A New Way to Communicate with Residents: Local Government Use of Social Media to Prepare for Emergencies

Cities and counties are experienced in emergency preparation, but not with social media. While the overall trend of social media use has grown, local governments have been much slower to embrace this new technology. This paper explores how six local governments in the United States (Evanston, Illinois; Johnson County, Kansas; Moorhead, Minnesota; Fort Bend County, Texas; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Alexandria, Virginia) use social media to prepare for and respond to emergencies.