digital preparedness in the age of social media

alex de carvalho Social media’s impact on

disaster response

www.digitalresiliency.com

Natural Man made

Major

Flood Hurricane Tornado Drought

Earthquake Fires

Se:ng of fires Epidemic

Deforesta?on Pollu?on War

Crop failures

Minor

Cold Wave Thunderstorm Heat Wave Mud Slide Avalanche Hailstorm Storm

Accidents Riots

Terrorism Refugees

Food poisoning Industrial disasters

Pollu?on


Every natural disaster is man made because we have put ourselves in the path of nature


Event Date Economic impact Death toll

Bam earthquake, Iran Dec 2003 $3.0B 26,271

Indonesia earthquake & tsunami Dec 2004 $9,900B 227,898

Hurricane Katrina Aug 2005 $150B 1,836

Pakistan earthquake Oct 2005 $7.3B 87,351

Cyclone Nargis, Myanmar May 2008 $10B 138,366

Sichuan earthquake May 2008 $500B 69,180

Hai? earthquake Jan 2010 Over $7.2B 220,000 to 316,000

Chile earthquake Feb 2010 Over $30B 800

Fukushima tsunami Mar 2011 Over $243B 1,607

China floods Sep 2011 Over $6.5B 355

Beichuan floods Jul 2013 $137B 73

Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) Nov 2013 Over $14B 6,340

Hurricane Sandy Oct 2012 $65B 285

Nepal earthquake April & May 2015 Over $10B 8,019

“Disasters bring disrup?on in the normal social

life, create chaos, tear down social structure

and destroy social order”


Disasters cause both

a physical and an

informa(on

breakdown


“Disasters provide a realis?c laboratory for

tes?ng the integra?on, stamina, and

recupera?ve of a large scale social systems.”


How can we prepare before a storm

digitally

to bounce back more quickly acerward?


South Florida’s Context

•  No hurricane since Wilma in 2005 •  One million new residents moved to South Florida in the

past 10 years •  Massive development boom •  Greater urban concentra?on •  Rapid growth of coastal communi?es •  Rising sea level •  Storm surges are responsible for some of the largest losses

of life

•  Only 40% of our popula?on is ready for a hurricane


What can we do to prepare digitally?

Resources are limited

Time counts

Reduce wasted effort

Save lives


What can we do to prepare digitally?

1. Damage assessment

2. Traffic cop / switchboard

3. Directories

4. Monitoring

5. Influencing


DigitalResiliency.com

digital preparedness in the age of social media

Social Media

earthquake jan2010

myanmar may2008

sichuanearthquake may2008

iran dec2003

ngofres epidemic deforesta

hurricanekatrina aug2005

hurricanesandy oct2012

beichuanoods jul2013