Social and mobile technology are increasingly important during ongoing disasters, according to a new survey (.pdf) from the Red Cross. Eighty percent of the general public say national emergency response organizations should regularly monitor websites, and social media in order to respond to emergencies.

"Social media is becoming an integral part of disaster response," said Wendy Harman, director of social strategy for the American Red Cross in a statement. "As the numbers of people using these new technologies in disaster situations continue to increase, response agencies, including the Red Cross have a tremendous opportunity to engage the public where they are spending time," she added.

Twenty percent of the general public and 26 percent of the online population would use an online channel if they were unable to reach emergency services, according to a poll of 1,011 telephone respondents and 1,046 online respondents conducted by ORC International for the Red Cross. 

While TV and radio are still the top sources of emergency information, 63 percent of the general population and 48 percent of the online population rely on online news, poll results say. Twenty-seven percent of the general public say they "definitely would" or "probably would" sign up for emails, text alerts or applications that provide safety information.

Facebook is the most popular site in both the general and online populations for posting emergency or newsworthy information, according to poll results. The online population is more likely than the general public to post on Twitter or Flickr.

Federal, state and local governments made use of social media during the most recent disaster to hit the United States, Hurricane Irene and the subsequent flooding in New England. The Federal Emergency Management Agency tweeted on @FEMA and FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate's @CraigatFEMA. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg sent messages via @NYCMayorsOffice and used a 311 mobile app.  

However, the influx of NYC residents seeking evacuation maps and crisis guides was so large it crashed NYC.gov on Aug. 26.

Civic Commons' Philip Ashlock mirrored the data and info from NYC.gov, downloaded it to a cloud platform, and began sharing the link, reports Code for America Strategy and Communications director Abhi Nemani in a blog post.

"Instead of being embarrassed, the City's Chief Digital Officer Rachel Sterne even tweeted out the link herself. They understood, it was the information, not the host that mattered," writes Nemani in his account of the day's events. The NYC.gov site then streamlined its content in order to decrease load time in order to restore the site, according to the post.

Nemani notes that @NYCMayorsOffice's provided storm and evacuation updates while the city's site was down. According to TwitterCounter, on Aug. 25 the Twitter handle had only 24,507 follows, but on Aug. 29 it had 52,228.

In the aftermath of the storm, New York City launched a map showing the most service requests submitted via 311.

For more:
- see the survey (.pdf)
- see a Red Cross press release
- see the Code for America blog post

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