Who would have thought that tweets could be useful during a disaster such as Superstorm Sandy? Sandy made landfall along the coast of Brigantine, New Jersey as a post-tropical cyclone on October 29, 2012 resulting in catastrophic storm surge along the New Jersey and New York coastlines. It affected a total of 24 states all the way from Florida to Maine with the greatest impact falling on New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

As the storm passed, Twitter was flooded with information, as users sent more than 20 million tweets using the terms Sandy, hurricane, #sandy, and #hurricane. Immediately after the post-landfall hours, 20% of all searches conducted on Twitter were Sandy-related. Both responders and survivors turned to Twitter in an effort to publicly share information within communities, conduct rumor control, share resources, and obtain updates in real time.

An unmatched level of on-the-ground, real-time situational awareness was gathered by using Twitter data due to its free and public availability. Advance notice of Superstorm Sandy allowed ASPR analysts crucial time to better prepare for implementing a Twitter monitoring strategy. As it became clear that Sandy would be making landfall somewhere along the eastern seaboard of the US, ASPR analysts began implementing a two-prong monitoring strategy. The strategy included both Twitter lists and Boolean searches to identify potential public health issues as quickly as possible.

5 important lessons learned from monitoring Twitter during Superstorm Sandy:

1. Dynamic and flexible monitoring processes and strategies are a must in order to understand and quickly respond to emerging health needs in the impacted areas.
2. Search strategies should be changed and updated as frequently as the unfolding event.
3. Twitter lists and Boolean searches should be used together to maximize situational awareness.
4. The most important information comes from the impacted population, whether news, local government, or local citizens.
5. It is critical to have a verification system in place before you begin monitoring to avoid perpetuating the spread of rumors and inaccurate information.

Maintaining situational awareness during a disaster is challenging and complex, but a balanced approach to dynamic Twitter searches can help give you a clearer, more complete understanding of the way that a disaster unfolds. Interested in learning more? Check out the Evolution of a Search: The Use of Dynamic Twitter Searches During Superstorm Sandy.