Online forums supporting grassroots participation in emergency preparedness and response

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-16-2007

Abstract

Various online forums that emerged during the August, 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster, the 2003 San Bernardino, CA wildfires, and in preparation for a possible avian flu pandemic, are discussed. Online forums, with the increasingly accessible Internet, have allowed people to cross geographical boundaries to share information and coordinate citizen-led efforts. An online forum Katrina.com served as a resource that included pointers to other Web sites and a message board to help locate missing people during Hurricane Katrina. Some Web sites, like Hurricane Information Maps were also created to collect and share location specific information about the storm and the damage in its aftermath. A grassroots online forum FluWiki was also created in June, 2005, to help communities prepare for and cope with a possible avian influenza pandemic. Online forums can extend the opportunity for grassroots social action to people who wants to get involved in emergency response activities.

Identifier

34147097461 (Scopus)

Publication Title

Communications of the ACM

External Full Text Location

https://doi.org/10.1145/1226736.1226766

e-ISSN

15577317

ISSN

00010782

First Page

54

Last Page

58

Issue

3

Volume

50

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