I’ve lived in central Florida for over 20 years and Irma was the sixth Hurricane I’ve experienced so I thought I knew what to expect. But Irma was extremely powerful and its sheer size seemed to engulf the entire state triggering much fear and anxiety. Having what sounded like a freight train at our door for over 8 hours became both the scariest and one of the longest nights of my life.
But Irma made me realize just how much technology and communications have changed since the last hurricane crisis that i experienced in 2004 when Central Florida was hit by three major hurricanes. When preparing for Irma, it didn’t even occur to me to purchase a transistor radio something that was top on my list in 2004. Instead, I relied heavily on social media to get local real-time updates which proved to be invaluable before and during and after the storm.
On Facebook, our neighbors and friends shared tips and advice from what type of generator to buy to the latest gadgets that may be useful. This included walkie-talkie apps such as Zello and FireChat that allows users to communicate “off the grid” when cellular or internet connection is down. Right before the hurricane hit, the outer bands caused heavy rains and we found out, via Facebook, that a section of our community had already started to flood. This caused us to react quickly and shore up some vulnerable places in our home. Listening to a transistor radio would not have provided this type of warning a few blocks away.
But many other Floridians used social media as a guide especially the first responders and government officials working to help residents survive Irma who relied on social media to communicate and coordinate their efforts. This proved to be life-saving for Kristina Barneski from Daytona Beach who texted her friend Hannah Brown in California desperate for help when the flood waters rose in her apartment and she could not get through to 911.
Brown encouraged Barneski to conserve her phone battery and used Twitter to seek help with the hashtag #IrmaSOS. For two hours Brown continued tweeting until Barneski texted back, “They got me.” Further confirmation came from the Daytona Beach Fire Department, who tweeted back at Brown that they were able to rescue her friend. Similar experiences were also reported during Hurricane Harvey.
According to the Wall Street Journal, government agencies are embracing Twitter and other services, because of their broad appeal and ability to disseminate information much faster than the emergency-response protocols they have relied upon for decades.
In addition to getting real-time updates, we relied on social media to check in our friends and family members to ensure they were safe especially when our cell tower and phone line went down during the storm. But there is also personal element to using social media during trying times. It’s comforting to express fears, share frustrations and simply vent. There’s something about the collective response to a crisis that makes you feel like you’re not alone and are supported by a larger community.
I hope to never have to experience another Irma-like storm again but one thing I know for sure, it changed the way I view and how I will use social media going forward.
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