Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh government’s Facebook page on disaster management has been rated as one of the best examples for managing disaster responses through the social networking site in emergency situations, the state government said on Tuesday.
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 Hudhud AP hashtag was successfully used widely across social media by people to seek help from the government.
