Facebook jumps into 'crisis mode' for Hurricane Florence

One of the best ways to prepare for hurricanes is to know what to do and where to find the latest information. And one of the easiest ways to do that is on social media. Facebook’s Crisis Response allows people affected by a crisis to tell friends they're safe, find or offer help and get the latest news and information. Over 500,000 people have already joined this Safety Check Facebook Group for Hurricane Florence in preparation for the storm.

Specifically, you can use Crisis Response to: -Quickly let your loved ones know you’re safe and, if you know people near the affected area, you can also ask them to mark themselves safe. -Connect with other people affected by crises to give or get resources like water, supplies or shelter from one another -Find up-to-date information about a crisis from a variety of news sources. -Donate or raise money to support those affected by crises. -There is also CrowdTangle Live Display, a tool for publishers in their news gathering to report on the hurricane. CrowdTangle is an easy way to monitor posts from relevant public groups and Pages like first responders, news outlets, government agencies and more in real-time. This is open to the public; you do not need a CrowdTangle account to utilize.

Additionally, Today-In is a helpful place for people in those cities to stay connected to their community during the storm and see the latest local news on Hurricane Florence. Today-In is a Facebook surface for updates from local news Pages, community Pages, local groups, events and more. Currently available in 63 cities, including the following affected by Florence: Greensboro, NC; Fayetteville, NC; Anderson, SC; Greenville, SC; Columbia, SC; Myrtle Beach, SC. (Video demo) More people visit Crisis Response on Facebook during hurricanes than any other type of event: More than 9 million people have used Safety Check to let friends and family know they're safe following hurricanes.

Hurricane Harvey, Irma and Matthew were among the top 10 crises where people used Safety Check to mark themselves as safe.

More than 1.5 million people have joined groups related to hurricane relief efforts on Facebook.