eGovWatch: AP’s disaster management though Facebook cited as best practice

The Andhra Pradesh government’s AP Disaster Management Facebook Page has been cited as one of the good examples for managing disaster responses through Facebook in emergency situations.

Facebook also mentions several other FB pages created and used by disaster response and management authorities around the world.

Social networking site Facebook has carried out a study titled “Prepare and Respond” to analyse how individuals, communities and governments globally use Facebook to respond to emergencies and act accordingly. The FB’s ‘Prepare and Respond’ report is a collection of best practices from around the world designed to help people use Facebook more efficiently and effectively before, during and after disasters.

The Government of Andhra Pradesh extensively used its AP Disaster Management Page on Facebook as a platform to alert people before cyclone Hudhud hit and post landfall took grievances/complaints/concerns and informed them about rescue efforts and relief availability, and constantly kept updating it.

The page was also used to post pictures of on-ground efforts of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and their entire administration along with the relief and rehabilitation efforts. Through the AP Disaster Management Page, local Facebook communities were created through which relief efforts were monitored by various volunteer groups.

The FB report mentions AP Government under Section 2 (Page 13) “Tips for first responders and government agencies” stating how AP Disaster Management Facebook Page engaged public as part of its team and quickly connected the community to help people stay safe and informed. The Facebook report also states examples of Disaster Prevention Page of Japan, New South Wales Rural Fire Service page, Colorado Wildfire Information page and some others across the world. It also highlights how the #HudhudAP hashtag was successfully used widely across social media by people to seek help from the government.

Officials said that as part of preparations and precautions taken to brace for `Hudhud’ that hit the Vizag coast, the AP Government sought the help of ISRO and National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) to gather information about the cyclone damage. Even before the cyclone made landfall, an android app was made for a crowd-sourcing project which would enable cyclone-affected citizens to upload photos of the damage and devastation.

The app geo-tagged the photos and provided the big picture to the government about the cyclone damages in respective areas and prepare a response accordingly. More than 3,000 people downloaded the app and uploaded photos on the October 12, the day after the cyclone hit. People uploaded photos of uprooted trees and electricity poles, breached roads, and damaged crops. Those not using smart phones also sent photos and videos giving location and time.

“The crowd-sourcing project was linked to the newly-created AP Disaster Management’s Facebook page which got the photos, complaints, grievances and requests for help from cyclone-affected citizens. Besides the FB page, AP Government extensively used twitter handles to post constant updates about availability of essential commodities, vegetables, drinking water and milk. Updates regarding power supply and restoration of telecom services were also given. The hashtag #HudhudAP was created to receive and monitor complaints and grievances on social networking sites using Tagboard and Social Monitor,” an official said.