://tacda.org/journal/journal-of-civil-defense-2014-vol-47-no-2-treating-infection-without-a-doctor/)

When you are in a disaster, please don’t be like me standing there with no clothes on wondering if you wife will recover and where your kids will eat and sleep next.

Take these simple and easy measures now to ensure that such a fate is not in your future. Here are a few steps that may help.

Simple and Easy Social Media Steps to Take

Most people by now are familiar with how to use social media. 

However, they do not understand how dramatically social media access and use can change during and after a disaster.

 As with any area in life, forewarned is forearmed.

In a disaster, everything changes. Events unfold at a pace you cannot imagine. 

Hyper stress hits and decisions that were easy a few minutes ago are very difficult to make. 

Where just an hour ago you knew what to do, now you may not have any of the information you need to help you decide what to do.

During and after a disaster people reach out to friends and family to find help securing food, water, shelter, medical care and transportation. 

 Social media tools enable people to share this information immediately and effectively.

Social media is now vital to recovery efforts after disasters, when infrastructure must be rebuilt and stress management is critical.

The extensive reach of social networks allows people who are recovering from disasters to rapidly connect with needed resources. This enables survivors to connect, talk, and share recovery resources.

Especially in large-scale disasters, when thousands are displaced from their homes and many have fled the disaster zone, people use social media to contact family and friends, post photos, share stories, and to give and get help.

Social media, through the internet, search engines, apps, instant messaging, social networking and photo sharing websites, provide readily available and efficient ways for family members to keep in touch and impart critical disaster related information.

Remember you only need one communication app (your phone instant message app) and one essential search engine (StartPage for example) and one backup (DogPile). 

Master it.

In the stress of a disaster, it is best to stick to the basic apps and social media platforms you know and use.

NOTE: All cell phones, apps, networks, servers, computers, tablets, etc. depend on ELECTRICITY. Natural disaster often disrupt the supply of electricity and therefore the ability to use this technology.

So, purchase external portable battery charging devices NOW. Include a solar version so you can use the sun to recharge them if power is out. Car battery jump starter devices now include three USB ports to charge phones, tablets and computers. Example: NEW Stanley J5c09 Jumpit Jump Starter.

Accessing Social Media Sites During and After a Disaster

First, do you have electric power? 
Do you have sufficient power to transmit your message, data, photos and other communication? Every device you have will power down quickly when not recharged. Therefore, you must have the ability to charge your devices outside of the electrical system you take for granted.

Ideally, you always have an Internet connection. Unfortunately, that is not the reality in during of after a disaster.

There are other places where you can get a connection when you don’t have a connection at home. There are many locations where you can access an Internet connection, especially now that so much of that connection has shifted to cell phones and tablets.

If due to a disaster you do not have power and access to the Internet, there are other places where you can get that access to use social media. Here are a places where you can access the Internet via a WiFi connection:

·            Your car

·            Coffee Shop

·            Hotel Lobby

·            Library

·            Church

·            Work

·            Gyms

·            Stores

·            Shopping Centers

·            Community Centers

·            Government Buildings

Conclusion

Social media has made our world easier but it creates it’s own set of issues. 

For example, in any disaster, rumors run rampant. 

And yet you have to act based on little or no data or facts but you may only have rumors.

To help you and your family to prepare to handle the disruptions disasters cause, take care to have your social media platforms, apps, and devices in place, up to date (latest patches, software, operating system), tested and ready. 
The suggestions above are a start.

Social media awareness may save your dignity, your life, your possessions and of your loved ones during and after a disaster.

Start now to make that possible.