Earthquake in Salt Lake City 2020
A strong aftershock rattled Salt Lake City, Utah, on March 18, 2020. It has a magnitude of 5.7 and affected about 4 miles out of Salt Lake City. In the disaster management plan, the Utah Emergency Management has incorporated social media into their plan. The agency is aware of the vital role which social media could play in the event of a disaster, which could bear a substantial negative impact on the lives of people (Scribner, 2020). The aim is to have a social media presence through which it informs people about the occurrence of a particular disaster in a timely fashion. The approach is essential in making people aware of the events and make the necessary preparations, which will help to protect them from harm.
The agency also uses social media like Twitter to provide people information regarding the necessary actions which they need to take concerning the earthquakes. For instance, it advises them against piling up things that could crumble and bring harm in the case of an earthquake. In the process, it aims to protect the lives of people and, at the same time, ensure that they are not exposed to experiences where they could lose part of their crucial property (Scribner, 2020). It also provides the chance for people to engage with it actively in light of obtaining more information that they would wish to have regarding the earthquake. The approach is essential in improving the levels of safety of people. The mere view that people could attain the information they need makes them have the feeling that they are in control of the entire situation. It, therefore, improves upon their ability to make the necessary preparations, which are highly effective in light of improving their welfare. They feel that the state government is highly considerate of them. They attain the idea that a significant level of transparency is applied in their interest. The transparency enables people to be more inclined to learn more about the earthquake and the impact which it is likely to have on them.
Further, the inclusion of the social media aspect is essential in light of making people more capable of sharing information regarding the issue. For instance, because of Twitter, the more people retweet information touching on the earthquake, they can gain access to more recent information regarding the events that touch on the earthquake. The move is deemed to be essential in improving the quality of outcomes that stand to be attained regarding the situation of people (Scribner, 2020). They manage to follow up on the developments that are seen concerning the disaster and make the necessary preparations, which they believe are essential.
Also, by people having the capacity to obtain information through social media, they can focus on the right approaches, which are essential in helping others, given the circumstances which they find themselves in. For instance, they attain the ability to motivate their loved ones and other community members to avoid particular areas that could expose them to harm in the situation where an earthquake happened to hit (Scribner, 2020). Therefore, they become candid in sharing information on the need for people to be more observant of their environment and ensure that it does not pose any risk, which might be of harm to them. It is through the process that they attain the ability to share pertinent insights on the specific ways through which they could achieve the necessary levels of safety which they need. The approach is deemed to serve the interests of people and enable them to avoid the harmful outcomes associated with an earthquake.
Further, the continued use of social media also helps to keep people alert in the fact that they live at a time when an earthquake is prone to happen. Having such information is highly critical in light of enabling people to adopt the necessary levels of protective measures, which will be valuable to them.
Reference
Scribner, H. (2020). Another aftershock just hit Utah and people freaked out, Desert News https://www.deseret.com/utah/2020/3/26/21195559/utah-earthquake-aftershock-today-magnitude-magna-salt-lake-city-slc-usgs-map