The Use of Social Networks in Emergency Management

People are nowadays used to be online with several data sources, which provide information useful for their daily routine, as well as for the free time and for social activities. At the same time, the availability of broadband connections let mobile users to themselves become creators of online content, following the paradigm of Web 2.0. A large part of population is using Social Networks in private life for sharing their daily experience through text or multimedia contents over several platforms with friends or even publically. Therefore, Social Networks represent a unique opportunity for bi-directional information exchange between population and authorities, acquiring a key role in emergency management. It is in facts possible to take advantage from a new “social awareness” of people that become in this way directly involved in crisis management by means of tools usually dedicate to recreational purposes. Official portals and institutional pages on social networks can be an efficient way to disseminate emergency alerts or information to large number of people. A quick advice dissemination is one of the most important things for reducing risks in disaster scenarios, and in many cases news are even online shared by users rapidly than from official portals; in particular the use of mobile devices increase the speed of information diffusion. Moreover, location-based applications can use information provided by official channels to show advice to citizens located in a particular emergency area and to assist them during rescue activities.