Nepal Earthquake – Role of Social Media in the Disaster Management

An earthquake measuring 7.9 has hit Kathmandu & other regions in Nepal & neighboring India. Thousands have been killed in Nepal & people have taken to social media for prayers & messages. Google has setup a 2015 Nepal Earthquake Person finder & Facebook has set up a safety check feature that allows people in Nepal to inform their friends if they are safe. Ministers & officials involved in the disaster team have also been sending messages on twitter, facebook & responding to people’s messages. However, some of the brands also utilized the earthquake to shamelessly promote their brands with messages. This has been criticized by social media & brands later on apologized for the goof up.

https://www.facebook.com/safetycheck/nepalearthquake/

https://google.org/personfinder/2015-nepal-earthquake/

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Japan Tsunami & Earthquake – Use of Twitter, Facebook, Skype & other Social Networks

The tsunami & earthquake that have struck Japan have affected the communication sector. Mobile phone networks have been jammed & people are finding it difficult to communicate. Twitter, Facebook, Skype & local Japanese social networks have come in handy for people to communicate & keep in touch with the loved ones. Social media has been playing a crcial role in times of natural disasters. In Haiti earthquake also, twitter was used to keep in touch with the world. Several people have posted on their FB wall about their experiences during the quake. The japan Tsunami related topics have been trending in Twitter. Several videos have also been posted in Youtube.