If you’ve ever experienced a natural disaster, you understand the instinctive fear they instill. Whether a tornado, a hurricane, an earthquake, or a wildfire, they are all devastating. And once you’ve been through one, the simplest of triggers can reignite those emotions in us.
For me, this was what happened this week – reliving the fears and experiencing new ones.
I was directly in the center of the wildfires in San Diego in 2003. And while I wasn’t here in San Diego for the fires in 2007, most of my current neighborhood was burnt in those fires. And we still experienced major fires where I was living in Orange County that year. And now, in 2014, it all happened again.
This is what I came home to on Tuesday:
Instagram Expert (@jenns_trends)And this was what our “sunset” looked like on Wednesday:
The smell of burning brush immediately instills fear in me and churns my stomach. Not only is the smell wretched but the fear of your home going up in fire will make you nauseous too. It can literally be a tiny brush fire but the emotional reaction is the same every time.
So, you can imagine my reaction when there was thousands of acres burning all around my neighborhood.
But here’s what was so different, in both of the previous big fires, there wasn’t social media. Sure, there was Facebook (and Myspace) in 07, but it wasn’t used like it is now. There weren’t hashtags to track events and people weren’t widely sharing images and videos. The only real source of information was the news on TV.
Today, it is so different.
We were constantly being told to “stay tuned to Twitter and Facebook” for updates. Social media has officially become the most reliable source of information from public safety agencies, school districts, and county officials. The TV news channels were updating their information based on the official social media updates of the county agencies!
The level of information that is available to us is astounding. Citizens and officials are sharing images, updates, conditions, evacuation notices, and resources via social media. People are able to react quickly and appropriately in a way unheard of in the past.
In our situation where multiple fires kept popping up around the county, it was often social media posts that alerted media outlets and others to the new flare ups. It was real-time, instant verification of a new fire.
Every one of these fire storms teaches us all lessons. The firefighters and first responders have been absolutely amazing and their level of talent and expertise at handling these fires is unmatched. They have learned from past experiences and, as a result, expertly tackled these fires.
Likewise, I think that the emergency response notices and county services will learn from this experience in terms of announcing information via social media. In general, they have been amazing. But there are some things that I’ve noticed they can improve upon and I’m sure they will.
This is so true. During the London riots I tracked everything that was happening from my home via social media while the people rioting trashed the street one road over. The social media was a lot faster than the mass media, although it was frightening to be updated in real-time!
Wow, Carmen. That must have been so crazy to experience so close to you!
It can be a little frightening to see it in real time, and there aren’t the luxuries of the media selectively choosing “family friendly” content. It does leave us open to instantly viewing whatever is showcased, no matter how graphic.
Getting important information like this in “real time” is definitely valuable (and such a far cry from past notification methods!).
It really is such a difference from years past, Kim. I loved being able to see immediately when evacuation orders changed or when public notices went out – no matter where I was.
Am glad you are okay. Thanks to SocialMedia and the Firefighters.
Thanks Aaron!
For some reason I thought you’d write about the floods in the Balkans since there are major floods here unlike ever before. Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and northern part of Croatia got hit really bad. A lot of villages and small towns have either been evacuated completely or have been wiped out by the river floods. Snakes are coming from everywhere and are biting people, and there is danger of mine field sings being moved away, and even worse is the fear of mines actually moving away from the fields that have been marked. The world media didn’t pay much attention to the floods until Novak Djokovic, a Serbian tennis star, went to Twitter and criticized BBC and CNN for lack of coverage. Talk about social media updates – within minutes people throughout the geographical area have been notified of what’s going on, and real-time help was sent to the areas that were in danger, whether it was manpower to help rescue people in danger, or people sending food, water, and blankets.
I didn’t mean to intrude like this on your blog – forest fires aren’t a small thing, and especially that close to a city – it’s a real threat much like any other. I’m glad you’re safe, and I do hope no lives were lost.
Wow, Sean, I honestly hadn’t heard about any of this. You’re absolutely right that there has been a lack of media coverage. Once again, kudos to social media for actively getting the word out and providing support and assistance where needed.
All of the things you mentioned are obviously serious threats with real repercussions. I sincerely send my thoughts and prayers to the whole area and all those affected.
And, thank you for your kind words. We have reports of one death and a few dozen structures were lost but, as a city, we are all so grateful that the damages were so minimal given the amount of areas burned and those affected by the fires.
You’re welcome. And thank you for writing on the subject. When it comes to natural disasters, social media is probably the best invention ever made.