When Hurricane Irene roared up the East Coast in August 2011, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey delivered a strongly worded post on his Twitter account, @GovChrisChristie, telling people to “get the hell off the beach.†It worked. People left.
With Hurricane Sandy, Mr. Christie used Twitter and YouTube again, as did governors, mayors and emergency management officials from North Carolina to Massachusetts, cementing Twitter's role as an emergency broadcasting service. In the aftermath of this storm, as we report, Twitter and other social media tools are also proving vital to helping officials deliver important and timely updates.
Don't Be Stupid, Get Out. http://t.co/QIX0pSJe
- Governor Christie (@GovChristie) 28 Oct 12
More than 20 million tweets were sent about the storm between Saturday and Thursday, said Rachael Horwitz, a spokeswoman for Twitter. And that is probably a conservative estimate, she noted, because it reflects only those Twitter posts that included the terms “sandy,†“hurricane,†“#sandy†and “#hurricane.â€
At 9 p.m. Monday, as floodwaters poured into New York City's low-lying areas and an explosion rocked a Con Edison substation, the number of Twitter users in the city who loaded their Twitter timeline from a mobile device peaked, more than doubling the number from the previous two days, Ms. Horwitz said.
Perhaps one reason is that top government officials and agencies had been delivering regular warnings and updates about the storm since late last week. They used Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and even Pinterest to get the word out before and after the storm..
The Bloomberg administration uses multiple Twitter accounts to post updates, including @NYCMayorsOffice, @MikeBloomberg and @NYCnotify.
Food and water distribution points will have supplies starting at 1 PM tomorrow: http://t.co/JYDJs23c
- NYC Mayor's Office (@NYCMayorsOffice) 2 Nov 12
NYC Tap Water is absolutely safe to drink #SandyNYC #Recovery
- Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg) 1 Nov 12
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, whose @NYGovCuomo is managed by a team of close aides, led by Liisa O'Neill, has been delivering hundreds of rapid-fire updates since late last week, becoming a must-follow for anyone looking for information about the recovery efforts. It is on this account that Twitter users learned when tunnels were closed, bridges opened, commuter rails were shutting down and then this post on Thursday that was welcome news, especially to Long Island commuters.
#LIRR update for FRI: Hrly service on #Babylon & #Huntington (to Penn Station) RESTORED @LIRRScoop #recovery
- Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) 1 Nov 12
Governor Cuomo's office, along with those of several other governors, and Mayor Bloomberg routinely upload video of storm briefings onto their channels on YouTube, allowing people who may have missed updates on television or don't have access to a television or cable because of widespread power failures across the region to watch it online. A look at Governor Cuomo's update on Thursday.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Joseph J. Lhota and other officials talking about the recovery effort.In Connecticut, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's @GovMalloyOffice account has also been regularly publishing updates on everything from road openings to power failure statistics. A sample of the posts and photos shared in recent days.
As of a few moments ago, 475k ppl are without power, down from 600k last night
- Governor Dan Malloy (@GovMalloyOffice) 31 Oct 12
An uprooted tree in #Stonington http://t.co/Fp3Gd6Xs
- Governor Dan Malloy (@GovMalloyOffice) 31 Oct 12
And this post on Twitter, published Wednesday.
#CT is now in full recovery & restoration mode. We are 100% focused on getting ppl's lives back to normal
- Governor Dan Malloy (@GovMalloyOffice) 31 Oct 12
On Maryland's @GovernorOMalley account, Governor Martin O'Malley shared photos that showed how the storm damage stretched from one end of the state to the other. In recent days, he posted photos from his tour of areas that included shots of the destroyed Ocean City pier and snow-covered roads in Garrett County.
At the boardwalk with t he Mayor of Ocean City assessing the damage. #MDSandy http://t.co/h5XLfC2P
- Martin O'Malley (@GovernorOMalley) 31 Oct 12
Thank you to the crews who continue to work to clear the roads in Western Maryland. #MDSandy http://t.co/GyXR4f1o
- Martin O'Malley (@GovernorOMalley) 1 Nov 12
A big thank you to @Twitter @whitehouse @Facebook & @Google for helping us share information related to #Sandy.
- Martin O'Malley (@GovernorOMalley) 31 Oct 12
While touring Chincoteague Island, Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia answered a question from his Facebook page about whether the famed ponies and horses survived. He was able to report good news on his Facebook page and then post this photo on Twitter.
Flooding on Chincoteague Island. http://t.co/wwooMj69
- Bob McDonnell (@BobMcDonnell) 31 Oct 12
Dawn Zimmer, the mayor of Hoboken, used her Twitter account to respond to frightened residents trapped in their homes by rising floodwaters. She was trapped herself, on the second floor of City Hall. Finally, she got help and tweeted it out.
Just advised that national guard has arrived in Hoboken. More to come.
- Dawn Zimmer (@dawnzimmernj) 31 Oct 12
HOBOKEN food distribution update. Please read. http://t.co/jxhe1HPK
- NJ National Guard (@NJNationalGuard) 1 Nov 12
In Hoboken, we have 20 vehicles and 6 box trucks w boxed lunches, ready-to-eat meals, water, 7 mental health workers. (11.1.12) #Sandy
- American Red Cross (@RedCross) 1 Nov 12
In Delaware, Gov. Jack Markell's account, @governormarkell was producing steady updates about the storm until Wednesday.
The State of Emergency has ended in Delaware. http://t.co/II26bdxR #SandyDE #StormDE
- Gov. Jack Markell (@GovernorMarkell) 31 Oct 12
In this update on Thursday, Gov. Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania reminded people on his Twitter account, @GovernorCorbett, that the emergency was not over in the state, where hundreds of thousands of utility customers, primarily in eastern Pennsylvania, were still without power. Crews were battling to remove hundreds of downed lines and branches.
#Hurricanesandy update: as of 8 am there are 527,125 power outages statewide and crews are working hard to restore… http://t.co/dzHHuwAd
- Governor Tom Corbett (@GovernorCorbett) 1 Nov 12
On the Jersey Shore, Mayor Matt Doherty of Belmar turned to the Internet to help raise money for his town.
Belmar sets up way to donate to community recovery efforts thru borough' s website, via PayPal at http://t.co/WJubE8Is
- Michael Symons (@MichaelSymons_) 31 Oct 12
Most of the official Twitter accounts for governors and top elected officials are managed by a team within the communications office. But not the Twitter account for Mayor Cory A. Booker of Newark, who recently invited people who were without power to his house.
There is someone at my house now (Eric). I've got space u can relax in, charge devices & even a working DVD player. Come by @my_serenelove
- Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) 1 Nov 12
