The 8.9 magnitude earthquake that hit off the coast of Northern Japan late Thursday night (Pacific time) was the most powerful in Japanese history and the fifth most powerful earthquake to date. Resulting from this quake was a massive tsunami wave that swept across the Pacific ocean tumbling over anything that falls in its way.
Tsunami waves in Hawaii reaches 2metres - March 10, 2011 - Photo by Lucy Pemoni/Getty Images North America
With my parents in Hawaii, I was highly concerned when hearing this event on Twitter. It was this first notice on Twitter, that prompted me to turn on the TV and turn on CNN to watch the tsunami events unfold. Traveling at 300km/hour, this massive wave was soon to inevitably reach the shores of Ewa Beach where my parents are located. I immediately called them and contacted other loved ones located in the Philippines. Not only was Twitter and other social networks a source for the initial notification of this great natural disaster, but social networks have played an exponential importance in the aftermath of this disaster.
Mentioned in a Mashable article this morning, about 4.5 million Facebook status updates from 3.8 million users across the world mentioned on March 11 “Japan”, “earthquake” or “tsunami”. Personally, I used this social network to check on relatives and friends in the Philippines and also some friends who I knew were vacationing on Oahu and Maui. Reminded by my sister, phone lines are meant to be kept clear during times of emergency which left Facebook messaging, chat and status updates stating “we are fine in Maui” a satisfactory option during this time.
On the Twitter neck of the woods, over 572,000 new Twitter accounts were created just after Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami. With the devastating Tsunami sweeping away phone lines, this was and could have been the only viable option to keep in touch and even find loved ones.
Tsunami in Japan – photo credit: Reuters
Through the power of social media, people are finding people and even helping those affected by this disaster from far away. As a local committee member for the Canadian Red Cross, I urge you to please donate and aid Japan in rebuilding its infrastructure.
