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EMERGENCY MGMT 2.0: HOW #SOCIALMEDIA & 

NEW TECH ARE TRANSFORMING PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE, & RECOVERY #DISASTERS 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON EMERGENCY 

PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE, 

AND COMMUNICATIONS 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

JUNE 4, 2013 and JULY 9, 2013 

Serial No. 113–20 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Homeland Security 

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/ 
(II) 

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY 

MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas, Chairman 

LAMAR SMITH, Texas 

PETER T. KING, New York 

MIKE ROGERS, Alabama 

PAUL C. BROUN, Georgia 

CANDICE S. MILLER, Michigan, Vice Chair 

PATRICK MEEHAN, Pennsylvania 

JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina 

TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania 

JASON CHAFFETZ, Utah 

STEVEN M. PALAZZO, Mississippi 

LOU BARLETTA, Pennsylvania 

CHRIS STEWART, Utah 

RICHARD HUDSON, North Carolina 

STEVE DAINES, Montana 

SUSAN W. BROOKS, Indiana 

SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania 

MARK SANFORD, South Carolina 

BENNIE G. THOMPSON, Mississippi 

LORETTA SANCHEZ, California 

SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas 

YVETTE D. CLARKE, New York 

BRIAN HIGGINS, New York 

CEDRIC L. RICHMOND, Louisiana 

WILLIAM R. KEATING, Massachusetts 

RON BARBER, Arizona 

DONDALD M. PAYNE, JR., New Jersey 

BETO O’ROURKE, Texas 

TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii 

FILEMON VELA, Texas 

STEVEN A. HORSFORD, Nevada 

ERIC SWALWELL, California 

GREG HILL, Chief of Staff 

MICHAEL GEFFROY, Deputy Chief of Staff/Chief Counsel 

MICHAEL S. TWINCHEK, Chief Clerk 

I. LANIER AVANT, Minority Staff Director 

Mr. Mark Sanford of South Carolina was elected to the committee on June 

12, 2013. 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE, AND 

COMMUNICATIONS 

SUSAN W. BROOKS, Indiana, Chairwoman 

PETER T. KING, New York 

TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania 

STEVEN M. PALAZZO, Mississippi 

SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania 

MARK SANFORD, South Carolina 

MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas (ex officio) 

DONALD M. PAYNE, JR., New Jersey 

YVETTE D. CLARKE, New York 

BRIAN HIGGINS, New York 

BENNIE G. THOMPSON, Mississippi (ex officio) 

ERIC B. HEIGHBERGER, Subcommittee Staff Director 

DEBORAH JORDAN, Subcommittee Clerk 

On June 12, 2013, Mr. Tom Marino of Pennsylvania resigned as a Member 

of the subcommittee and Mr. Mark Sanford of South Carolina was appointed to the vacancy. 
(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

Page 

JUNE 4, 2013 

STATEMENTS

The Honorable Susan W. Brooks, a Representative in Congress From the 

State of Indiana, and Chairwoman, Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications: 

Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 1 

Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 3 

The Honorable Donald M. Payne, Jr., a Representative in Congress From 

the State of New Jersey, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications: 

Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 4 

Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 5 

The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson a Representative in Congress From 

the State of Mississippi, and Ranking Member, Committee on Homeland 

Security: 

Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 6 

WITNESSES

Mr. Matthew Stepka, Vice President, Technology for Social Impact, 

Google.org: 

Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 7 

Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 9 

Mr. Jason Matthew Payne, Philanthropy Lead, Palantir Technologies: 

Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 16 

Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 18 

Mr. Michael Beckerman, President and CEO, The Internet Association: 

Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 19 

Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 21 

Mr. Jorge L. Cardenas, Vice President, Asset Management and Centralized 

Services, Public Service Electric and Gas Company: 

Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 27 

Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 29 

FOR THE RECORD

The Honorable Donald M. Payne, Jr., a Representative in Congress From 

the State of New Jersey, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications: 

Prepared Statement of Christine Thompson, President and Co-Founder of 

Humanity Road ................................................................................................. 47 

Prepared Statement of BEOC Alliance .............................................................. 49 

JULY 9, 2013 

STATEMENTS

The Honorable Susan W. Brooks, a Representative in Congress From the 

State of Indiana, and Chairwoman, Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications: 

Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 52 
Page

IV 

Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 54 

The Honorable Eric Swalwell, a Representative in Congress From the State 

of California: 

Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 59 

Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 61 

The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson a Representative in Congress From 

the State of Mississippi, and Ranking Member, Committee on Homeland 

Security: 

Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 63 

WITNESSES

Mr. Shayne Adamski, Senior Manager of Digital Engagement, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security: 

Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 64 

Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 66 

Ms. Suzanne C. DeFrancis, Chief Public Affairs Officer, American Red Cross: 

Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 74 

Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 76 

Mr. Albert Ashwood, Director, Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management: 

Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 83 

Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 84 

Mr. W. Greg Kierce, Director, Jersey City Office of Emergency Management 

and Homeland Security: 

Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 88 

Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 92 

APPENDIX

Question From Chairwoman Susan W. Brooks for Shayne Adamski ................. 113 

Question From Chairwoman Susan W. Brooks for Albert Ashwood ................... 113 
(1) 

EMERGENCY MGMT 2.0: HOW #SOCIALMEDIA 

& NEW TECH ARE TRANSFORMING PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE, & RECOVERY 

#DISASTERS #PART1 #PRIVATESECTOR 

Tuesday, June 4, 2013 

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, 

RESPONSE, AND COMMUNICATIONS, 

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY, 

Washington, DC. 

The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:02 a.m., in Room 

311, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Susan W. Brooks [Chairwoman of the subcommittee] presiding. 

Present: Representatives Brooks, King, Palazzo, Perry, Payne, 

and Clarke. 

Mrs. BROOKS. The Committee on Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications will come to order. 

The subcommittee is meeting today to examine the impact social 

media and new technology is having on disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. 

I now recognize myself for an opening statement. 

In today’s technology-driven world, social media and other types 

of new technology are becoming one of the primary ways we receive, process, and relay information. 

Studies have shown that more than 60% of the people in the 

United States have at least one social media account, with many 

having multiple accounts to include Facebook pages, Twitter profiles, and Pinterest boards. 

While social media originally started out as a way to share information among family and friends, it is evident that it has evolved 

to serve other functions, such as prevalent sources for news, advertising, and entertainment. 

But another evolving and very important role, and the subject of 

this hearing, is its use in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters. 

We have heard numerous stories from Hurricane Sandy and the 

Boston bombings of how citizens used Facebook, Twitter, and 

Instagram to relay information to first responders, communicate 

with loved ones, and request assistance when cell phone service 

was unavailable. 

According to the 2013 National Preparedness Report, which was 

released by FEMA last week, during Hurricane Sandy, ‘‘Users sent 
2 

more than 20 million Sandy-related Twitter posts, or ‘tweets,’ despite the loss of cell phone service during the peak of the storm.’’ 

We have also seen how response organizations are using social 

media to quickly share public safety information and maintain direct communication with disaster survivors during and after an incident. 

The Center for Naval Analysis conducted a survey of the use of 

social media by emergency management agencies and found that 

77 percent of survey respondents use social media, with 55 percent 

setting the goal of monitoring social media during an event. 

Even just last month during the devastating tornado in Oklahoma, the cities of Moore and Oklahoma City used their Twitter 

accounts, their cities’ Twitter accounts, to relay real-time updates 

on open shelters, road closures, lost-and-found pets, and personal 

items. They also actively monitored their Twitter accounts and responded to requests for assistance posted by disaster survivors. 

I personally found that during the severe flooding that occurred 

in my district in Indiana in April, the Indiana Department of 

Homeland Security also used Facebook and Twitter to relay information to my constituents, such as how to report damage, where 

to get assistance, which was very effective and proved to be more 

efficient than using traditional media avenues, like television and 

radio. I also personally posted on my Facebook page to inform constituents about the flooding and the Federal assistance that was 

available. 

Social media is not the only thing that is transforming how we 

prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. In January of 

this year, I had the opportunity to travel to Silicon Valley with 

some of my colleagues, and on that trip, we met with companies 

that were on the leading edge of new technology that are also contributing to the preparation for, response to, and recovery from disasters. 

Two of these amazing companies are here today, Google and 

Palantir, and it was amazing to see the innovation and the ingenuity being used by the private sector. 

It gave me hope, filled me with excitement to sit with representatives from these companies, learn about not only what they are 

doing, but what they are planning and what they are thinking 

about for the future. 

The management of ‘‘big data’’ and the use of social media provide enormous opportunities for efficiency in emergency management, and I believe that these companies and organizations before 

us can make a difference in how this country is able to prepare for 

and respond to disasters. 

While there are numerous examples of how social media and new 

technology have enhanced emergency management activities, I 

would be remiss to not also point out that there can be some pitfalls of which we need to be wary. 

For example, recent events have shown us how misleading, 

faulty, or even malicious information can escalate quickly on social 

media sites and negatively affect response efforts. 

We have also seen that social media can be used to spread messages of hate. Immediately after the recent terror attack for instance in London, the attackers actually engaged those who had 
3 

cameras knowing that their message would make its way to 

YouTube and be broadcast around the world. 

We also must be cognizant on the limitations of technology, such 

as its reliance on power sources and internet connections. 

But I am very pleased today to be welcoming our distinguished 

panel of witnesses and we look forward to hearing your perspectives again, on particularly the private sector’s involvement with 

Government in preparation, response to, and recovery in disasters. 

[The statement of Chairwoman Brooks follows:] 

STATEMENT OF CHAIRWOMAN SUSAN W. BROOKS

In today’s technology-driven world, social media, and other types of new technology are becoming one of the primary ways we receive, process, and relay information. Studies have shown that more than 60% of the people in the United States 

have at least one social media account, with many having multiple accounts to include Facebook pages, Twitter profiles, and Pinterest boards. While social media 

originally started out as a way to share information among friends, it is evident that 

it has evolved to serve other functions, such as a prevalent source for news, advertising, and entertainment. 

Another evolving role, and the subject of this hearing, is its use in preparing for, 

responding to, and recovering from disasters. We have heard numerous stories from 

Hurricane Sandy and the Boston bombings of how citizens used Facebook, Twitter, 

and Instagram to relay information to first responders, communicate with love ones, 

and request assistance when cell phone service was unavailable. According to the 

2013 National Preparedness Report, which was released by FEMA last week, during 

Hurricane Sandy, ‘‘users sent more than 20 million Sandy-related Twitter posts, or 

‘tweets,’ despite the loss of cell phone service during the peak of the storm.’’ 

We have also seen how response organizations are using social media to quickly 

share public safety information and maintain direct communication with disaster 

survivors during and after an incident. The Center for Naval Analyses conducted 

a survey of the use of social media by emergency management agencies and found 

that 77 percent of survey respondents use social media, with 55 percent setting the 

goal of monitoring social media during an event. 

For example, during the devastating tornado in Oklahoma last month, the cities 

of Moore and Oklahoma City used their Twitter accounts to relay real-time updates 

on open shelters, road closures, lost-and-found pets, and personal items. They also 

actively monitored their Twitter accounts and responded to requests for assistance 

posted by disaster survivors. 

I personally found that during the severe flooding that occurred in my district in 

April, the Indiana Department of Homeland Security used Facebook and Twitter to 

relay information to my constituents, such as how to report damage and where to 

get assistance, which was very effective and proved to be more efficient than using 

traditional media avenues, like television and radio. I personally posted information 

on my Facebook page to inform constituents about the flooding and Federal assistance available. 

Social media is not the only thing that is transforming how we prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. In January of this year, I had the opportunity 

to travel to Silicon Valley with some of my colleagues. On that trip, we met with 

companies on the leading edge of new technology that are also contributing to the 

preparation, response, and recovery from disasters—two are represented here today, 

Google and Palantir. It was amazing to see the innovation and ingenuity being used 

by the private sector. It gave me hope and filled me with excitement to sit with representatives from these companies and talk not only about what they are doing, but 

what they are planning and thinking about for the future. The management of ‘‘big 

data’’ and the use of social media provide enormous opportunities for efficiencies in 

emergency management and I believe that these companies and organizations before us can make a difference in how this country is able to prepare for and respond 

to disasters. 

While there are numerous examples of how social media and new technology have 

enhanced emergency management activities, I would be remiss to not point out that 

there are pitfalls of which we need to be wary. For example, recent events have 

shown us how misleading, faulty, or malicious information can escalate quickly on 

social media sites and negatively affect response efforts. We have also seen that social media can be used to spread messages of hate. Immediately after the recent terror attack in London the attackers actually engaged those with cameras knowing 
4 

that their message would make its way to YouTube and broadcast around the world. 

We must also be cognizant on the limitations of technology, such as its reliance on 

power sources and internet connections. 

I am pleased to welcome our distinguished panel of witnesses and look forward 

to hearing your perspectives on this topic. 

Mrs. BROOKS. I now will recognize the gentleman from New Jersey, Mr. Payne for any opening statement you might have. 

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Good morning. 

I would like to thank the witnesses for being here today and 

Chairwoman Brooks for holding these series of hearings. 

The internet has changed the world. It has changed how a Government serves its citizens and how businesses serve its customers 

and how the public engages in the political and social action. 

During recent disasters from Hurricane Sandy to Boston Marathon bombings, the internet was used to galvanize ordinary citizens. After the Boston Marathon bombings, Boston residents used 

Google Docs to let marathoners know that their homes were open 

to those who were unable to get back to their hotels. 

After Hurricane Sandy, survivors used Twitter and Facebook to 

post images of the devastation caused by the storm. Survivors also 

used social media to reconnect with love ones and share information about gas stations, grocery stores, and pharmacies that were 

available. 

Others used social media to coordinate volunteer response and 

aid efforts. Clearly, social media and ‘‘big data’’ have revolutionized 

disaster preparedness and response activities. 

The FEMA’s 2013 National Preparedness Report, which was released last week, found that emergency management agencies are 

increasingly using social media to disseminate information and are 

exploring additional applications of social media. 

The same report also found progress in the use of information 

management systems and on-going data integration efforts to improve information sharing and situation awareness. 

As Members of the Committee on Homeland Security and the 

Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness Response Communications, we sit in a unique position as internet technology evolves and 

the world continues to change around us. 

Our role requires us to help the Federal Government, State, and 

local first responders and the private sector harness the potential 

that the internet technology can bring to bear in disaster preparedness and response activities while working to mitigate the inherent 

limitations of the technology. 

Despite the benefits social media can yield, we know that technology can be used to spread misinformation. We know social 

media and web data are vulnerable to hacking and misuse. 

We know that unless data is integrated and organized properly 

and shared with the right people, it is useless, and we know that 

unless someone has the internet, none of this information is going 

to reach them. During disasters it is critical the information be accurate, secure, and accessible. 

I look forward to exploring these issues with our private-sector 

witnesses today. By launching rumor control, a website devoted to 

correcting misinformation circulated by social media sites, FEMA 

has begun to tackle some of these issues, but I think the witnesses 

here today have valuable insight to offer. 
5 

I know the PSE&G was recently recognized for innovative use of 

social media during Hurricane Sandy. I know that PSE&G participates in the Business Emergency Operation Center Alliance in 

New Jersey which facilitates public and private information sharing during disasters. Their good work should provide valuable information on best practices to improve the use of social media during major disasters. 

I look forward to the testimony of all of our witnesses here today, 

and I yield back the balance of my time. 

[The statement of Ranking Member Payne follows:] 

STATEMENT OF RANKING MEMBER DONALD M. PAYNE, JR. 

JUNE 4, 2013 

The internet has changed the world—it has changed how the Government serves 

its citizens, how businesses serve its customers, and how the public engages in political and social action. 

During recent disasters—from Hurricane Sandy to the Boston Marathon bombings—the internet was used to galvanize ordinary citizens. After the Boston Marathon bombings, Boston-residents used Google Docs to let marathoners know that 

their homes were open to those unable to return to their hotels. 

After Hurricane Sandy, survivors used Twitter and Facebook to post images of the 

devastation caused by the storm. 

Survivors also used social media to reconnect with loved ones and share information about open gas stations, grocery stores, and pharmacies. Others used social 

media to coordinate volunteer response and aid efforts. 

Clearly, social media and big data have revolutionized disaster preparedness and 

response activities. 

The FEMA’s 2013 National Preparedness Report, which was released last week, 

found that emergency management agencies are increasingly using social media to 

disseminate information and are exploring additional applications of social media. 

The same report also found progress in the use of information management systems 

and on-going data integration efforts to improve information sharing and situational 

awareness. 

As Members of the Committee on Homeland Security and the Subcommittee on 

Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications, we sit in a unique position as internet technology evolves and the world continues to change around us. 

Our role requires us to help the Federal Government, State and local first responders, and the private sector harness the potential that internet technology can 

bring to bear in disaster preparedness and response activities, while working to 

mitigate the inherent limitations of the technology. 

Despite the benefits social media can yield, we know that the technology can be 

used to spread misinformation. We know that social media and web data are vulnerable to hacking and misuse. 

We know that unless data is integrated and organized properly and shared with 

the right people, it is useless. And we know that unless someone has internet access, none of this information is going to reach them. 

During disasters, it is critical the information be accurate, secure, and accessible. 

I look forward to exploring these issues with our private-sector witnesses today. 

By launching Rumor Control, a website devoted to correcting misinformation circulated by social media sites, FEMA has begun to tackle some of these issues. 

But I think that the witnesses here today have valuable insight to offer. I know 

the PSE&G was recently recognized for its innovative use of social media during 

Hurricane Sandy. And I know that PSE&G participates in the Business Emergency 

Operations Center Alliance in New Jersey, which facilitates public-private information sharing during disasters. Their good work should provide valuable information 

on best practices to improve the use of social media and big data during disasters. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Other Members of the committee are reminded 

that opening statements may be submitted for the record. 

[The statement of Ranking Member Thompson follows:] 
6 

STATEMENT OF RANKING MEMBER BENNIE G. THOMPSON

I have served on this committee for over a decade. During that time, I have witnessed natural disasters and terrorist attacks. And I have seen the use of social 

media evolve as a tool in our efforts to keep this Nation safe. 

When you compare the response following Hurricane Katrina with the response 

following Hurricane Sandy, it is clear that both the Government and the public have 

grown increasingly adept at integrating social media into emergency response activities. 

The advent of social media has provided the general public with new avenues for 

sharing information and organizing private response activities. 

And social media allows the Government and private sector to disseminate useful 

information to hundreds of thousands of people. We cannot underestimate the value 

of useful, accurate information before, during, and after a disaster. It can save lives. 

So while I support the innovative use of social media and big data in disaster preparedness and response, we must be certain that this technology is not only used 

appropriately and effectively, but also that the information distributed is reliable. 

I was particularly troubled by misinformation that circulated after the Boston 

Marathon bombings, which incorrectly identified a missing man as a possible suspect. 

And while I am not advocating censorship, I am concerned that social media may 

not have the appropriate policies in place to ensure either that disaster-related information is accurate, or that inaccurate information is quickly removed. 

Additionally, I have concerns about how law enforcement uses social media in executing investigations. We must take some reasonable steps to assure that the users 

of social media have a clear understanding of privacy rights and protections. 

Although an expectation of privacy in personal information placed on social media 

networks may not be reasonable, there is a reasonable expectation that the information will not be used to engage in data mining or otherwise target individuals who 

are exercising Constitutionally-protected rights. 

Mrs. BROOKS. We are very pleased to have a very distinguished 

panel before us today for this important topic. 

First on the panel is Mr. Matthew Stepka, the vice president of 

Google.org. In this role, Mr. Stepka leads social impact efforts at 

Google including Google.org, Google Giving, Google Ideas, Google 

Green, Elections & Politics, Google for Non-Profits, and Crisis Response. 

Since joining Google in 2007, Mr. Stepka has led efforts in areas 

ranging from expanding internet access, developing clean energy, 

and extending Google’s footprint in emerging markets. 

Next on the panel is Mr. Jason Payne who serves as the head 

of the philanthropy engineering team at Palantir technologies. Mr. 

Payne manages the implementation of Palantir’s philanthropic endeavors and has extensive experience with counterterrorism and 

counter insurgency missions as well as of the rule of law and 

counter corruption efforts. 

Mr. Michael Beckerman is the president and CEO of the Internet 

Association, a Washington, DC trade association representing some 

of the most well-known global internet brands. Prior to his appointment as CEO, Mr. Beckerman served as 12 years as a Congressional staff member serving on the House Committee on Energy 

and Commerce. 

I would ask Ranking Member Payne to please introduce our next 

panelist. 

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman, and 

just for full disclosure to the committee, Mr. Payne and I are not 

related. 

Mr. PAYNE. Thank you. 

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Thank you. 
7 

Our final witness is George Cardenas, vice president of asset 

management and central services at PSE&G. 

In this role, he is responsible for electric and gas asset strategy 

and reliability, electric delivery planning, unit business performance and improvement, and utility operation services among other 

things. 

Prior to this position, Mr. Cardenas was the vice president for 

gas delivery with responsibility for providing gas delivery and appliance repair services to 1.8 million public service electric and gas 

customers. 

He is recognized as a champion for health and safety in the 

workplace. He sits on the leadership council of the American Gas 

Association and serves on the Board of Directors of the Northeast 

Gas Association and has honored with the New Jersey Minority 

Achievers award in 2004. 

Mr. Cardenas received his bachelor’s degree in engineering from 

the Stevens Institute of Technology and completed the Penn State 

Executive Development program. 

He received his masters of business administration degree from 

Rutgers University Executive MBA program, and given his impressive background, there is no surprise that he is part of the leadership innovating to provide the best customer communications during disaster. 

Public Service Electric and Gas was recently recognized by CS 

Week and JD Power Associates for its innovative use of social 

media during Hurricane Sandy and is a member of the BEOC Alliance, which facilitates communications among the private sector 

during disasters. 

I am grateful for Public Service Electric and Gas’ efforts, and I 

am happy to have Mr. Cardenas here to talk about Public Service 

Electric and Gas and about my home State of New Jersey—are on 

the cutting edge of using the new technology during disasters, 

which we are very proud of. 

Thank you. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Thank you. 

The witness’ full written statements will appear in the record. 

The Chairwoman now recognizes and Mr. Stepka for 5 minutes 

for your opening statement. 

STATEMENT OF MATTHEW STEPKA, VICE PRESIDENT, 

TECHNOLOGY FOR SOCIAL IMPACT, GOOGLE.ORG 

Mr. STEPKA. Chairwoman Brooks, Ranking Member Payne, and 

Members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today and for your interest in the importance of 

internet-based technology and disaster preparedness, response, and 

recovery. 

My name is Matthew Stepka. I am vice president of technology 

for social impact, a part of Google where we use trends and information and technology to address global challenges and make a 

lasting impact. 

We have learned that people turn to the internet when there is 

an emergency. We want to help ensure that the right information 

is there when people need it. 
8 

In the first half of this year alone, millions of people around the 

world have been affected by natural disasters. Just 2 weeks ago, 

we witnessed the devastating the power of tornadoes raging across 

Oklahoma. Our hearts go out to all of the individuals affected by 

these disasters. 

Our goal is to make it easier to get people the actionable emergency information they need when they need it most. We do this 

by organizing emergency alerts, news updates, and missing persons 

information, building tools that enable better communication and 

collaboration among responders and those affected by crisis, providing updated satellite imagery and maps of affected areas, and 

donating to charitable organizations that are on the ground helping 

to provide direct relief. 

As a result of our work, we have learned a number of lessons 

about the space. The first is that people want to find critical information through a familiar technology. So we collect and curate relevant information and make it available on Google tools where it 

is most effective. 

We add essential phone numbers, add links to the top of our 

search results, we place links on our home page, we create maps 

that show information from authorities and communities, and provide tools to help people connect with loved ones in the aftermath 

of disasters. 

We are able to do this thanks to the innovative technology all 

around us, and more and more things through the ubiquity of mobile devices. Via smartphones, we are able to send our users critical 

notifications that are relevant to them in near-real time based on 

the location and the conditions around them. 

One of our services, public alerts, compiles and displays authoritative emergency information across Google properties based on 

user’s locations or search query. 

Four days before the Sandy storm hit the East Coast, users who 

typed in terms like Sandy, hurricane, high wind into Google search 

started seeing an official National Weather Service warning containing a link to more information including maps, news, and how 

to stay safe. 

Recently through a partnership with the National Center for 

Missing and Exploited Children, we started publishing Amber 

Alerts using the same public alerts platform. 

When you receive a message on your phone about a child who 

just went missing in your neighborhood or a tornado that is forming nearby, the first thing you will do is search for more information, which we can help you find. 

We also pulled crisis maps which compile authoritative emergency information from multiple sources into one single map so 

people no longer have to search across many websites. 

Following the Oklahoma tornadoes, for example, our team 

launched a crisis map that included Red Cross shelters, traffic 

alerts, storm reports, post-disaster imagery, and other information. 

A second lesson is that crowdsourcing can enhance both quality 

and timeliness of critical information. Anyone can use Google mapping services to create their own maps and even host their content 

and data in a scalable way. Because they are open-source, anyone 

can employ, update, and improve our tools. 
9 

We have learned during some disasters, authoritative sources 

may not have as expansive information as individuals on the 

ground do. For example, do filling stations have gasoline? To answer that question during Sandy, a group of student volunteers 

called stations in New Jersey to check whether they were open and 

had gas available. 

Within a few days they had data for more than 1,000 different 

stations, which was fed into our Sandy crisis map automatically. 

The Department of Energy’s call center ended up referencing this 

information. 

A third lesson is that we learned, critical for emergency information to be available, it should be open and on-line formats. 

So open and secure formats which have open licenses before a 

disaster. This is critical. In the past, Google has had to gather 

emergency information from websites in non-structured and difficult to automate formats such as texts and PDFs and translate 

them into open standards. 

When data is not in open formats, many steps are required to 

share it and each extra step can keep critical information from getting to people in a timely manner. 

This is why we advocate using an open, secure, and common 

standard so that everyone has a consistent way to receive and 

share alerting information and to create useful visualization of the 

content. 

Data providers that follow these practices could update their information automatically making it available on-line securely within 

seconds. 

The Government can help by ensuring that important emergency 

information is available in open, interoperable formats. We commend the White House for the recent Executive Order requiring 

the Federal Government data to be made available in open machine readable formats by default. We also welcome steps Congress 

has taken to increase access to Government data. 

We hope that agencies with emergency information in particular 

begin adopting these standards and licensing terms as soon as possible. 

It is through open data that we are able to develop innovative 

alerts and other new products. With more open and secure data we 

can display more consistent and more actionable alerts covering 

things like power outages and road closures where there are floods. 

We can also send specific evacuation instructions to different people based on their location. 

We still have a long way to go, but we look forward to working 

alongside emergency relief organizations and governments to help 

people find the information they are looking for during disasters. 

Thank you very much for your time. I am happy to answer any 

questions you may have. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Stepka follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF MATTHEW STEPKA

JUNE 4, 2013 

Chairman Brooks, Ranking Member Payne, and Members of the subcommittee: 

Thank you for your interest in the importance of internet-based technology in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. My name is Matthew Stepka, and I am 
10 

honored to appear before you on behalf of Google. As vice president of technology 

for social impact, I lead our efforts to develop technologies to help address global 

challenges, including our Crisis Response initiatives. 

In the first half of this year alone, millions of people around the world have been 

affected by natural disasters in places like Iran, China, Australia, Japan, Indonesia, 

and Myanmar. Here at home, just 2 weeks ago, we witnessed the devastating power 

of tornadoes raging across Oklahoma. Our hearts go out to all of the individuals affected by these disasters. 

When emergencies like these arise, people turn to the internet for information. 

Google wants to help ensure that the right information is there in their time of 

need. So we build tools to collect and share emergency information, and we support 

first responders in using technology to help improve and save lives. 

Google Crisis Response has been responding to natural disasters since Hurricane 

Katrina in 2005, making information such as storm paths, shelter locations, evacuation orders or zones, and donation opportunities easily accessible. More recently, 

Hurricane Sandy catalyzed a broader awareness of how the internet can play a critical role in crisis response. As that storm approached and then struck the East 

Coast last fall, our team at Google put everyday tools like Google Search and Google 

Maps to use, sharing emergency weather updates, maps of the storm path, shelters, 

and evacuation zones, and many other kinds of information across our services. For 

those of us with loved ones affected by the storm, being able to follow updates of 

that crisis on-line in near-real time was invaluable. 

During a disaster, our Crisis Response team follows the lead of emergency relief 

organizations, Government agencies, and first responders with the goal of supporting them with services that make it easier to get people the actionable emergency information they need when they need it most. The types of activities we 

might initiate include: 

• organizing emergency alerts, news updates, and missing person information, 

and making this information visible through our web properties; 

• building tools that enable better communication and collaboration among crisis 

responders and those affected by the crisis; 

• providing updated satellite imagery and maps of affected areas to illustrate infrastructure damage and help relief organizations navigate disaster zones; 

• donating to charitable organizations that are providing direct relief on the 

ground. 

Each time, we learn more about how governments, organizations, and companies 

can maximize the potential of the internet to assist in disaster preparedness and 

relief by providing access to actionable information. We believe that applying the 

lessons of our continual learning in this area can improve the use of technology in 

crisis response. 

OBSERVATIONS AND BEST PRACTICES

1. People want to find critical information through familiar technology. 

We know that during disasters, people look on-line to learn how to stay safe and 

we want to ensure that the right information is there in their time of need. In the 

wake of the earthquake in Sendai, Japan, 2 years ago, we saw a massive spike in 

search queries coming from Hawaii for information about a tsunami. Unfortunately, 

the immediate results were not providing all the information those users needed because authoritative sources did not share that information in easily discoverable 

ways. So last year we launched a product called Public Alerts to make authoritative 

emergency information easier for our users to find. Through partnerships with Government agencies and other authoritative information providers, we are able to collate critical alerting information and provide instructions for how to prepare for severe weather conditions and other events such as wildfires and earthquakes. 

In incorporating public alert data from authoritative, trusted sources into Google 

Search, Google Maps, and other Google properties, we hope to simplify the process 

of finding critical emergency information. In order to provide the most relevant 

alerts to our users, the alert you see (if any) may depend on what alerts are active 

at a given location, their severity, your search query, your default location settings, 

or your device location. 

Four days before Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast, we began providing an 

alert for users who typed terms like ‘‘Sandy,’’ ‘‘hurricane,’’ or ‘‘high wind’’ into our 

search box. An official National Weather Service warning appeared with a link to 

more information, including maps, news, contextual information, and steps people 

could take to keep themselves safe. To scale this initiative, we are currently working 

with official U.S. agencies, such as the National Weather Service and the Geological 
11 

Survey, to show relevant alerts to Google users, and we welcome partnerships with 

other agencies—domestic and international—who publish authoritative alerts. 

We also developed an application called Crisis Map that uses our Maps technology 

to help people find information before, during, and after major emergency events. 

We use Crisis Map to provide authoritative information such as evacuation routes, 

hurricane tracks, disaster-related satellite imagery, and emergency alerts, by compiling it from multiple data sources. People no longer have to search across many 

websites for different pieces of relevant information because Crisis Map makes all 

of the data available in one central place and allows both agencies and individuals 

to create their own rich mash-ups of crisis data. 

As Hurricane Sandy approached landfall, we launched a general Crisis Map with 

several Sandy-related layers, including current and forecasted storm locations and 

information about cloud and wind conditions courtesy of NOAA’s National Hurricane Center, and Public Alerts featuring emergency information like evacuation 

routes. We also launched a Crisis Map specific to New York City, featuring evacuation zone data from the NYC Datamine, information about open shelters, and footage from live webcams. Throughout the recovery period, our Crisis Maps had 15 

million unique visits, with 10–20% of the visits coming through mobile phones and 

80% of the traffic being referred through third parties—meaning that the maps were 

either shared by users or embedded in other sites. 

2. Crowdsourcing can enhance both quality and timeliness of critical information. 

Do local filling stations have gasoline? On this kind of question, authoritative 

sources often may not have as extensive intelligence on the ground as individuals 

do. Anyone can use Google’s mapping tools—on our servers, or their own—to create 

their own maps and even host their content and data in a scalable way. In addition, 

by enabling user-generated content in Crisis Maps during Hurricane Sandy, we 

were able to share better updates than those we got from only official sources. 

While some organizations contacted us with their data for our Hurricane Sandy 

Crisis Map, other map curators and data providers created their own crowd-sourced 

maps to address challenges they identified locally. For example, Dr. Wansoo Im mobilized a group of student volunteers to call local gas stations in New Jersey to see 

whether or not they were open and check if gas was available. Within a few days, 

they had data from more than 1,000 different stations. After doing some additional 

research on-line, they put the information into a KML layer (a machine readable 

and crawlable format used to describe geographic information) and continued to update it through mobile devices and edits on desktop. The KML layer was fed into 

Crisis Map automatically and through user commenting, people were able to correct 

and update the gas layers when they became out-of-date. The Department of Energy 

ended up referencing information from this map for people who dialed their call centers. 

We also designed our Person Finder tool to empower individuals in the wake of 

emergencies. Person Finder is a web application that allows people to post and 

search for the status of relatives or friends affected by a disaster. By using an open 

data standard, the tool lets press agencies, non-governmental agencies, and others 

contribute to the database and receive updates. Websites can choose to embed Person Finder as a gadget on their own pages. Because it is open-source software, any 

developer can create her own instance of Person Finder after a disaster and help 

us improve the product. 

Before, those seeking missing loved ones had to sift through multiple websites, 

posting the same inquiries over and over, hoping that the person in question happened to register with one of these websites. After the earthquake in Haiti, for example, we noticed there were 14 separate missing persons databases spontaneously 

set up by different groups, including non-governmental organizations, newspapers, 

and volunteers. They were all running on different infrastructure, were not integrated, and all had different amounts of data that, if coordinated, could have comprised all missing persons records. 

To make this process more effective and efficient, while continuing to leverage the 

power of crowd-sourced information, our team built Person Finder to act as a central 

database, pulling the feeds from all 14 databases and allowing users to search 

across all their records. Person Finder accepts information in a common machinereadable format called PFIF (People Finder Interchange Format), which was created 

by Hurricane Katrina volunteers in 2005 and allows press agencies, NGOs, and others to sync their own data sources to Person Finder. 

Our team worked around the clock to build and launch Person Finder in less than 

72 hours during the early days of the crisis in Haiti. We have now made this resource available in more than 40 languages. The product is purposefully simple, 

fast, and easy to use. More importantly, it is backed by an open programmatic inter-
12 

face, or API. This means that different sites can update missing persons lists automatically using the common format. Because of this, The New York Times, CNN, 

NPR, and a number of other websites quickly integrated Person Finder, increasing 

its reach and resulting in a more complete list of missing persons. 

We have since launched Person Finder for a number of emergencies, both natural 

and man-made. For example, within an hour after bombs went off in Boston 2 

months ago, we initiated an instance of Person Finder to help people locate loved 

ones or let family and friends know they were alright. In total, we hosted thousands 

of records after the tragedy. In all these emergencies, we have found that 

crowdsourced information has been crucial to provide individuals updates about 

their loved ones. 

3. Emergency information should be available on-line in open formats and with open 

licenses before a disaster. 

To be easily integrated and disseminated in the event of a crisis, emergency information must be readily available—in open formats, open licensing structures, and 

already on-line—in advance of a disaster. Otherwise there can be delays in getting 

information out. Each extra step—uploading, emailing, downloading, publishing, or 

putting on a site—can keep critical information from getting to people in a timely 

manner. To respond to some recent crises, Google had to gather emergency information 

from Government websites in non-structured and difficult-to-automate formats— 

such as text and PDF—and then translate them into open standards. When we set 

up our Hurricane Sandy Crisis Map, we had to spend time copying and pasting information about public hazards from a PDF. After we did so, the data quickly became obsolete, and we had to ask for an updated version. Generally, email attachments can take a few days to process and upload and need to be reloaded and integrated for each update, while open data feeds like KML only take minutes to integrate and can be updated automatically in near-real time. We are also often hindered by unclear licensing of data. While some datasets are clearly in the public domain, many essential ones are not clearly attributed or licensed, making them difficult to use. 

Data providers that have their information clearly licensed, in standard data formats, and that provide live feeds—including the Common Alerting Protocol (an 

international standard for publishing and sharing alerts that is used by NOAA, 

FEMA’s iPAWS, and USGS) for Public Alerts, or GeoRSS (an open standard for encoding location information) and/or KML for Crisis Map—can update their information automatically. As a result, open alert data is usually available in Google tools 

within seconds of its being published. 

We advocate using an open and common standard in order for everyone to have 

a consistent way to automatically receive and share alerting information, to publish 

alerts securely using open web formats like Atom and RSS (XML-based languages 

used for web feeds), and to create useful visualizations of content. 

HOW GOVERNMENTS CAN SUPPORT TECHNOLOGY EFFORTS IN CRISIS RESPONSE

Information dissemination in an emergency depends on several factors: Open and 

interoperable formats for emergency data, timely release of such data, and location 

awareness. Without these, it is extremely difficult to get the right emergency information to the right people at the right time. 

The ability of the internet to assist in crises depends on both companies’ and governments’ improving how they share information. Using divergent standards slows 

collaboration and response time, while speedy and open access enables users to easily share information and accelerates relief efforts. 

To pursue some of the projects we’ve described, Google had to gather emergency 

information from Government, NGO, and sometimes corporate websites in arcane 

formats or bare HTML and then translate them into open standards. Sometimes the 

information was spread across numerous websites; other times, the licensing status 

of the data was not readily apparent. Even today, some important data is not even 

on-line at all, but in someone’s spreadsheet on a personal computer. 

Government can help by ensuring that important information important is available in open, interoperable formats. For that reason, we commend the White House 

for the recent Executive Order requiring that data generated by the Federal Government be made available in machine-readable formats by default, as well as steps 

Congress has taken to increase access to Government data. State governments also 

play an important role—the Florida Division of Emergency Management, for example, has been a leader in publishing preparedness data. We hope that agencies with 

emergency information in particular begin adopting these standards as soon as possible, so more people can access that information easily and speedily. 
13 

With better open and interoperable alerting systems, private actors could interact 

with Government systems to display alerts or maps tailored to geography, vulnerability, and situation. Information providers like Google have the ability to 

contextualize alerts by providing related news and other relevant information, as 

well as linking these to sharing platforms and other social experiences that are critical for empowering individuals and enabling better decision making. They also can 

do so in an open manner so any other internet company or emergency organization 

can use or build on it. Public alerting systems must continue to evolve in ways that 

leverage the capabilities of modern digital networks to distribute vital, machinereadable information in crisis situations. 

With more open data we could display more consistent and more actionable alerts, 

covering things like power outages and road closures when there are floods, for example. In some cases, a mobile alert—targeted specifically to those who may be directly impacted—may help increase their chances of getting to safety. Today, the 

Commercial Mobile Alerting System (CMAS) can push mobile alerts that specifically 

target users who are in the predicted path of a tornado or storm, and Google can 

also provide location-specific information to supplement these alerts. In the future, 

mobile devices may enable additional types of alerts, such as ones with location-specific evacuation instructions and shelter information. This type of information is 

particularly valuable for densely-populated areas where there may be limited resources spread out across the region. 

We are committed to continue working with various stakeholders to think of more 

ways to make the appropriate emergency information available when and where 

people need it, including making emergency alerts more useful and accessible to 

those who may be affected by disasters. 

CONCLUSION

I would like to conclude by thanking Chairman Brooks, Ranking Member Payne, 

the Members of the House Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, 

and Communications, and other Members of Congress who have taken an interest 

in technology and crisis response. Affordable, high-speed internet access, open data, 

and open standards are minimum requirements for a Government to be considered 

‘‘tech-ready’’ ahead of a disaster. By ensuring that people are able to search and find 

emergency information on-line ahead of time, governments can reduce the amount 

of time it takes communicate with people when they need help most. 

We still have a long way to go, but we look forward to working alongside emergency relief organizations and governments to help people find the information they 

are looking for and improve the use of internet-based technologies in disaster preparedness, relief, and recovery. 
14 
15 

Mrs. BROOKS. Thank you, Mr. Stepka. 

The Chairwoman now recognizes Mr. Payne for 5 minutes for an 

opening statement. 
16 

STATEMENT OF JASON MATTHEW PAYNE, PHILANTHROPY 

LEAD, PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES 

Mr. PAYNE. Chairwoman Brooks, Ranking Member Payne, and 

Members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to 

speak with you today. 

My name is Jason Payne, and I lead the philanthropy engineering team at Palantir technologies. 

Palantir Technologies is a Silicon Valley software company. We 

build data integration and analysis software for the Governmental, 

private, and public sectors. 

In the context of emergency preparedness, response, and recovery 

our technology on laptops and smartphones leverages one of the 

most scarce resources during disasters. 

Information; to help our partners get the right physical resources 

to the right places as soon as possible. Above here is a screenshot 

of our technology displayed on a tent of an emergency operation 

center in Oklahoma City. 

[The information follows:] 

Mr. PAYNE. This fusion that you are seeing here of public data, 

of Governmental data, of social data, and mobile data allows users 

to build a common operating picture to improve the efficacy of response efforts. 

One of our partners in Oklahoma City, Direct Relief, is a nonprofit that donates over $300 million of medicine every year. They 

use Palantir to integrate information from their own databases 

with social data, public data from FEMA, DHS, CDC, NOA, and 

even Google flu trends to conduct meteorological, social vulnerability, supply chain, and health risk analyses of communities 

throughout this Nation. 
17 

In the context of extreme weather relief, this knowledge enables 

direct relief to pre-position supplies and medicine at Federallyqualified health centers before storms hit, analyze real-time weather data during the storm, and donate additional medical supplies 

where they are needed most in wake of the storm. 

Another Palantir partner, Team Rubicon, is a group of veterans 

engaged in disaster relief. They use Palantir to tactically understand operational environment during disaster response. After 

Hurricane Sandy, Team Rubicon used Palantir mobile to survey 

and clean up over 1,000 structures in the Rockaways. 

Fusing surveys collected with Palantir mobile along with public 

3–1–1 data and even hand-written requests for help collected in a 

church parking lot, several hundred Team Rubicon members were 

able to efficiently harness over 14,000 spontaneous community volunteers, which is a tremendous resource that has often been underutilized in disaster scenarios. 

Those volunteers, often joining through social media posts, removed sand, saltwater, and sheet rock from homes damaged by 

Sandy before mold set in thus keeping people in their homes. That 

large-scale success was possible because of social media, the veteran leadership of Team Rubicon, and acknowledged management 

that Palantir facilitated. 

As a result of our successes during Hurricane Sandy, Palantir 

has made a commitment to action with the Clinton Global Initiative to steer our cutting-edge technology capabilities to more disaster-focused organizations. 

Part of this commitment is our deployment that you see here in 

Oklahoma City with direct relief in Team Rubicon to help people 

get back on their feet after the devastating tornadoes. 

Most importantly, it is using all of this data to build a common 

operating picture that allows organizations to better communicate 

to more efficiently and more effectively help those on the ground 

that need it most. 

Through trial and error we have learned a few important lessons 

we would like to share with the committee. First, open data is 

more important than formal exchange models. 

In the context of emergent response, we believe that holding out 

for perfect gets in the way of good enough. We encourage Governmental organizations to adopt a Silicon Valley approach to interoperability to put data out in a publicly available, robust, standardized, secure, well-documented interface and let other organizations 

come up with innovative ways to leverage that data. We applaud 

NOAA and the Census Bureau among others for taking this approach. 

Second, internet and cloud technologies such as social media are 

useless without power and connectivity. We encourage the subcommittee to explore innovative solutions to provide deployable 3G 

and 4G mobile networks as well as mobile device charging stations 

to the public during large-scale emergencies. 

Last, we would like to highlight the need for more robust conversation about data access, sharing, and retention to ensure that 

the privacy and civil liberties of those affected by emergencies and 

disasters are respected at all times. 
18 

We believe that sensitive information such as names, dates of 

birth, addresses, phone numbers, and certainly medical information 

should be shared with only those with a need to know that information even within an organization. 

When a large-scale emergency strikes without a doubt there are 

thousands and thousands of folks that seek to help those most vulnerable. There are also a few bad actors out there that seek to profit from those that are vulnerable. 

The technology can make a radical difference to help those with 

good intention, but can also empower those with ill. So we highly 

recommend that we look closely at how data is shared, leveraged, 

and utilized to ensure that it is used for proper purposes. 

New technology enables a new era, a whole new era of disaster 

response. We are humbled to be a part of that transformation and 

look forward to more work in the future to help those affected by 

disaster get back on their feet. 

This completes my prepared statement. Thank you again for the 

opportunity to join you here today. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Payne follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF JASON MATTHEW PAYNE

JUNE 4, 2013 

Good morning. Chairwoman Brooks, Ranking Member Payne, and Members of the 

subcommittee: My name is Jason Payne, and I lead Palantir Technologies’ Philanthropy Engineering Team. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. 

Palantir Technologies is a Silicon Valley software company based in Palo Alto, 

California. We build data integration and analysis software for the Governmental, 

private, and public sectors. A key part of our work with NGOs focuses on emergency 

preparedness, response, and recovery. With our partners Team Rubicon and Direct 

Relief International, we recently made a Commitment to Action with the Clinton 

Global Initiative to bring cutting-edge technological capabilities to Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, or VOADs. 

The fundamental challenge of emergency preparedness, response, and recovery is 

getting the right resources to the right places, as quickly as possible. We believe 

that new technology, such as Palantir, significantly improves the ability of organizations to meet that challenge. 

Palantir can be rapidly deployed to laptops and smart phones and allows dispatchers and analysts working under critical time pressure to fuse together and 

analyze large amounts of data from different sources. Originally developed for use 

by the intelligence and defense community, the platform includes robust, built-in 

measures to allow users appropriate access and to share information across organizations while protecting privacy and civil liberties. 

For example, Direct Relief, a non-profit that donates over $300 million of medicine 

every year, uses Palantir to integrate information from their own databases, 

partnering organizations, and public data from FEMA, DHS, CDC, and NOAA to 

conduct meteorological, social vulnerability, supply chain, and health-risk analyses 

of areas vulnerable to large storms. 

This resulting knowledge enables Direct Relief to pre-position supplies and medicine at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) before storms hit, analyze realtime weather data during the storm, and provide emergency medical supplies where 

they are needed most in the wake of the storm. After Hurricane Sandy, volunteers 

and staff on the ground used Palantir Mobile to collect and send data to Direct Relief headquarters in real time. Palantir was also used to monitor infectious disease 

trends and route donated medical resources to the areas in greatest need. 

While Direct Relief uses Palantir to make big-picture strategic decisions about resource allocation, Team Rubicon, a group of veterans engaged in disaster relief, uses 

Palantir to tactically understand the operational environment during a disaster response. During the response to Hurricane Sandy, Team Rubicon used Palantir’s mobile phone application to quickly survey over 1,500 structures in the Rockaways. 

Fusing those surveys with public 3–1–1 data, and even paper requests for help collected in a church parking lot, several hundred Team Rubicon members were able 
19 

to efficiently harness over 14,000 spontaneous community volunteers—a tremendous 

resource that has often been underutilized in disaster scenarios. 

During the Sandy aftermath, those volunteers removed sand, saltwater, and 

sheetrock from damaged homes before mold set in, keeping people in their homes. 

That success was possible because of social media, Team Rubicon’s leadership, and 

the data integration, knowledge management, and efficient planning that Palantir 

facilitated. 

As part of our Clinton Global Initiative commitment, Direct Relief, Team Rubicon, 

and Palantir are collaborating on recovery efforts in Oklahoma City after the devastating tornadoes on May 20 and 31. Leveraging on-the-ground surveys collected 

with Palantir Mobile, along with Google, NWS, HRSA, and local parcel data, these 

organizations are working together to help with both health and infrastructure response and recovery. Most importantly, the common operating picture that they are 

building with Palantir is being shared with other VOAD and Governmental organizations active in the area. 

Through trial and error, as well as success and failure, we’ve learned a few important lessons that we would like to share with the committee. 

First, open data portals are more important than formal information exchange 

models. In the context of emergency response data sharing, we believe that holding 

out for perfect gets in the way of good enough. We encourage Governmental organizations to adopt a Silicon Valley approach to data interoperability—put the data out 

publicly in a robust, standardized, well-documented interface and let other organizations come up with innovative ways to leverage the data. This is why Palantir 

makes a strong commitment to openness and provides programmatic query languages and web services to make all data in Palantir open. We applaud NOAA, 

NWS, and the Census Bureau, among others, for taking this approach. 

Second, internet and cloud technology, such as social media, are extremely valuable as long as people have power and connectivity. Without both, it’s useless. We 

encourage the subcommittee to explore innovative solutions to provide deployable 

3/4G mobile networks, as well as mobile device charging stations, to the public during large-scale emergencies. We applaud the idea of the FirstNet initiative from the 

Department of Commerce, and suggest that the network be opened up to key nonprofit organizations as well as Governmental agencies. 

Last, we would like to highlight the need for a more robust conversation about 

data access, sharing, and retention to ensure that the privacy and civil liberties of 

those affected by emergencies and disasters are respected at all times. When a disaster occurs, thousands of volunteers seek to help vulnerable people get back on 

their feet. There are also a few unscrupulous bad actors that seek to exploit and 

profit from those vulnerable people. Data can empower those altruistic volunteer efforts, but without correct data access and sharing technology, that same data can 

empower those bad actors. 

We believe that public data such as locations of shelters and medical facilities, 

power status reports, and satellite imagery should be available to all organizations 

and citizens. We also believe that sensitive information, such as names, dates of 

birth, addresses, phone numbers, social media posts, financial information, and certainly medical information should be shared with only those with need to know that 

information, even within an organization. 

Furthermore, we recommend that sensitive data collected during an emergency 

should be deleted when reasonably possible after emergencies. We encourage the development of clear data retention policies for all volunteer and Governmental organizations that work in the preparation, response, and recovery life cycle. These retention policies should be clearly communicated with affected individuals, State and 

local entities, commercial organizations, and VOADs to encourage all parties to 

share pertinent information. 

New technology enables a whole new era of disaster response. We are humbled 

to be a part of that transformation and look forward to more work in the future 

to help those affected by disaster get back on their feet. 

This completes my prepared statement. Thank you again for the opportunity to 

join you all here today. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Thank you, Mr. Payne. 

The Chairwoman now recognizes Mr. Beckerman for 5 minutes 

for an opening statement. 

STATEMENT OF MICHAEL BECKERMAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, 

THE INTERNET ASSOCIATION 

Mr. BECKERMAN. Thank you. 
20 

Chairwoman Brooks, Ranking Member Payne, and distinguished 

Members of the committee, thank you for calling this timely hearing. It is a pleasure to appear before you today to discuss how the 

internet and social media are transforming how Americans prepare, respond, and recover when disaster strikes. 

My name is Michael Beckerman. I am president and CEO of the 

Internet Association, a trade organization comprised of the world’s 

leading internet companies. 

Our members have been on the forefront of efforts to leverage 

new technology and communications platforms to inform the public 

before, during, and after a disaster. 

Today I will just highlight a few examples from my written testimony that I submitted for the record. 

As you can see on the screen, the rise of social media, 

crowdsourcing, and the sharing economy have revolutionized how 

we interact with our friends, family, fellow citizens, and Government. 

Communicating during a disaster is now an interactive conversation. Millions of minds converge to solve problems, seek out answers, and disseminate vital information. The convergence of social 

networks and mobile has thrown the old response playbook out the 

window. 

The earthquake that rocked Haiti in January 2010 served as an 

example of the opportunity social media and mobile technology provide to support the great work of our disaster response professionals. 

A few hours after the earthquake, a man who was trapped with 

20 other people under a collapsed building in Port-au-Prince managed to send a photograph of the wreckage from his phone to a 

cousin in Chicago. The cousin then tweeted the photograph to 

@RedCross and first responders in Haiti were able to rescue them. 

In previous disasters, these victims may not have been rescued in 

time. 

Applying the lessons learned from Haiti, a protocol has begun to 

emerge. Facebook’s disaster relief page, which was created during 

the Haiti earthquake is now used any time a disaster strikes. 

The American Red Cross’ Facebook page has over a quarter-million people following them to learn about disasters, how they can 

donate both blood and money, and get information in real time. 

Beyond the dissemination of disaster information and donations, 

the Red Cross has also established a social media command center. 

This allows them to better serve those who need help, spot trends 

in real time, and anticipate the public’s needs. It not only connects 

people with food, water, shelter, but it also helps provide emotional 

support when they need it most. 

When a tornado devastated Tuscaloosa in 2011, a local school 

system went on-line and posted a request for volunteers to help 

clean up their school. Amazingly, 80 people showed up in less than 

30 minutes. 

This response typifies the unmatched power of social media. You 

would be hard-pressed to make these phone calls in 30 minutes, let 

alone have an outpouring of 80 people show up that quickly. 

Just last fall when Hurricane Sandy ravaged the coastline of my 

home State of New Jersey, people took to the internet to document 
21 

their experience. In fact, FEMA encouraged people to ‘‘Let loved 

ones that know you are okay by sending a text message or updating your social network.’’ 

In a truly miraculous story coming out of Hurricane Sandy, a 

woman noticed a Facebook post showing the badly-hit South Seaside Park, and she knew her 93-year-old grandmother was there 

trapped, and she sent a message to this page, and as a result, her 

grandmother was evacuated and saved. 

One of the Internet Association member companies, Airbnb, 

sprang into action following the hurricane as well. As you may 

know, Airbnb as an on-line marketplace that helps find housing accommodations. 

With more than 100,000 people still homeless a week after 

Sandy, Airbnb partnered with the city of New York to connect to 

those without shelter to people that had extra space. As you can 

see on the screen, nearly 1,500 Airbnb members opened their 

homes for free to provide shelter to people in need. 

Finally, just last month, in Oklahoma, social media supplemented the traditional means of spreading the message to take 

shelter. In the immediate aftermath of the tornado, FEMA again 

encouraged survivors to update their social networks to let loved 

ones know their whereabouts so families could be reconnected. 

Social media has also changed the way American citizens respond to try to be. The city of Moore, Oklahoma, for example, as 

you see on the screen, used its Facebook page to inform citizens on 

ways they could help. 

Social media platforms like Flickr and Instagram allow people 

from all over the country and all over the world see both wreckage 

and hope in real time. Seeing these unfiltered images in real time 

help tells the story in ways that traditional media never could and 

allows people to feel connected, giving them an even greater desire 

to help. 

The internet has served as a remarkable tool to save lives, facilitate philanthropic relief efforts, and improve disaster responsiveness, but there is always work to be done. 

Responding to this challenge will require a collaborative effort 

among the Government agencies, first responders, technology companies, and the general public. 

It is our pledge that the Internet Association will do our part 

working with our companies to facilitate these conversations between Government and technology companies to help harness the 

power of social media and strengthen our Nation’s emergency preparedness for the 21st Century. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Beckerman follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF MICHAEL BECKERMAN

JUNE 4, 2013 

INTRODUCTION

Chairwoman Brooks, Ranking Member Payne, and distinguished Members of the 

committee, thank you for calling this timely and important hearing. It is a pleasure 

and an honor to appear before you today to discuss how the internet and social 

media and are transforming how Americans prepare, respond, and recover when disaster strikes. 
22 

1Stephen Morris and John Horrigan, ‘‘13 million Americans made donations online after Hurricane Katrina and Rita,’’ http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2005/13-million-Americansmade-donations-online-after-Hurricanes-Katrina-and-Rita/Data-Memo.aspx (Nov. 24, 2005). 2 Id. 

3Thomas Frank, ‘‘Katrina inspires record charity,’’ USA TODAY http:// 

usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-11-13-katrina-charitylx.htm?csp=34 (Nov. 13, 

2005). 4Stephen Morris and John Horrigan, ‘‘13 million Americans made donations online after Hurricane Katrina and Rita,’’ http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2005/13-million-Americansmade-donations-online-after-Hurricanes-Katrina-and-Rita/Data-Memo.aspx (Nov. 24, 2005). 

My name is Michael Beckerman, and I am the president and CEO of the Internet 

Association, a trade organization comprised of 17 leading internet companies across 

the globe, including AOL, Airbnb, Amazon.com, ebay, Expedia, Facebook, Google, 

IAC, LinkedIn, Monster, Path, Rackspace, Salesforce.com, SurveyMonkey, 

TripAdvisor, Yahoo, and Zynga. Our members have been on the forefront of efforts 

to leverage new technology and communication platforms to inform the public before, during, and after a disaster, and to facilitate recovery and reconstruction efforts in the aftermath. We deeply appreciate the opportunity to share the perspective of our membership with the committee today. 

The rise of social media, ‘‘crowd-sourcing’’ and the ‘‘share economy’’ has revolutionized how we interact with our friends, family, fellow citizens, and Government. 

Communicating during a disaster is now an interactive conversation. Millions of 

minds converge to solve problems, seek out answers and disseminate vital information. Important news can be shared with millions, and by millions, quickly and efficiently. The social web is challenging emergency managers, Government agencies, 

and aid organizations to adapt time-honored expertise with real-time information 

from the public (Please see Exhibit A). In short, the convergence of social networks 

and mobile has thrown the old response playbook out the window. 

THEN AND NOW: EVOLUTION OF TECHNOLOGY IN DISASTER RESPONSE

The power and promise of the internet was on full display in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, one of the most devastating natural disasters this country has ever experienced. When this catastrophic storm ravaged the city of New Orleans and its surrounding areas, it claimed many lives, displaced hundreds of thousands of people, and left billions of dollars worth of damage with its wreckage. 

During an emergency, information is the most valuable commodity. After the 

storm, the internet played an important role in mitigating the breakdown of communication that is typical during times of disaster. According to the Pew Research Center, about 50% of all internet users received news about the hurricane not only from 

mainstream media websites but also from blogs.1 A quarter of on-line users shared 

e-mails or instant messages about the storm while others used the internet to check 

on someone’s safety.2

The water’s recession revealed the true extent of the devastation, which inspired 

the rest of the country and the world to make monetary contributions critical to rebuilding the city. In just a few short weeks after the storm, private donations 

neared about $2.7 billion.3 In reaching this record-setting level, the internet served 

as an important outlet for relief donations with about 13 million Americans turning 

to on-line sources to provide donations.4

That was 2005—only a year after Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook, before Twitter came into existence and even before smartphones became as ubiquitous as they 

are today. Since then, our member companies have continued to innovate, achieving 

significant advancements in on-line tools and services such as social media. Today, 

crowd-sourcing and social media allow information to be shared in real time, allowing first responders to reach victims much faster than before. 

In the years since Hurricane Katrina, many wonder how the robust and well-developed social media websites we enjoy today could have been leveraged. Could we 

have saved more lives had there been a full-fledged Facebook or Twitter? 

The 7.0 magnitude earthquake that rocked Haiti in January of 2010 served as an 

example of the opportunities social media and mobile technology present to support 

the great work of our disaster response professionals. 

Within a few hours of the quake, a man trapped with 20 other people under a 

collapsed building in Port-au-Prince managed to send a photo of the wreckage from 

his phone to a cousin in Chicago. The cousin tweeted the photo to ‘‘@RedCross’’ and 

the Red Cross in turn relayed the location to first responders in Haiti. In previous 

disasters, these victims may not have been rescued in time. In other instances, 

using geo-location technology built into phones, allowed rescue workers to pinpoint 

the location of trapped victims and save many lives. 
23 

5 Harry Wallop, ‘‘Japan earthquake: how Twitter and Facebook helped,’’ http:// 

www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/twitter/8379101/Japan-earthquake-how-Twitter-and-Facebookhelped.html (Mar. 13, 2011). 

To cite one prominent example of innovation in disaster response from our membership, immediately after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Google worked with the 

United States Department of State to create Google Person Finder, an on-line registry and message board for survivors, family, and loved ones affected by a natural 

disaster allowing them to post and search for information about each other’s status 

and whereabouts. Google Person Finder launched in English, French, and Haitian 

Creole on January 15, less than 3 days after the earthquake. 

Social media a vital role in the critical days and weeks after a disaster, when efforts transition from response to recovery. In a connected, borderless medium, the 

excuse that donating relief money is too complicated and confusing has largely been 

eradicated through text messaging and social media. In the first 48 hours following 

the Haitian Earthquake, the Red Cross raised more than $3 million dollars from 

people texting a $10 donation. ‘‘Crowd funding’’ empowers citizens to donate to, and 

solicit donations for, victims of disasters through posts to Facebook, Google+, 

LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media sites. 

To highlight just a few examples from The Internet Association membership: 

• Facebook launched the Disaster Relief on Facebook Page, where millions of people could educate themselves and find out how to help. • Zynga, the on-line gaming company, was able to raise nearly $3 million for relief efforts from their game players. • Amazon.com customers gave more than $750,000 through the Amazon.com 

website. 

Through a corporate campaign, Expedia, Inc. donated $200,000 to the United 

Nations and held a special 2:1 match, with employees donating an additional 

$75,000 (total donation of $270,000 to the United Nations). 

Applying the lessons learned from the Haiti disaster, a protocol has begun to 

emerge. Facebook’s Disaster Relief Page is now used for wherever disaster and misfortune may strike. The American Red Cross’s Facebook page alone now has more 

than half a million fans to which the organization delivers disaster news and allows 

people to donate both blood and money. 

Beyond the dissemination of disaster information and donations, the Red Cross 

has established a Social Media Command Center—the first social media-based operation devoted to humanitarian relief. Located in the Red Cross National Disaster 

Operations Center in Washington, DC, the center is expanding the Red Cross’s ability to engage with the public during emergencies and enabling Red Cross team 

members to determine where to position workers on the ground. The command center allows the Red Cross to better serve those who need help, spot trends, and better 

anticipate the public’s needs; and connect people with the resources they need, like 

food, water, shelter, or even emotional support. 

Additionally, the Red Cross has established a Social Media Volunteer Corps program to help respond to questions from and provide information to the public during 

disasters. The Red Cross has conducted numerous webinars to train this new digital 

volunteer army, who have played critical roles in working to verify and curate the 

incredible volume of data during disasters, notifying Digital Operations Center staff 

of on-line trends and situational information that can inform disaster-response efforts. Google’s work on the Haiti earthquake led to the formation of the Google Crisis Response team, which has launched Google Person Finder again for several subsequent disasters, in many different languages and with a variety of data exchange 

partners. Before I conclude, I’d like to quickly touch on a few more recent disasters 

and highlights some social media success stories from among our membership. 

Japan Tsunami, March 2011.—Images of entire cities being crushed under water 

half a world away left many Americans feeling helpless. Luckily we have companies 

like Amazon.com, which offered homepage placement to the American Red Cross 

and Mercy Corps in addition to donating their payment technology. This led to more 

than $1.8 million in relief aid for our friends in Japan. Social media played an important role as the most efficient and reliable way to connect with relatives. Even 

the U.S. State Department took to Twitter to publish emergency number and inform 

Japanese residents in America of how to contact their families affected in Japan.5

Tuscaloosa, AL and Joplin, MO Tornados, April & May 2011.—When a tornado 

devastated Tuscaloosa, Alabama, a local school system went on-line to post a request for volunteers to help clean up their school—amazingly, 80 people showed up 

in less than 30 minutes. This typifies the unmatched power of social media; you 

would be hard-pressed to make 40 phone calls in 30 minutes, never mind 80. As 

users leverage our member companies’ services, our member companies also lend 
24 

6 Chris Moody, Meet FDNY’s one-woman Twitter response team guiding New Yorkers through 

storm, http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/meet-fdny-one-woman-twitter-response-team-guiding141143449.html (Oct. 30, 2012). 7 Jersey Shore Hurricane News, https://www.facebook.com/JerseyShoreHurricaneNews?sid=0.9051242845943719—last visited June 3, 2013. 

their manpower and expertise in the recovery process. Expedia, Inc. employees continue to volunteer to provide their on-going support in the clean-up and recovery 

effort. 

Hurricane Sandy, October 2012.—When last fall’s once-in-a-century type storm 

slammed our eastern seaboard, people took to the internet to document their experience. The volume was so large that the Red Cross asked 23 staffers to monitor over 

2.5 million social media posts; of which, 4,500 were tagged for first responders to 

follow up on. 

New York City itself turned to Twitter to seek out emergency-related tweets in 

the aftermath of the storm. For instance, the city’s Chief Digital Officer organized 

responses to hundreds of Twitter questions pouring in for those in need of accurate 

information.6 In addition to disseminating information, the Fire Department of New 

York’s Social Media Manager used Twitter to serve as a liaison between those residents in distress and firefighters and EMS members. As phone lines remained 

down, the Social Media Manager responded to tweets requesting assistance by collecting phone numbers and the details of the emergency then relayed that information to first responders. 

Airbnb, an on-line marketplace for users to find housing accommodations, sprang 

into action following Hurricane Sandy. With more than 100,000 people still homeless a week after Hurricane Sandy hit the Northeast, Airbnb partnered with the city 

of New York to connect those without shelter to people who had extra space. Nearly 

1,500 Airbnb members opened up their homes for free to people in need. Please See 

Exhibit B. 

Justin Ausiello’s Jersey Shore Hurricane News Facebook page became a trusted 

place for information and served as a crucial tool for those affected by the hurricane, 

by informing citizens about shelters, supplies, and news.7 In a truly miraculous 

story, a woman noticed a post on Mr. Ausiello’s page of the badly-hit South Seaside 

Park, where her 93-year-old, diabetic grandmother was trapped. After the woman 

sent a message to the News Page, her grandmother was subsequently rescued. 

Ebay Inc., an on-line market place for consumers, coordinated a company-wide effort to support the massive community relief and recovery effort and looked to more 

than 210,000 users for assistance. As a result, StubHub, ebay, and PayPal facilitated over $10 million of support for Hurricane Sandy relief. 

Moore, Oklahoma Tornado, May 2013.—Thanks to advanced technology and excellent meteorologists, Oklahomans knew of the tornado risks days in advance. Social 

media supplemented traditional means of spreading the message to take shelter. In 

the immediate aftermath, FEMA encouraged survivors to update their social networks to let their loved ones know their whereabouts, if they were safe or needed 

emergency assistance. Along with the Red Cross, cities, animal assistance groups, 

and prayer/religious support groups now have a strong presence on social media. 

Social media has changed the way American citizens respond to tragedy. The city 

of Moore uses its Facebook page to inform citizens on ways they can help. (Please 

see Exhibit C). Social media platforms like Flickr and Instagram allowed people 

from all over the country to see the both the wreckage and the hope in Moore, Oklahoma on their computer screens, tablets, and smartphones. Seeing unfiltered images 

in real time tells the story in ways the traditional news media is unable to, and 

allows people to feel connected giving them an even greater desire to help. 

Continuing similar efforts as it did with Hurricane Sandy, ebay is promoting and 

facilitating customer donations. In addition to providing an opportunity on its home 

page for customers to make contributions, sellers, and buyers have other options 

available to them. For instance, sellers may donate a percentage of their sale proceeds to a featured relief organization or buyers may purchase items via the website 

that benefit relief organizations, marked with a special charity icon. Additionally, 

PayPal powers payment processing for partner organizations and personal fundraisers. 

CONCLUSION

The internet has served as a remarkable tool to save lives, facilitate unprecedented philanthropic relief efforts, and improve disaster responsiveness. 

And yet, there are still challenges that remain. Emergency response professionals 

are not yet fully ready to collect, respond, or react to the incoming stream of social 

data in a timely manner. Responding to this challenge will require a collaborative 
25 

8First Image: Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin’s Twitter Post Updates. Also available at 

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/05/21/oklahoma-tornados-2013-killedlnl3310410.- 

html (last visited May 31, 2013). Second Image: Instagram Photo of Oklahoma Tornado Aftermath by lynnllove. 

effort among Government agencies, first responders, technology companies, public 

safety officials, and the general public. 

It is my pledge to you that The Internet Association will do its part to facilitate 

these conversations and collaborations so that we can harness the power of social 

media and strengthen our Nation’s emergency preparedness, response, and recovery 

for the 21st Century. 

EXHIBIT A 8
26 

9The City of Moore, https://www.facebook.com/cityofmoore (last visited June 3, 2013). 

EXHIBIT B—THE CITY OF MOORE FACEBOOK PAGE 9

EXHIBIT C—AIRBNB PAGE FOR HURRICANE SANDY
27 

Mrs. BROOKS. Thank you, Mr. Beckerman. 

The Chairwoman now recognizes Mr. Cardenas for 5 minutes for 

an opening statement. 

STATEMENT OF JORGE L. CARDENAS, VICE PRESIDENT, ASSET 

MANAGEMENT AND CENTRALIZED SERVICES, PUBLIC SERVICE ELECTRIC AND GAS COMPANY 

Mr. CARDENAS. Chairman Brooks, Ranking Member Payne, and 

Members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. 

My name is Jorge Cardenas. I am vice president of asset management and centralized services for Public Service Electric and 

Gas Company, which is New Jersey’s largest utility, best known as 

PSE&G. 

PSE&G’s service territory includes all of New Jersey’s major 

urban areas. We serve some 2.2 million electric customers and 1.8 

million gas customers. These really has come together to be about 

70 percent of the population of New Jersey. 

Superstorm Sandy hit New Jersey hard. In our service territory, 

it took down 48,000 trees which impacted our distribution system. 

It destroyed 2,400 utility poles—many of them were snapped like 

toothpicks—drove walls of water into 29 of our switching and substations, and damaged our gas lines and meters. 

Over 40,000 of our gas customers were impacted and almost 2 

million of our electric customers lost power. Restoration efforts 

were impeded by a forceful nor’easter that hit a week later. The 

impact of destruction and the complexity of the work to restore 

service made communications of all kinds a key component of the 

Sandy recovery effort. 

Before I discuss our social media experience, let me also note the 

importance of smart grid technology, which enables utilities to obtain critical information that can help pinpoint problems and automate restoration. 

Smart grid technology enhances our ability to communicate with 

our own system. It can dramatically shorten the time it takes to 

restore service in the aftermath of a storm and can prevent outages 

from becoming widespread. 

That is why in New Jersey we have proposed $450 million investment in smart grid technology as part of our energy strong proposal, which will harden our system against these types of extraordinary weather events, those we have experienced over the recent 

past. 

Turning to social media, we used email and Twitter the days before the storm to communicate about safety and to help people prepare, and after the storm passed we use them to explain the historic amounts of damage and the huge effort it would take to rebuild. 

We used Twitter to advise on the daily location of our giant tents 

and generators which allowed customers to charge electronic equipment, get free ice, water, and food. We explained the importance 

of reporting outages and damaged equipment and the correct method to do so, so we can take action. 

We educated the public about what we were doing to get power 

to refineries, hospitals, schools, businesses, and homes. While we 
28 

had historically used social media only during business hours and 

with a small group of employees, we quickly staffed up for 17 days, 

operated our Twitter feeds 15 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

We sent more than 9,000 messages and saw some 90,000 directed 

at us. At one point during the storm we sent so many tweets that 

we exceeded our daily allowances. Through our utility contacts we 

reached the leadership of Twitter to expand our capacity. That is 

a lesson learned for the next storm. 

Ultimately, we added over 47,000 followers during the time of 

the storm. When we exited the storm, we had the largest following 

of any utility in the United States. 

Our innovative use of social media has been noticed outside the 

company. In a recent report, JD Power and Associates cited our industry-leading communication success. Following Sandy, the utility 

customer service non-profit CS Week gave PSE&G an award for 

our use of social media during the storm. 

Here are some of our key takeaways; lessons learned. Mobile 

technology is a game changer. More than half of Americans have 

a smart phone and more and more people in almost every age demographic are active on social media. People have an increasing 

and insatiable need to be connected even more so in times of emergency. 

They want to be heard. They want to be validated. They want 

to help and influence us. The number of people on social media 

spikes in times of disaster. People flock to Twitter and Facebook 

and the like because they are searching for immediate information 

that they can’t get via traditional broadcast channels. 

Engaging influencers is critical. It is just as important to grow 

the influence of your on-line community as it is to grow its size. 

Connecting with people who have credibility in their local communities is critical to an organization’s ability to spread its message. 

The public respects and rewards consistent, transparent interaction and cooperation between the private sector and community 

leaders. During Sandy we used Twitter to amplify messages from 

municipal and State officials, police departments, Office of Emergency Management, and social service agencies helping get valuable information right away to those who needed it. 

Tone matters. It does matter a lot. People respect a social media 

effort that is continuously empathetic, authentic, and helpful. Public notes of appreciation matter too, especially to the fiercely proud 

people who work in the utility industry. We regard ourselves as 

first responders and supportive messages can go a long way with 

a weary employee base in need of a boost. 

In closing, Sandy hit home how important it is to continue to improve our ability to communicate in an increasingly 24/7 connected 

and cyber-savvy world. 

To that end, I want to thank Congressman Payne for working 

with us on a National Research Council study that will help our 

industry use digital information to improve reliability and resiliency and help us understand our vulnerabilities to cyber-attacks. 

Thank you again for the opportunity to share our experience. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Cardenas follows:] 
29 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF JORGE L. CARDENAS

JUNE 4, 2013 

Chairman Brooks, Ranking Member Payne, and Members of the subcommittee, 

thank you for the opportunity to appear before you here today. 

My name is Jorge Cardenas. I am vice president of asset management and centralized services for Public Service Electric and Gas Company, which is New Jersey’s largest utility company, best known as PSE&G. 

PSE&G’s service territory includes all of New Jersey’s major urban areas, along 

a 2,600-square-mile north-south corridor that hugs much of the New Jersey Turnpike. We serve some 2.2 million electric customers, and 1.8 million gas customers. 

PSE&G is a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group, an integrated generation and energy company headquartered in Newark, New Jersey. 

I appreciate your invitation to appear at today’s hearing to discuss the use of social media and technology during disaster. 

Superstorm Sandy hit New Jersey hard. In our service territory, it took down 

48,000 trees affecting our distribution system, destroyed 2,400 utility poles, drove 

walls of water into 29 of our switching and substations, and damaged gas lines and 

meters. 

The damage, and the impact to our system, was unprecedented. 

All in all, over 40,000 of our gas customers were impacted; many needing their 

heating systems repaired and their gas meters and regulators replaced, and 90 percent of our electric customers—almost 2 million—lost power. Restoration efforts 

were impeded by a forceful nor’easter that hit a week later. 

The impact of the destruction and the complexity of the work that needed to be 

done in order to restore service made communication—of all kinds—a key component of the Sandy recovery effort. 

I’m here primarily to talk about our use of social media, but let me also note the 

importance of smart grid technology which makes it possible for utilities like ours 

to obtain critical information that can help pinpoint problems and automate restoration. Smart grid technology can dramatically shorten the time it takes to restore 

service in the aftermath of a storm, and can prevent outages from becoming widespread. 

That’s why, in New Jersey, we have proposed a $450 million investment in smart 

grid technology as part of our $3.9 billion ‘‘Energy Strong’’ proposal, which will 

harden our system against the types of extraordinary weather events that have hit 

our area over the last few years. 

Now I’d like to talk in more detail about our experience with social media and 

its value as a communications tool for a storm event like Sandy. 

We already had email addresses for about 800,000 customers and almost 15,000 

people in our Twitter community, and the ability to communicate directly was helpful. 

We used email and Twitter in the days before Sandy to communicate about safety 

and to help people prepare. After the storm passed, we used them to explain the 

historic amount of damage and the Herculean effort it would take to clean up and 

rebuild. 

We explained the importance of reporting outages and damaged equipment, and 

the correct method for doing so. 

We supplemented the messages we typically send in a storm through traditional 

media outlets with a greater number of proactive outbound phone calls to customers, daily conference calls with local leaders, more frequent emails to stakeholders, and a much stronger social media presence than we had ever before attempted. 

We educated customers and community leaders about our inspection and restoration process for getting power to refineries, as well as heat and light to hospitals, 

schools, businesses, and homes. 

Throughout it all, we were frank about the challenges and setbacks we faced— 

as well as our victories. 

That consistent and transparent dialogue helped our customers and the communities we serve set expectations and plan appropriately. 

We not only listened and pushed out valuable information—we talked with people. That was a differentiator. 

For our part, we’re proud of the speed and flexibility with which we ramped up, 

our ability to adapt to the magnitude of the situation, the volume of interactions 

we handled via social media and the intense and sustained nature of our efforts. 
30 

While we had historically used social media only during business hours and with 

a small group of people at the helm, we quickly staffed up and, for 17 days, staffed 

our Twitter feeds 15 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

We used Twitter to send word about the daily locations of our giant tents and 

generators—which allowed customers in hard-hit areas to charge their electronic 

equipment and get free ice, water, and food. 

We sent more than 9,000 messages (more than 500 a day) and saw some 90,000 

directed at us. When the volume of in-bound tweets became too great to us to reply 

to each individually, we responded to messages about safety and offered comment 

when we felt it could benefit a broad audience. 

At one point during the storm, we sent so many tweets to alert customers, we 

exceeded the amount of tweets allowed per day. Through our utility contacts, we 

reached the leadership of Twitter to expand our capacity. A lesson learned for the 

next storm. 

We gained almost 47,000 followers during this time, and exited the Superstorm 

with the largest Twitter community of any utility in the United States. 

Our innovative use of social media was certainly noticed. In a recent report, JD 

Power and Associates mentioned our use of Twitter during Sandy as a best practice, 

citing our ‘‘industry-leading communications success.’’ 

And CS Week, a nonprofit that focuses on customer service for utilities, recently 

gave PSE&G an award for ‘‘Innovation in Customer Service’’ for its use of social 

media during Sandy. 

While we are back to a more reasonable pace now, we are now more convinced 

than ever about the power and importance of social media—especially in times of 

emergency. 

We continue to build and engage our on-line communities with the understanding 

that ‘‘blue sky days’’ are different than those marked by crises, and social media and 

mobile technology are an increasingly important part our communications strategy. 

Here are some other things we learned: 

1. Mobile technology is a game changer.—More than half of Americans have a 

smart phone, and more and more people—in almost every age demographic— 

are active on social media. 

2. People have an increasing and insatiable need to be connected.—Even more 

so in times of emergency. They want to be heard, to be validated, to help and 

to influence. Understanding that, and honoring it, is key to creating community 

and getting through crises. 

3. The number of people on social media spikes in times of disaster.—People 

flock to Twitter and Facebook and the like because they are searching for immediate information that they can’t get via traditional broadcast channels. And the 

big social media platforms are all mobile-optimized. 

4. Engaging influencers is critical.—It’s just as important to grow the influence 

of your on-line community as it is to grow the size. Connecting with people who 

have credibility and influence in their local communities is critical to an organization’s ability to spread its message outside of its own networks, and increase 

the effectiveness of the communication. 

5. The public respects and rewards consistent, transparent interaction and cooperation between the private sector and community leaders.—During Sandy we 

used Twitter to amplify messages from municipal and State officials, police departments, Offices of Emergency Management and social service agencies—and 

that was integral in getting valuable information to those who needed it when 

it was needed. 

6. Tone matters.—People respect a social media effort that is continuously empathetic, authentic, and helpful. 

7. Public notes of appreciation matter too, especially to the fiercely proud people 

who work in the utility industry.—We regard ourselves as first responders, and 

supportive messages can go a long way with a weary employee base in need of 

a morale boost. 

So—how do we build on this experience at PSE&G? 

Today our customers can access outage maps on our website and get information 

about safety and our outage reporting and restoration processes. 

We are optimizing these pages and other parts of our website so that they can 

be more easily utilized via smart phones. 

While we have some exciting new texting capabilities, we are looking to enrich 

our offerings even further so that customers can report their outages via text and 

get updates from us as we make progress on restoring their service. 

And we are working on developing separate web pages for each of the municipalities we serve, which will provide localized information including an estimated time 

of restoration for specific geographic areas. 
31 

Sandy reminded us how important it is to continue to improve our ability to communicate in an increasingly 24/7, connected, and cyber-savvy world. We continue to 

work with our peers both within the energy industry and in other industries to 

learn and develop best practices. 

While I work for the utility company, it is worth noting for this committee that 

the generation side of our business has begun incorporating social media into its 

emergency planning. 

Working with the Nuclear Energy Institute, PSEG Nuclear has begun to transform its existing news center operations into a virtual joint information system 

(JIS). 

The virtual JIS would incorporate social media platforms and a dark website to 

share information with the public in the event of a nuclear plant emergency. 

The plan incorporates NEI’s lessons learned through the tragedy in Japan as well 

as PSEG’s learnings from Superstorm Sandy. 

This process is being developed with support from the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management as well as the Delaware Emergency Management Agency. It 

would also meet requirements established by the Federal Emergency Management 

Agency. 

Finally, I want to thank Congressman Payne for his bill which calls for a National 

Research Council study that could help our industry use digital information to improve reliability and resiliency, and help us understand our vulnerabilities as they 

relate to cyber attack. 

In closing, changing weather patterns and an increased dependence on electricity 

require us to rethink the use of communications technology throughout our operations. Social media certainly has an increased role to play in the dissemination of 

emergency and disaster information. 

And when we think about how to make our grid more resilient, it is smart grid 

technology that allows our equipment to ‘‘talk’’—giving critical pieces the ability to 

automatically locate, isolate, diagnose, and begin to address problems—which helps 

us keep the lights on. 

Thank you again for the opportunity to testify this morning, and I’d be happy to 

take any questions. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Thank you, Mr. Cardenas. 

Before I begin to ask questions and before the rest of the panel 

begins to ask questions, I would like to mention that in the spirit 

of this hearing, last week I, as well as some members of my team 

and staff from homeland security, participated in last Friday’s 

weekly ‘‘SMEM chat’’ or what is Social Media Emergency Management chat on Twitter and solicited questions from those participants. 

So on a weekly basis folks participate in this manner, and I appreciate all of the wonderful insights. I am not sure if this has been 

done in Congress before to solicit these types of questions, but since 

this is the people’s house, I am happy to be submitting some of 

these questions that came from this chat last Friday. 

I should also note that during that chat, I was asked to express 

their appreciation for the work that your companies and your association are doing to support emergency managers. They truly appreciate it, and they wanted to make sure that we, you know, 

thanked the private sector for all of the work they are doing to support their work. 

I would like to start out first of all with Mr. Stepka. 

Thank you for speaking with us today, and certainly I know and 

you have shared with us all of the positive things that Google is 

doing to assist survivors and responders during Hurricane Sandy 

in particular, but I am very curious what kind of feedback you have 

received particularly from the users of your products; whether it is 

crisis maps, people finder, public alerts, and what kind of changes 

have you made, because this is obviously an evolving process, and 

I am curious, you know, what you have heard from the users. 
32 

Mr. STEPKA. Sure. One thing we look at for feedback is just how 

much things are being used and definitely our products are being 

used a lot. We had over 15 million unique visits to the Sandy pages 

alone. We had millions of people over the years using our products 

in this context. 

I think one of the key areas we looked at—I mentioned about 

crowdsourcing and how that became important, I think, to add to 

the crisis maps. We realized that that information is necessary. 

Sometimes the authoritative sources are not going to have everything you need to know. That is one piece of feedback. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Can you just explain to us and for the audience 

what crowdsourcing is? 

Mr. STEPKA. Sure. The notion of crowdsourcing is that basically 

rather than just taking data from authoritative sources like from, 

you know, FEMA or other organizations that have information 

from their sources which are authoritative, we also have the idea 

of crowdsourcing is collecting data from our users directly and finding a way to put that onto our properties around our products; so 

like on a map. 

The example I gave was around fuel stations in New Jersey. 

That information came from users and then was then put on our 

website and on our maps so people could see where the stations 

were that had fuel. 

The advantage of crowdsourcing is it lets lots of people on the 

ground participate and provide that information and you have to 

have a way to do that in a way that makes—that there is good 

feedback and people can correct data if they find errors. This is a 

crowd effort to make sure the data is accurate. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Thank you. Just a follow-up with respect to your 

maps. I know you receive information data feeds from multiple 

sources like you have said, FEMA, Red Cross, and others. Have 

you experienced, and you mentioned it in your testimony, have you 

experienced interoperability issues with importing that information 

onto your maps? 

How does that work? What are you doing to address those 

issues? Or what should groups like FEMA and Red Cross who we 

hope to be talking to in a next panel discussion, you know, what 

should we be sharing with them? 

Mr. STEPKA. Yes. Over the years we spent a lot of time early on 

doing a lot of massaging of data frankly to get it on to the maps. 

It was a lot of work initially; it was very ad hoc because we just 

wanted to get the information to people as quickly as possible. 

It did slow things down quite a bit. We are working a lot to get 

data in machine-readable formats and that is the most important 

thing—ways that we can actually receive the data and integrate it 

and we think the open standards is the best way to do it. This way 

it is available not just that Google but to anybody who can use that 

information in a secure way on whatever products they have or 

services they have. 

So I think the most important thing we are doing and what I 

would suggest is that we have these standards that organizations 

get behind like, for example, for alerts, we have a standard called 

Common Alerts Protocol, which is being adopted by a lot of organi-
33 

zations. I know in particular USGS is doing it for earthquakes for 

example. 

So as much as possible getting information in these standard formats so that it is very easy for us to integrate. Once they are in 

those formats, it is not a problem for us to integrate all of that 

data. It is just when they are not machine-readable it requires a 

lot of handholding and manual work, frankly. 

Mrs. BROOKS. How might you suggest that we educate everyone 

about the need for this open format? 

Mr. STEPKA. I think it will come up probably in, as many things 

do, in terms of funding; resources for—make sure those resources 

are focusing on writing to standards. It does require that organizations, Government organizations take the data they have and take 

the effort to change it so that it can be made available through 

these secure protocols, and I think that does require some resources. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Thank you. 

Very briefly, Mr. Payne, the work you are doing of course, at 

Palantir, to support the disaster relief efforts is truly impressive. 

I would like to ask you a similar question. As a result of lessons 

learned from Hurricane Sandy, what are some of those lessons? I 

know you shared some of those with us, but with respect to the 

users of your technology? 

Mr. PAYNE. I think that one of the first and most important lessons learned is the value of connectivity. What we saw in Hurricane Sandy is if you look at open 3–1–1 data, which is a great example of governments embracing open data and pushing out nonurgent requests for help from the community, to make that data 

publicly available. 

Before Hurricane Sandy, you saw a—something that reflected 

the heat map of the population density of New York City by and 

large. Then afterwards, there were discrete areas that were completely gone from requests for help because they had lost 

connectivity. 

So the first lesson is the absolute importance of empowering people to have ways to share that message to communicate directly 

with individuals. You know, at the end of the day a car battery will 

power an iPhone or an Android phone 150 times, but how do you 

make that link up such that that device stays hot or active in days 

after a storm? So that is one lesson. 

That being said, technology can be used and built to work in 

areas where there is not that connectivity. The second lesson is 

that the more data that you can fuse, the better cohesive picture 

you can build. 

Here one of the great things that happened after Hurricane 

Sandy is NOAA released very good high-resolution, overhead imagery of the affected areas. They flew an aircraft along the coastlines and made that data publicly available and so in tools like 

Google Maps or Palantir’s geographic capabilities, we were able to 

actually look at where there was sand in the streets, where there 

were broken-down cars, where there were destroyed buildings, et 

cetera, and then use that to allocate resources to help those people 

affected by that get back on our feet. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Thank you very much. 
34 

My time is now up. I now recognize the Ranking Member of the 

subcommittee, the gentleman from New Jersey, Mr. Payne, for any 

questions. 

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. 

Mr. Cardenas, you know, most utility companies have a presence 

on social media, but PSE&G has been a trailblazer in that regard. 

What differentiates public services’ social media efforts from others 

in the utility industry? 

Mr. CARDENAS. I think that the key differentiator is that we had 

real people speaking with real people. Our employees live in our 

service territories. They were experiencing the same exact things 

are customers were. We were very transparent. 

Our people on Twitter had the latest information. They knew 

about our challenges. They knew about time lines to restore certain 

communities. They did the best they could up front when we had 

individual responses. Later on they turned to more geographically 

encompassing messages. 

We were empathetic. I think we were very well-connected to each 

of those who sent us a tweet and we did our very, very best to get 

timely, very real information out to the public. 

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Have Government entities responsible 

for disaster relief reached out to PSE&G? To ask them their expertise in developing these best practices? 

Mr. CARDENAS. We have as late as yesterday, we had a meeting 

with a number of other utilities, other entities to share amongst us 

our best practices and our successes both in government throughout the storm whether it be the municipal mayors, whether it be 

the Governor’s office, the Congressman’s offices, we work clearly 

with them all the time to get their messages and our messages out 

to ensure we reinforced each other and make sure people were 

well-informed. 

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Thank you, sir. 

Mr. Stepka, you know, I represent the 10th District in New Jersey which was greatly impacted by Hurricane Sandy. I understand 

that you had a strong presence in the area. Would you elaborate 

on what you did with the State and for the residents of New Jersey? 

Mr. STEPKA. Sure. I think the most notable thing we did is 

through the crisis map I think gave people a lot of warning about 

where the map—wherever the storm was moving and how it was 

going and evacuation routes things like that, shelter information. 

I think the issues about the gas stations as well, I think was also 

New Jersey as well. That was probably one of the responses we did 

and we worked through our tools to provide people information. 

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Okay. What can we do in the region 

to prepare for the next crisis? 

Mr. STEPKA. I think the lesson learned about getting data in advance in these available to—in these open formats I think is important. There is always more information we can get. I think it is interesting about the fuel information, the longer-term time to recover from the storm. 

It is important to figure out ways to get that data in advance, 

but I think at the same time with crowdsourcing, we always have 
35 

to find the right balance between getting good information and 

making sure it is accurate. 

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Okay. Thank you. 

Mr. Beckerman, how do you feel—how can the Federal, State, 

and local governments and first responders best leverage the social 

media in data integration the tools available on the internet and 

disaster preparedness and response activities moving forward? 

Mr. BECKERMAN. I think one of the most important things is having an open line of communication between the technology companies and the Government and that appears to be happening. 

Social media and the internet can help before a storm like we 

have seen in the hurricanes and tornadoes. When you have some 

advanced warning, you can send messages out on social media and 

let people know the shelter in place or evacuate during a disaster 

as we have seen with help—responding to people to get real-time 

help, and then after a disaster to make sure that relief and volunteers and money and blood and things like that are getting to communities that need it most. 

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. This should be an on-going conversation. 

Mr. BECKERMAN. On-going, absolutely. 

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Not waiting for the next disaster to 

happen, correct? 

Mr. BECKERMAN. That is correct. 

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Okay, okay. 

Let’s see. Mr. Payne, you have identified development of clear 

data retention policies as a means of preventing sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands and bad actors. How do you 

envision these policies being developed and should they be directive 

or voluntary? 

Mr. PAYNE. In some cases, that they will be directive. Obviously, 

personal information about someone’s health information or health 

status is a very good example that falls under HIPAA law. 

The important thing is that an organization does not know what 

is happening to the data that they are sharing. Them making the 

decision to share that data becomes a very difficult decision to 

make. 

If it is an all-or-nothing, far too often the answer has to be nothing, but if there is abilities to technologically drive subsets of data, 

remove personally identifiable information, et cetera, that can empower that organization or that individual to make the decision of 

yes. 

At the end of the day, those most vulnerable during disaster are 

those most vulnerable before the disaster and often it is systemic 

health concerns and that sort of thing. 

Knowing who those people are and where they are can be very 

useful for first responders to ensure that they have the correct 

medication, the correct resources that they need, but redacting that 

information or removing that information after the disaster is 

something that I think would make it much more likely for the decision to be yes to share that information. 

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Thank you. 

Madam Chairwoman, I yield back. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Thank you very much. 
36 

The Chairwoman will now recognize other Members of the subcommittee for questions they may wish to ask the witnesses. 

In accordance with our committee rules and practice, I plan to 

recognize Members who were present at the start of the hearing by 

seniority on the subcommittee, and those coming in later will be 

recognized in the order of their arrival. 

At this time, the Chairwoman now recognizes the gentleman 

from New York, Mr. King, former chair of the Homeland Security 

Committee, for questions. 

Mr. KING. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. Let me thank you 

for holding this hearing which is especially vital and it certainly 

has a real significance coming so soon after Sandy. 

Let me join Mr. Payne in commending Mr. Cardenas for the outstanding job that PSE&G did in New Jersey. Unfortunately, we did 

not have the same experience in New York. I am not trying to drag 

you into a cross-border dispute here, but in my district, and the 

district next to mine, we have about $8 billion in damage, and that 

we can cope with. 

What we could not cope with was almost a total lack of communication between the consumers and the public utility, Long Island 

Power Authority. It was again, almost impossible to get information, get answers. Again, I say almost a total breakdown in communication. 

From what Mr. Payne has said, and certainly your testimony 

today, it is clear that PSE&G was making substantial use of social 

media. I know you are working within New Jersey, but are you 

making any effort to reach beyond New Jersey to share your experiences with other utilities throughout the country? 

Mr. CARDENAS. Absolutely. Absolutely. We have met with 

ConEdison, with LIPA, with members from Connecticut to share 

our best practices. We have shown them what we did, how we were 

able to in real time ramp up to train our employees to respond on 

Twitter. 

It has become a brand-new technology that grows every day, 

changes every day. So you have to stay ahead and we chose to embrace it and to be very transparent. 

I think that is the one thing we told the other utilities. Please, 

provide information you have and that is important and that it be 

done with people who can speak with people, not to people, because 

everybody is kind-of on the same boat here and we are all trying 

to help each other. So we have met with utilities in the surrounding States. 

Mr. KING. Can you tell us if they have been listening to you? 

Mr. CARDENAS. I think only—— 

Mr. KING. You know, I am not trying to drag you—— 

Mr. CARDENAS [continuing]. Only time will tell, and I am sure 

they will. I think the energy industry, the utilities tend to share 

information, we just hope that everybody takes it on in a very timely manner. 

Mr. KING. Thank you, Mr. Cardenas. 

Once again, Mr. Payne is ahead of the rest of us, he gets the 

break in New York with the good service, I mean, in New Jersey, 

and we in New York are trying to, you know, catch up. But anyway. 
37 

Don, thanks for bringing the witness today. 

Let me ask Mr. Stepka—really I guess expanding on your testimony with the Chairwoman, can you describe the partnerships that 

you have established with first responders and Government agencies as Google rolls out its crisis response efforts and also if you 

could again again emphasize what you did with Sandy and how 

that would apply to the future? 

Mr. STEPKA. Sure. I think the Red Cross is one of the key partnerships we work with very closely—actually for things like shelter 

information and resources for recovery. 

With the city of New York, we were very engaged as well. We 

created actually a separate crisis map just for the city of New York. 

We had actually special data that was available for them for evacuation routes and things like the affected areas. 

Of course we work with NOAA as well for weather information. 

They are also working with a CAP standard for alerts. It is very 

helpful for like when storms are coming and we can alert that information to our users. With Sandy those partnerships, a lot of 

those were in place already, so we were able to really respond more 

effectively. 

Mr. KING. Do you recall if you have had any relationships on 

Long Island, Nassau County, Suffolk County, or the State government? 

Mr. STEPKA. You know, I don’t recall off the top of my head. We 

can get back to you on that. 

Mr. KING. Okay, if you would and if not, let me know, and I will, 

you know, contact the county executives. From listening to your 

testimony and the way it was described, I think it would be very 

vital. 

Mr. STEPKA. Okay. 

Mr. KING. All of us were really caught off guard with Sandy. 

I yield back, Madam Chairwoman, thank you very much. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Thank you. 

The Chairwoman now recognizes the gentlelady from New York, 

Ms. Clarke. 

Ms. CLARKE. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman, and to our Ranking Member, Mr. Payne, to our distinguished panelists. 

I wanted to sort-of, a follow-through on some of the train of 

thought here, because what we saw with the Sandy event was a 

unique confluence of conditions and one of the things that have— 

being a New Yorker—has concerned me is the way that the mobile 

phone scenario degrades very rapidly in those types of environments. 

You couple that with a water event so that perhaps Mr. Payne’s 

idea of using a car battery becomes a nonstarter and then the 

going down of the grid, now you know we have no way of communicating. 

So I would be interested in sort of getting a sense of other ways 

that we can perhaps tap into the technology world beyond that affected environment to bring relief as rapidly as possible to those 

environments. 

Has there been any discussion about satellite technology and 

how that in some way can be of assistance, and then finally just 

a description of your partnerships with New York responders and 
38 

agencies around such an event such as Sandy—now I spoke about 

a natural disaster, but in the event of a terrorist attack which we 

have experienced in New York City, the same scenario plays out 

once everyone starts getting on their mobile phones at the same 

time. 

It becomes you know—if you can get through to someone you are 

lucky and it seems to go out in concentric circles. The closer you 

are, the harder it is but after a while there is a cascading effect. 

So can you just sort of share with me your thoughts around that? 

Because that was a major concern, for many days, quite frankly, 

after the event in New York City. 

Mr. STEPKA. The first part of your question about the usefulness 

of mobile phones during a crisis. It is a problem—of course if we 

don’t have power. That is the first thing you need to have and 

there are, I think, very creative ideas of getting around that issue 

and they are on a different grid so they tend to have their own 

power sources separately. 

You mentioned the ideas of satellites or other technologies. I 

think it is something we have done a lot of internal discussions 

around, like what technologies would be useful as a back-up system 

in this situation? A lot of them have advantages and disadvantages. I think they are worth looking into more deeply and making 

investments overall, but we don’t have anything now in place for 

that. 

I do think, I mean, all of these tools are limited by the fact that 

if you don’t have connectivity, you can’t get them. I do think it is 

something that we are focusing more immediately on, which is 

probably more cost-effective and that is getting people more prepared before-hand. 

So the cool thing about a storm like Sandy—you can see it coming, unlike a tornado which unfortunately gives very little warning, 

but with a situation like, you know it is coming, we can actually 

give people a lot more certainty and give them instructions and 

ideas about how to prepare for it so they don’t have to deal with 

it as badly; either evacuating early or at least getting supplies 

ready for the emergency. 

So I think that something we can do a much better job at and 

I think it is something we are looking at closely. 

The second question, I think you were asking around—more 

around I guess terrorists events and that sort of thing. For the 

most part, we have been focusing on a natural disasters. In a terrorist attack we did actually help with the Boston bombing. We 

turned on our Person Finder so people could find out where their 

loved ones were during the crisis—after the crisis because there 

was a lot of chaos right then. 

I think in general it is a very different set of issues and I think 

it is important to look at them very carefully. Like you see there 

is a bad actor in play, you need to understand what is the motivations and how they are engaging on this event and how do we 

make sure that we be very careful how we respond? 

Mr. PAYNE. Today, there exists a system for NGO’s focus on response to use voice. It is called to the Wireless Priority Service. 

That is over a decade old and it doesn’t have any allocations for 

data. To change that to allow folk to use data would reduce the 
39 

congestion on networks and allow people to be more effective in 

communicating. 

Further known are the First Net initiative looking long-term at 

something that I think can really help. It is a Nation-wide 500 

megahertz’ worth of spectrum allocation for specific data transmission during emergency response. 

My understanding right now is that that is only allocated for official Government agencies. If there could be small portions of that 

system, of that First Net system, that could be allocated for individuals at FEMA shelters or Red Cross shelters or NGOs to do 

quick communications to check in with their loved ones, I think 

that would go a long way towards empowering people to communicate in wide-scale disasters. 

Ms. CLARKE. Thank you very much, Madam Chairwoman. 

I thank you for your responses. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Thank you. 

The Chairwoman now recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Mr. Perry, for 5 minutes. 

Mr. PERRY. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. 

Gentlemen, I appreciate your testimony. 

I am interested in prevention of things that we have seen happen 

and wondering what you see as the Federal Government’s role, and 

in particularly in cases, if we could use the Boston, the bombing 

at the marathon and the—and the Facebook postings in advance of 

that. 

How should—how do you see that that should be monitored? 

Should it be monitored in the first place? How should it be monitored? What would the triggers be? Should that information go to 

law enforcement? Who should send it? 

I think there is a lot of questions there because I think there is 

some expectation that this stuff is open source that it no longer 

bears the same privacy concerns that maybe your email would once 

you posted on Facebook. 

Is that true, and if that is available, should or should we not be 

using that to safeguard our communities? I would just like to have 

a continuing dialogue. 

I guess, Mr. Stepka, anybody would like to answer? 

Mr. STEPKA. Sure. I think it is a very important question to get 

that right and we do take this very seriously. I think in general, 

all this public information that is available on social media, I think 

can be a source, I think for law enforcement to look for potential 

bad actors and I think they can do that. 

In general instances, that being posted publicly, that can be reviewed by law enforcement without any need to get subpoenaed or 

even working with either Google or other technology companies. 

They can do that directly. 

I think, you know, that is pretty much—I think the most important thing to think about with that. This is a—in a free society it 

is a hard balance to figure out how to deal with these kinds of information out there. There is many—there is usually a very small 

number of people who are bad actors and they get lost in the noise, 

I think, unless you are looking for them specifically. 

Mr. BECKERMAN. From our perspective, privacy is very important. Our companies take the privacy of the users very seriously ei-
40 

ther every day and also during disasters, and there are a lot of 

tools on-line, but we feel that law enforcement should use the same 

warrants and due process and that they do in the analog world 

that they should apply to the digital world. 

Mr. PERRY. So in that case, where there have been or were 

Facebook postings, who would have—whose responsibility is it to 

monitor? How would they find in this huge universe of postings, 

how would they find that in a timely—whoever they are—first of 

all, who do you see? 

Who are the ‘‘they?’’ Is it law enforcement? Is it the Department 

of Justice? Department of Defense? Is it the CIA? Who is it that 

would do it? Is it you folks? How would they go about finding that 

needle in the haystack on a continual basis, if you have any 

thoughts on that? 

Mr. STEPKA. One thing we can do is, and this is related to 

YouTube when people would post either things which violate our 

terms of service around hate speech or terrorist activity, that sort 

of thing, if someone flagged that information we do take it down. 

So we do rely on our users to help police it in that sense. I think, 

like I mentioned before, if there is public postings, I would leave 

it to law enforcement to look at the public postings. If they are not 

public, they do have to go through their normal process to get access to the information, the same as any other kind of subpoena 

process. 

Mr. PERRY. So when you take it down—if it falls within the criteria that you find objectionable per your company’s policies, do you 

then report? Do you feel an obligation to report in the instances 

of—in the instance of these—these Facebook postings or these videos in particular, is—should there be an obligation? 

Was there any obligation other than just taking it down because 

of course that doesn’t help law enforcement, that doesn’t alert citizens or the authorities to what might be impending? What is your 

protocol—what should the protocol be there? 

Mr. STEPKA. Yes, specifically on YouTube I know that if a user 

flags something as being terrorist, a terrorist activity or basically 

a bomb-making-type thing, we do take it down. 

You know, I don’t know the answer to your question about 

whether we do then inform law enforcement of that. I can find out 

that and get back to you. 

Mr. PERRY. All right, thank you. 

Madam Chairwoman, I yield back. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Thank you. 

At this time I recognize gentleman from Mississippi, Mr. Palazzo, 

for 5 minutes. 

Mr. PALAZZO. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. 

I thank our witnesses here today for their testimony and answering our questions. 

I represent the Mississippi’s 4th Congressional District which 

spans the entire Mississippi Gulf Coast. We got hit pretty hard 

during Hurricane Katrina and that was in 2005, almost 8 years 

ago. 

It feels like a long time, a very long time, but the remnants of 

the storm are still heavily present with us every day and we are 
41 

still recovering. But I would like to point out Facebook was still in 

its infancy, relatively speaking. 

It was almost nonexistent to many people. Twitter was nonexistent. The first iPhone wouldn’t come out for almost another 

year. Last year, Hurricane Sandy hit the Northeast and there were 

millions of people on social media sharing information, watching 

live Twitter feeds, and checking up on their loved ones. So just in 

a few short years we have seen social media explode, and I think 

most of my questions have already been answered. 

We have talked about lessons learned, but if any of you have the 

experience, can you kind of compare the technologies that we had 

during Hurricane Katrina, the lessons that we learned that 

brought us up to the successful information sharing that we had 

during Hurricane Sandy? 

Mr. Stepka, we will just go left to right. 

Mr. STEPKA. Sure. I think the biggest change would be with, I 

think, the mobile phone technology, it is a major change the people 

have access to communications especially whereever they are and 

also if their main lines go down. I think the second, of course, is 

social media. 

No question that has been a big difference. I think people are 

more connected imminently in that sense and have many outlets 

and many ways of contacting both authoritative organizations as 

well as each other so they can tell their family members that they 

are okay. That sort of thing. 

Mr. PAYNE. I believe one of the biggest fundamental differences 

that social media has provided is the efficiency of the supply and 

demand of those that want to help and those that need help. 

What we saw in Hurricane Sandy is we had one group of veterans, a couple hundred people in total, harnessing over 14,000 volunteers from the community and those volunteers by fusing a 

bunch of technology requests for help, all sorts of data were efficiently tasked to muck basements, to remove the sand from parking lots and playgrounds, etc. 

The net effect being that very quickly after the disaster folks’ 

houses had the material removed that prevented mold from growing in those houses and those houses being destroyed. 

So looking ahead, I believe that we will see an ever-increased 

ability to harness more goodwill and more help from individuals in 

the surrounding areas to help people get back on their feet. I think 

that is the best sort of siren of social media. 

Mr. BECKERMAN. Yes, thank you. I think you explained the differences perfectly by the fact that Facebook had been only a year 

in existence, Twitter didn’t exist, there were no iPhones. 

So during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, only half of the internet 

users used on-line sources to find news, and today that is obviously 

much higher. Only 25 percent used on-line sources to check in on 

loved ones and let people know they were all right and things like 

that. Today obviously as we heard from the rest of the panel and 

from the Members of that number is much higher. 

After Hurricane Katrina 13 million people went on-line in the 

United States to donate and again, today that is higher. So we 

have seen as the technology has grown the benefits of the internet 
42 

and social media really help people, and I think it could have been 

obviously a benefit during Hurricane Katrina as well. 

Mr. PALAZZO. All right, well I definitely agree with everything 

that you said. I can tell you just the other day we had a severe 

weather event and my phone went off and I did not apply for the 

app—I guess it was just the phone service just notifying us that we 

are about to hit some severe weather on the Mississippi Gulf Coast 

and I was very grateful for that. 

I have seen—as we have seen in the tornadoes that have recently 

happened in my district and all across the country, it does allow 

people from all across United States to help in some form or fashion even if it is donations or having people come out and help fill 

sandbags, remove mold. 

I think that is a fantastic—and my final question would be—and 

this is for everyone again, what suggestions or tips do you have for 

Americans that are actually users of the technology, the social 

media, during a disaster? What tips would you provide, if anybody? 

Mr. STEPKA. I think the first tip I would give; I think it is good 

to have a plan in advance of an emergency. Every family should 

be thinking about this in advance. They should know how to contact each other, they should have—whatever means they want to 

do it—whether electronic or some back-up ways, they should do 

that. 

So I think preparation is the best thing for everyone. During an 

emergency itself I think power is essential. If we think about, you 

know, water, other kinds of resources you want to have ready, but 

having power connectivity I think are really important, so you can 

have access to communications. 

Mr. CARDENAS. For us, from a utility perspective, don’t take for 

granted that we know that you don’t have power. So it is good to 

know that information because you know maybe two blocks from 

you, right, people may not have power, you may get power, they 

don’t have power, so please be accurate. 

You don’t have power, let us know. Because it may be that you 

have a problem that is only localized to your block or to your service. So provide information. The more the better. 

Mr. PALAZZO. All right. 

Well thank you, Madam Chairwoman. It is a very informative 

hearing. Thank you. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Thank you. 

I have a couple of questions kind of following up on that a little 

bit. How can our emergency management officials monitor and validate the information that they received or the power companies, 

how can you or do you monitor and validate? 

We learned this and that SMEM chat on Twitter last week. 

Those officials shared with us, how can the private sector help the 

emergency managers and first responders efficiently collect, validate, share this information posted by the public during the disaster? Any suggestions as to how your experiences and work can 

inform and, I guess, I will start with Mr. Cardenas. 

Mr. CARDENAS. During the storm and right now real-time we 

have people on Twitter, on Facebook, and information that is posted is shared not only with us but back with municipal officials, 

State officials, and I think that is critical to have that partnership 
43 

between the public and the private sector and that it is a two-way 

street. 

They come to us with information, we go to them. During events 

any times there is false information posted and working with that 

municipal official you can correct the information. You can provide—it is not—you are not going to be out 3 weeks. 

It may be 3 days. That kind of sets people to be on the right page 

as to what they have to plan for. Many of these events are realtime, so that real-time information is critical. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Mr. Stepka. 

Thank you. 

Mr. STEPKA. Yes, I was going to say I agree. I think that is important to look at the information as being—it could be imperfect 

in the crisis and is going to evolve. You will iterate on the information. 

I think collaborating among agencies and organizations is critical 

as well as the public because the public can help validate information. 

I think the crowdsourcing idea makes a lot of sense in this context, but we have to think about where it is appropriate and how 

to act on it when we need to validate the information before you 

act on it—or corroborate that information elsewhere. 

Mr. PAYNE. There truly is a risk of data obesity as we grow with 

significant amounts of information streams coming on in the future. I think that robust data fusion capabilities with data analysis 

capabilities can empower that analyst to tease through the information that is relevant to them, vet it against other sources, and 

use of social media as part of a holistic approach to information to 

make resource allocation decisions. 

Mrs. BROOKS. With respect to the work that you have all been 

doing, just last week FEMA released 2013 National Preparedness 

Report, which did identify the need to mature the role of publicprivate partnerships as a new National area for improvement, and 

this was also highlighted during our Twitter chat last week. 

Based on the incredible work that your companies are doing, 

what has your actual interaction been with Federal, State, and 

local governments, and has FEMA reached out to you all specifically, and have you worked with FEMA? 

I will, you know, ask Mr. Stepka and Payne specifically initially 

because I am sure you have worked with them, Mr. Cardenas. 

Or—— 

Mr. CARDENAS. Yes. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Yes. 

Mr. STEPKA. Yes, we have worked with FEMA and we have 

talked with them about how we can better work together to help 

support their efforts. So I think I would like to do that more as 

well. 

I think at every level of government we have been working on 

it with different situations. I mentioned we worked with the city 

of New York as well in the crisis. 

I think we look for scalable ways to reach out to Government organizations. It is hard to reach out to all of them, so I think it is 

important again to go back to standards. If we have standards laid 

out, it doesn’t require that we have relationships with every single 
44 

organization, every level of government. If we all can agree on certain kinds of interaction with secure data, that will take care of a 

lot of those interactions. 

Mr. PAYNE. I think this relationship highlights the importance of 

open data. FEMA does a great job with certain data sources that 

they can publicly release making them available so that organizations like Google, ourselves, and other response organizations can 

leverage that information. We would certainly welcome the opportunity to engage them to see on both sides how we can improve 

that relationship. 

During Hurricane Sandy, we did work with the Office of Executive Management at New York City. I think they did a fantastic 

job interfacing with the dozens of organizations to help as much as 

possible and I think that was a success story of a governmentalsocial sector interaction. 

It is something that we take a very strong commitment to openness at Palantir Technologies and with all of the work we have 

done, be it a flood, tornado, or hurricane have ensured that all the 

data that was generated by mobile devices integrated et cetera was 

made available to relevant authorities to ensure that they had access to all of that information that they—other than the personally 

identifiable information that was removed. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Thank you. I would ask the Ranking Member, the 

gentleman from New Jersey, for any further questions. 

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Yes, ma’am. Thank you, Madam 

Chairwoman. 

Mr. Cardenas, I had a great deal of interest in smart grid technology and have had conversations with your company officials as 

well in reference to it, and in your testimony you explained the 

smart grid technology enables utility companies to pinpoint problems and restore service more quickly. How does the smart grid 

technology differ from 20th Century technology? 

Mr. CARDENAS. Well, equipment in a smart network talks to the 

components of that system. It can reconfigure automatically the 

way a neighborhood is fed. It relies not on human beings doing individual steps; information between these components can automatically restore services in many cases. 

In addition to that, it provides efficiencies with the setting up of 

a circuit you are going to work on remotely so that you don’t have 

to send people to each piece of equipment and put it in a way that 

people can work on it. 

For instance, we had 4,000 people who came to help us out, and 

we had to, every morning, send them out to do work. It took us a 

long time to allow them to be able to do the work because we had 

to make it safe. 

With a smart grid, with a supervisory control and information 

system, we could do that remotely and gain efficiencies in the actual time and leveraging that resource to get the restoration done. 

So a smart grid is quantum leaps ahead of what we had 10 years 

ago, 20 years ago. It is now the way we go and it is where we are 

hoping to make very large investments in. 

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. So that is basically how the smart grid 

technology would improve responses during disasters. Is that correct? 
45 

Mr. CARDENAS. It will do it both ways. It will do it with the efficiency of the people working to restore service as well as the automated restoration associated with reconfiguring the way the grid is 

fed. 

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Thank you. 

Mr. Stepka, in your testimony, you note that, you know, the affordable high-speed internet access, you know, is necessary to be 

tech ready for disasters. Nearly 100 million Americans do not have 

access to broadband and one-third do not have access to internet, 

and, you know, I discussed that a bit yesterday when we were in 

my office. 

So from your perspective, how does the digital divide undermine 

disaster response efforts, and how would you address the problem? 

Mr. STEPKA. I think it is a very important issue. I think it is in 

addition to crisis response we also work on this issue in general 

trying to provide a better internet access to people around the 

world actually. 

As you know, we have launched an effort to bring high-speed 

internet access starting in Kansas City, Austin, and Provo, and I 

think the idea being is in general this is very important. 

Obviously, we need to have a way to provide internet access to 

everybody as well as high-speed access in their home. I think so 

that everybody has access to these great tools and also seeing the 

advantages of being connected not just in a crisis. 

I think it is a challenge, what we are doing, in general and we 

are focusing a lot of resources on. There are a couple of challenges 

which are different. One challenge is in urban environment versus 

rural environments. Rural environments are very hard to reach 

using fiber, for example, and usually a wireless technology is probably more efficient. 

So we have experimented working with the FCC on a different 

technology which provides potentially the ability to provide access 

to people using the TV white spaces, which is a low bandwidth— 

sorry low-frequency bandwidth that can be used to reach rural 

parts of the world. 

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Thank you. 

Madam Chairwoman, I yield back the balance, and I would like 

to thank all of the witnesses for their testimony. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Okay. Thank you. 

I have a question. 

Mr. Beckerman, I will start with you and others might want to 

chime in, but what are—in following up—what are some things 

that the Federal Government should do in forming partnerships 

with the private sector to take advantage of the new technologies? 

I might ask whether or not you are aware you represent a number 

of associations or I am sorry a number of companies and incredibly 

innovative companies. 

Are there any new technologies we can be anticipating that can 

be used that you can talk with us with respect to social media for 

emergencies and disasters, but how can we better connect up the 

Federal Government with these new technologies? 

Mr. BECKERMAN. Well, I would say this hearing today is a great 

start opening the dialogue. So thank you for having the hearing. 
46 

You know, the most important thing is for private sector, our 

companies, and the Federal Government to have an open dialogue 

and talk. The technology is evolving, and as we go through each 

one of these unfortunate situations, lessons are learned and the 

Federal Government gets better and our companies get better and 

the public gets better at understanding how to use the technology. 

Crowdsourcing is a very powerful tool, both during a disaster to 

help bring volunteers, and after disaster to help bring money and 

volunteers and rebuild. 

So, you know, we just ask that the Federal Government—and 

they have been doing a great job so far—is keep an open dialogue 

with our companies and share data where they can, and we will 

educate the public on how they can use this technology. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Do you believe that the Federal Government is improving its use of social media for emergency alerts and preparedness or what is your opinion on that? 

Mr. BECKERMAN. Absolutely. It is improving every time, and as 

we have seen from some of the protocols from FEMA, they are already using social media to send out alerts telling people to get 

their shelter in place or evacuate and that is a great step. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Any others on the panel would like to comment on 

about how we, you know, work even better together and any 

emerging technologies? 

Mr. STEPKA. I would echo everything he said as well. 

I think it is very helpful to work collaboratively on these ideas. 

The technology is still evolving. I think it is still early days in some 

ways. 

I think working together on open formats for data to be shared 

in a secure way that is appropriate using crowdsourcing in an appropriate way as well is a very important thing in this context. 

But I think there has been a lot of good progress to date. I am 

actually very encouraged by as I mentioned what the White House 

said recently on data standards, and I think those general movements are all in the right direction. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Okay. 

Mr. Payne. 

Mr. PAYNE. To echo the other panelists, I concur that we are 

moving in the right direction. 

I am heartened by many of the openness data initiatives and 

open data standards. The White House CTO has done a fantastic 

job pushing new standards that make computer comprehensible 

formats the norm. 

One good example I will offer of this is nonprofit data. Today 

nonprofit data is publicly available, but as a scanned piece of paper 

the computer cannot read very well and it takes hundreds of thousands of man-hours to rewrite the database that exists with information that is supposed to be public data. 

So in the new budget proposal is the ability for that to be electronic information and thus much, much easier for tech-knowledgeable organizations to leverage the data. 

There are one-and-a-half—1.4 million nonprofit organizations in 

America today and having the ability to engage them in a disaster 

or in an emergency would have a lot of benefit to those on the 
47 

ground and that open data could go a long way towards that engagement. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Thank you. 

Mr. Cardenas, any thoughts you might have? 

Mr. CARDENAS. I will give you one example of the collaboration 

and how we are going to be able to help. 

I don’t—in the not-very-distant future, I can see a first responder 

from a municipality going out with a phone taking a picture, sending that to us, telling us what equipment is at that location the picture was taken from from and then take action on that. 

The collaboration between the utility and the way it formats this 

information and its ability to speak and connect with that device 

will be critical as we move forward into the future where whether 

it be crowdsourcing or just the use of these devices to locate and 

identify equipment that has been damaged is going to continue to 

be critical. That I am hoping I will be able to see in the next 9 to 

12 months. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Thank you. 

Thank you, very much. 

Mr. Payne. 

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Madam Chairwoman, I ask unanimous consent to submit testimony from Humanity Road and the 

Business Emergency Operation Center Alliance of New Jersey to 

the record. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Pardon? Oh, yes. Oh, thank you. 

Thank you. Without objection, that will be admitted. 

[The information follows:] 

STATEMENT SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD BY RANKING MEMBER DONALD M. PAYNE, 

JR. 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF CHRISTINE THOMPSON, PRESIDENT AND CO-FOUNDER OF

HUMANITY ROAD

Chairman Brooks, Ranking Member Payne, and distinguished Members of the 

subcommittee. My name is Christine Thompson, president and co-founder of Humanity Road, a 501c3 Public Charity that specializes in digital disaster relief. In 

support of its mission, Humanity Road volunteers harness internet and mobile communications technology to collect, verify, and route information on-line during sudden onset disaster. Using the internet, we research and share public safety information and direct the public to Governmental and aid agencies that provide disaster 

assistance. Since 2010 Humanity Road supported over 500 emerging events in 53 

countries and helped develop and execute 11 joint social media exercises for privateand public-sector partners. We responded in social media for tornado outbreaks, 

hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, flash floods, blizzards, and man-made events 

and activated to provide surge support monitoring of social media by local, county, 

and State-level officials. In the past 3 years we watched the amazing growth of mobile and internet-based communications used by the impacted public in the United 

States. During our operations, including Hurricane Sandy, we documented the effective use of social media and technology tools in fast-moving and slow-moving events. 

Social Media has been used to facilitate rescues, reunite loved ones, manage spontaneous donations, and collect situational information. We are here to provide examples of how technology has been used, the benefits and challenges, and ask for your 

support on four specific areas: 

1. Engage Humanitarian Technology Partners 

2. Manage Response—Structure for the Use of Technology Partners 

3. Manage Preparedness—Plan for Technology in Training and Exercises 

4. Accelerating Lessons Learned and Innovation. 

The Belle Harbor community response in Rockaway, New York after Superstorm 

Sandy provides an excellent example of a whole community approach to disaster response and how social media, digital disaster response, and new technology are 
48 

transforming preparedness, response, & recovery. This community is positioned on 

a peninsula accessible only by bridge. The area was inundated by storm surge, sand, 

and winds causing a power and communications blackout with catastrophic damage. 

In the face of these challenges local residents, through the use of social media and 

technology partners, catalyzed a recovery effort that serviced over 10,000 people a 

day. Two hundred volunteers managed the operation daily. St. Francis de Sales 

School had no functioning phones, power, or heat. The nearest Red Cross Shelter 

was more than 30 miles away and transportation and gas were nonexistent or challenged. By request, a collaborative technology team delivered an innovative communications solution on-site within 24 hours. And within a few days, this local community-led effort had their own citizen-run command center with satellite communications and Wifi hotspot. The command center solution was operating on generator 

and solar-powered lights. It became the central coordination point for volunteer coordination, field survey teams, feeding, donation management, medical assessments, 

and community response teams that helped with debris removal to name a few. The 

community volunteer team at St. Francis included Monsignor Brown, local youth, 

residents, and spontaneous volunteers from throughout the city. The community 

used social media to list ‘‘essentials’’ controlling donation and volunteer management. A mobile medic team also went door-to-door taking water and supplies, performed health screenings on the vulnerable populations, particularly the elderly who 

were stranded without elevator service in high-rise buildings. Challenges remained; 

the community needed to warn its residents about a second dangerous storm that 

was approaching. Paper bulletins were posted on church doors, paper handouts 

made in multiple languages and locals resorted to using bullhorns. 

The collaborative communications solution team at St. Francis de Sales provided 

over a quarter-million dollars in communications assets and services. The lead partner cost for spearheading this physical deployment was only $5,000. The solution 

team included nonprofits such as Humanity Road, Disaster Tech Lab, Information 

Technology Disaster Relief Center (ITDRC), and other private-sector partners including Aruba Networks, Viasat, Cisco, and Goal Zero. Each played a role in empowering the local community response efforts through technology. This innovative 

approach was not a Joint Resource Center (JRC) or Disaster Resource Center (DRC) 

launched and run by FEMA. It was a Whole Community Resource Center which put 

the recovery at the local level, not State or Federal. The FEMA Innovation Team 

is studying these local response activities and working on recommended improvements in the design of the disaster recovery center models. The approach used in 

Belle Harbor worked and not only because of the innovative use of social media, 

communications technology, and power solutions; but because the solution provided 

was for the community by the community. Technology is only useful when people 

know how to use it, it must fulfill the local need and not intrude on or complicate 

the primary mission of the local disaster response and recovery efforts. 

In summary, the effective use and implementation of technology and social media 

can rapidly reach populations isolated from the response chain due to communications and power impacts. Digital volunteerism and digital response organizations in 

the social media age can help empower a community to take part in their own recovery efforts. This can also provide relief that mitigates traditional response chain 

issues in large-scale events reducing the recovery period and associated costs. However, whenever innovation meets implementation, there are challenges. There is a 

gap in assessing communications outages as currently, there is no publicly-available 

map for communications availability or outages. There are also challenges in response reporting, preparedness planning, and measuring effective social media and 

technology mobilization. Having provided examples of Humanity Road’s Rockaway 

deployment and considering the benefits and challenges faced there, we ask for your 

support in four specific areas: 

1. Engage Humanitarian Technology Partners.—Humanitarian technology disaster response organizations work both on-line and also deploy into the impacted area. These teams provide a great opportunity for improving the speed 

and accuracy of initial damage assessments by improving communications. We 

recommend disaster response officials and organizations take advantage of 

using volunteer-based disaster response organizations that are skilled in the 

use of internet and mobile communications technologies including social media. 

This can provide a cost-effective solution to a high-volume problem and closes 

gaps between non-technical Government organizations and high-tech disaster 

response techniques. These humanitarian partners work with equipment and 

service providers to deliver solutions that meet local needs and participate in 

disaster preparedness training and exercises to build resilience and readiness. 

2. Manage Response—Structure for the Use of Technology Partners.—We recommend that officials review and designate a suggested reporting structure 
49 

within the Incident Command Structure for technology deployment activities 

such as surge support media monitoring and crowdsourcing during disaster. 

3. Manage Preparedness—Plan for Technology in Training and Exercises.— Technology-driven communications solutions such as social media, 

crowdsourcing, crisis mapping, and surge support for social media should be included in preparedness planning and exercises. Training is also needed to build 

basic skills in local, county, and State organizations. The existing grant process 

is tied to county and State government and is geography-centric. Digital disaster response is not always tied to a specific geography. We recommend that 

grants be made available to non-governmental technology organizations for preparedness and response initiatives to build competence and resilience with consideration that these initiatives may be regional or National in scope. 

4. Accelerating Lessons Learned and Innovation.—We recommend that Congress 

adopt innovation and acceleration by supporting the DHS Virtual Social Media 

Working Group and the FEMA Innovation Team & FEMA Think Tank programs. These are working models that can facilitate and accelerate process improvement in the area of social media and technology. These partners help to 

identify lessons learned and can test them in a fail-safe environment for incubation, planning, and implementation. The FEMA Innovation Team, which is part 

of the FEMA think tank is working on a communications heat map that would 

provide the public with availability of wireless communications and WIFI 

hotspots during disaster. And the DHS Virtual Social Media Working Group 

just published its newest document: Lessons Learned: Hurricane Sandy. 

Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony. I will be glad to answer any 

questions and can also elaborate on additional examples of the effective use of technology and social media during disaster. 

STATEMENT SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD BY RANKING MEMBER DONALD M. PAYNE, 

JR. 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF BEOC ALLIANCE

BEOC ALLIANCE OVERVIEW

The BEOC Alliance, a non-profit 501c3 organization, strives to expand and 

strengthen the capacities of Government agencies (local, county, State), business 

partners and non-Governmental organizations in preventing, preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters of magnitude. The Alliance’s underlying goal 

is to improve private-sector self-reliance and self-sufficiency during such events 

through rapid information sharing, situational awareness, and common operating 

pictures. The Business Emergency Operations Center (BEOC) is a means to achieve 

these desired end-states. 

The BEOC construct epitomizes an adaptable and scalable communications hub 

as well as a private-sector node within the Homeland Security Enterprise. The 

synergies produced through steady-state and elevated operational activities emanates from an interactive partnership triad composed of academia, Government, and 

the private sector. Real-time situational awareness is more than a goal; it’s a functioning reality. 

The BEOC functions as a business fusion center supported by a formal research 

component based on a technology capabilities-centric matrix. The BEOC Alliance 

continuously exchanges information through weekly conference calls, alerts, portal 

postings, listserve notifications, exercises, and symposia. When situations dictate, 

members can quickly transition to a state of readiness for a rapid response and realistic recovery with a physical or virtual BEOC providing omni-directional communications vis-a ́-vis established distributed networks. 

Distributed communication networks support BEOC Alliance efforts through a 

‘‘mash-up’’ of information technologies and systems. The research component of the 

BEOC program explores and evaluates an array of communication technologies at 

the Crisis Comnmnication Center housed at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. 

Resultant findings become thrust areas for improving interoperability and collaboration across the entire breadth of the private sector. 

BEOC ALLIANCE TALKING PAPER

Primary Goal.—Business-to-Business assistance, collaboration, and cooperation 

through information sharing. 

• Whole is greater than the sum of its parts philosophy 

• Knowledge-sharing community 
50 

• Bottom-up organic network formed through collaborative efforts of likeminded organizations and executives • Inclusive affiliations and memberships 

• FEMA National BEOC Initiative • CI/KR Sectors through DHS IP RCCC • U.S. Northern Command • Private-Sector Organizations—National and Local • Non-Government Organizations • Academic Institutions 

What is the BEOC Alliance? 

• Member supported 501c3 non-profit organization • Certified Federal Government contractor • FEMA National BEOC Charter member 

Business Emergency Operations Center (BEOC) Construct 

• A Communications Model 

• Omni-directional information sharing • Creates common operating picture for enhanced situational awareness • A Practitioner’s Tool 

• Aids in decision-making • Supports Private-sector readiness and operations • A Research Project 

• Technology Capabilities Matrix provides research roadmap 

• Ten identified capabilities • Research underpins first two construct components 

Goals 

• Strengthen Private-Sector/Public-Sector/Department of Defense Communication 

• All phases of Homeland Security and Homeland Defense Emergency Management through adaptable BEOC implementations • Resource to the Private-Sector/Public-Sector/DoD in implementing other BEOCs 

• Provide consultation and guidance to States and regions developing BEOCs • Enable proactive business managers to cut through the chaos during disasters 

• Ensure Access to timely, reliable, and actionable information • Information sharing 

• Identify critical issues pre-event to avoid reactionary behavior during disasters • Continued outreach and linkage of organic networks 

• Create common operating pictures • Resilience and restoration of vital functions and services 

• Maintain organizational resilience through information exchanges, establishing priorities, and implementing plans of action during the fluidity of crisis 

• Increase number of technology tools available to the private sector for improving reach, connectivity, and redundancy 

• Advocate for the Private Sector 

• Help link public-sector agencies/organizations with private-sector BEOCs 

Scope of Activities 

• Ranges from local to National levels 

• Integrated research component 

• Continued research into networks, hardware, and communication protocols 

• NJIT C4IF Lab a venue for experimentation 

• Formulation of Private Sector doctrine 

• Periodic cross-sector think-tank sessions 

• Host symposiums on Private-Sector/Public-Sector communication and coordination issues 

Operating Environment 

• Virtual during steady state 

• BEOC List serve 

• CyberCop Portal 

• BEOC Alliance Webpage 

• Recurring conference calls 

• Physical activation when circumstances warrant extended or expanded operations 

• Events page 

• Multidisciplinary teams 

• Subject matter reach-back 
51 

Mrs. BROOKS. At this time, I would like to ask Mr. Payne if he 

has anything for closing, he would like to say before I close out. 

Okay. 

Thank you very much. I would very much like to thank this 

panel for their very valuable testimony. I think we have learned a 

lot. We have started a very important discussion. 

What I think is happening with emergency managers, whether it 

is municipal or State or Federal officials, your companies are paving the way. You have created new technologies. 

I am looking at the back of this actual hearing room is a picture 

from 9/11 and what the technologies that you all discussed whether 

it was People Finder, you know, whether it is the mapping capabilities that would have been so critical during that horrific time 

in our country’s history. 

So we truly have come a very long way, and as I talk about the 

emergency technologies and knowing what is coming, I think we 

can’t even imagine as Mr. Cardenas just shared with us, you know, 

the possibilities of what your companies and the innovators and engineers and inventors in your companies are creating. 

We just ask that you continue to share those with Government, 

with the public sector, with the volunteers. It is amazing to me 

that 14,000 volunteers, you know, come together quickly but that 

we already had a team of veterans in place to help mobilize and 

that were trained and so it is a wonderful marriage of, you know, 

the Government and the military and our veterans and that point, 

you know, marrying up with volunteers to really aid in recovery 

and save a lot of lives and save homes and save property, but most 

importantly, save lives and that is what I think your testimony 

here today has also shown. 

I think we absolutely have some challenges that, you know, everyone needs to be mindful of and some of those challenges, you 

know, the—sadly, the few bad actors that do come up, the privacy 

issues that we need to be mindful of, but I do think—and the 

connectivity you have talked about, you know, without power, none 

of this works, and we do need to continue to explore and continue 

to advance and partner between the public and the private sectors, 

and I just want to thank you for your time. There may be questions 

submitted by others, and we look forward to working with you in 

the future. 

We plan on having another hearing in the future with Government officials, with FEMA and Red Cross and some others, and we 

look forward to trying to ensure that all of the innovation that you 

are creating and the way in which your companies want to contribute in emergency preparedness, we just thank you very much. 

So thank you. This meeting is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 11:29 a.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.] 
(52) 

EMERGENCY MGMT 2.0: HOW #SOCIALMEDIA 

& NEW TECH ARE TRANSFORMING PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE, & RECOVERY 

#DISASTERS #PART2 #GOVT/NGOS 

Tuesday, July 9, 2013 

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, 

RESPONSE, AND COMMUNICATIONS, 

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY, 

Washington, DC. 

The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:07 a.m., in Room 

311, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Susan W. Brooks [Chairwoman of the subcommittee] presiding. 

Present: Representatives Brooks, Palazzo, and Perry. 

Also present: Representative Swalwell. 

Mrs. BROOKS. The Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications will come to order. 

I would like to welcome our witnesses, everyone in the audience, 

and those who are watching this webcast to our second hearing on 

how social media and new technology are transforming disaster 

preparedness, response, and recovery. 

Last month, the subcommittee heard from the private sector on 

this topic, and today we will continue our discussion with the Government and the NGO officials on how they are incorporating social 

media and new technologies into their emergency management efforts. 

Before I recognize myself for an opening statement, I ask unanimous consent that the gentleman from California, Mr. Swalwell, a 

member of the full committee, be permitted to sit on the dais and 

participate in today’s hearing. 

So without objection, so ordered. 

There is no doubt that social media and new technologies are 

playing an increasing role in the way we prepare for, respond to, 

and recover from disasters. 

As we have seen through recent events, such as Hurricane Sandy 

and the Boston bombings, individuals and organizations, more than 

ever, are turning to social media and the internet to obtain public 

safety information, to connect with friends and family, and to request, most importantly, assistance from emergency response organizations. 

In fact, in a 2012 survey conducted by the Red Cross, we learned 

that 70 percent of respondents suggested that emergency response 
53 

agencies should regularly monitor their social media sites so they 

can promptly respond to any requests for help. 

In addition, an infographic created by the University of San 

Francisco, and those are what you are seeing on the screens, 

showed that during a disaster, 1 out of 3 citizens expects help to 

arrive within 60 minutes of posting a request on social media. 

Social media also enables response organizations to quickly push 

information out to the public; something that has not been possible 

on such a wide scale until recently. A great example of this was 

in the Boston bombings when the first official announcement that 

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev had been captured, it came not at a traditional 

press conference like in the past, but instead, it was tweeted out 

through the Boston Police Department. 

Also, during the search for the Tsarnaev brothers, individual citizens were able to tweet and post videos, photos, and other information to law enforcement officials, which actually served as a force 

multiplier and it assisted in the hunt for the Tsarnaev brothers. 

We have also seen similar examples in which response officials 

have leveraged information from social media to enhance the response efforts in such instances as Hurricane Sandy and the Oklahoma tornadoes. 

Two of the most prominent emergency management organizations are with us today: The American Red Cross and the Federal 

Emergency Management Agency. 

Earlier this year, I had pleasure to visit both of their headquarters to learn more about their roles in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters, and I was impressed to see 

how these agencies are incorporating 21st Century technology into 

their operations. 

It was because of those visits that we had the idea to host these 

hearings and to learn more and have them share more with the 

American public about what they are doing. 

In my visit to the Red Cross, I learned how they partnered with 

Dell to develop their Digital Operations Center, which is the first 

social-media monitoring platform dedicated specifically to humanitarian relief. 

This center allows the Red Cross to crowdsource information 

from affected areas during a disaster, spot trends and better anticipate the public’s needs, and connect people with the resources they 

need; food, water, shelter, even emotional support. 

In conjunction with the Digital Operations Center, the Red Cross 

has developed what I think more and more agencies and local and 

State governments need to consider, and they have developed a 

Digital Volunteer Program, on which we will hear more; it trains 

digital volunteers from across the country and even the world, I 

have learned, as to how to use on-line apps to respond to questions 

from the public, distribute critical public safety information, and 

provide comfort and reassurance. 

During Hurricane Sandy, the digital volunteers played a critical 

role in enabling the Red Cross to actively monitor and verify social 

media posts around the clock and provide information to create 

that situational awareness. 
54 

FEMA’s Administrator, Craig Fugate, has been a big supporter 

of social media as well, and FEMA has been an active user of 

Facebook and Twitter to communicate with the public. 

I have also heard that FEMA is engaging with private-sector 

companies, including Google and Twitter, to determine how best to 

take advantage of open data, social media, and the two-way interaction to enhance their emergency management capabilities. 

We are also seeing a rise in the use of social media by State and 

local emergency management organizations, and in a recent survey 

conducted by the National Emergency Management Association 

and CNA on the use of social media, the majority of State, county, 

and local agencies reported using some social media in their disaster preparedness, response, and efforts, but to varying degrees. 

I think a great example of this was—at the local level—was how 

Moore and Oklahoma City used their Twitter accounts during the 

devastating tornadoes last month. Both cities used Twitter to relay 

real-time updates on open shelters, road closures, lost and found 

pets, and personal items, and they also monitored their accounts 

and responded to requests for assistance posted by disaster survivors. 

Just last week, in my home State in Indiana, I toured MESH Coalition, which is a public health, non-profit, public-private partnership, and it is using social media for what they call infodemiology. 

They have dedicated staff monitoring social media as a disease 

surveillance tool and they push information to the hospitals and to 

the public health departments through Twitter about what they 

are seeing. 

I had the opportunity to see this operation last week, and again, 

I am hopeful that this new use of social media will be replicated 

far beyond the Hoosier State. 

While I have highlighted some positive developments in the use 

of social media and new technology, I do recognize that there are 

some challenges. 

For example, we must be mindful of how misleading, faulty, or 

malicious information or pictures can escalate quickly on social 

media sites and potentially negatively affect response efforts. 

In addition, as we have learned from our private-sector partners 

in the last hearing, we need to establish common standards and 

procedures to help make the sharing of data more efficient. 

Our private-sector witnesses also agreed that there more could 

be done in the way of public-/private-sector partnerships to help 

maximize the use of social media for disaster purposes and particularly to leverage big data so that the response and recovery efforts 

can be focused on those areas most in need. 

I am pleased to welcome our distinguished panel of witnesses. 

[The statement of Chairwoman Brooks follows:] 

STATEMENT OF CHAIRWOMAN SUSAN W. BROOKS

JULY 9, 2013 

There is no doubt that social media and new technologies are playing an increasing role in the way we prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. As we 

have seen through recent events, such as Hurricane Sandy and the Boston bombings, individuals and organizations, more than ever, are turning to social media and 

the internet to obtain public safety information, to connect with friends and family, 

and to request assistance from emergency response organizations. In fact, in a 2012 
55 

1 University of San Francisco website. Accessed on June 20, 2013, http:// 

onlinempa.usfca.edu/social-media/. 2 American Red Cross website. Accessed on June 20, 2013. http://www.redcross.org/news/ 

press-release/The-American-Red-Cross-and-Dell-Launch-First-Of-Its-Kind-Social-Media-DigitalOperations-Center-for-Humanitarian-Relief. 3FEMA website: Accessed on June 21, 2013, http://www.fema.gov/medialibrary/ 

medialrecords/1081. 4FEMA website: Accessed on June 21, 2013, http://www.fema.gov/medialibrary/ 

medialrecords/3581. 

survey conducted by the Red Cross, 70 percent of respondents suggested that emergency response agencies should regularly monitor their social media sites so they 

can promptly respond to any requests for help. In addition, an Infographic created 

by the University of San Francisco showed that during a disaster, 1 out of 3 citizens 

expects help to arrive within 60 minutes of posting a request on social media.1

Social media also enables response organizations to quickly push information to 

the public—something that has not been possible on such a wide scale until recently. A great example of this was after the Boston bombings when the first official 

announcement that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev had been captured came not at a traditional 

press conference, but through a tweet by the Boston Police Department. Also, during 

the search for the Tsarnaev brothers, individual citizens were able to tweet and post 

videos, photos, and other information to law enforcement officials, which served as 

a ‘‘force multiplier’’ and assisted in the hunt. 

We have also seen similar examples in which response officials have leveraged information from social media to enhance response efforts during recent natural disasters, such as Hurricane Sandy and the Oklahoma tornadoes. 

Two of the most prominent emergency management organizations are with us 

today, the American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to visit both of their headquarters to learn 

more about their roles in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters. I was impressed to see how they have incorporated 21st-Century technology 

into their operations. 

During my visit to the Red Cross, I learned how they partnered with Dell to develop a Digital Operations Center, which is the first social-media monitoring platform dedicated to humanitarian relief.2 This center allows the Red Cross to 

crowdsource information from affected areas during a disaster; spot trends and better anticipate the public’s needs; and connect people with the resources they need, 

such as food, water, shelter, or even emotional support. 

In conjunction with the Digital Operations Center, the Red Cross has also developed a Digital Volunteer Program, which trains digital volunteers from across the 

country in how to use on-line applications to respond to questions from the public, 

distribute critical public safety information, and provide comfort and reassurance 

during emergencies. During Hurricane Sandy, the digital volunteers played a critical role in enabling the Red Cross to actively monitor and verify social media posts 

around the clock and provide information to create situational awareness. 

FEMA’s administrator, Craig Fugate, has been a big supporter of social media as 

well, and FEMA has been an active user of Facebook and Twitter to communicate 

with the public. I’ve also heard that FEMA is engaging with private-sector companies, including Google 3 and Twitter,4 to determine how best to take advantage of 

open data, social media, and two-way interaction to enhance their emergency management capabilities. 

We are also seeing a rise in the use of social media by State and local emergency 

management organizations. In a recent survey conducted by the National Emergency Management Association and CNA on the use of social media in the emergency management field, the majority of State, county, and local agencies reported 

using social media in their disaster preparedness and response efforts, but to varying degrees. 

I think a good example of the use of social media at the local level is how the 

cities of Moore and Oklahoma City used their Twitter accounts during the devastating tornadoes last month. Both cities used Twitter to relay real-time updates 

on open shelters, road closures, lost and found pets, and personal items. They also 

actively monitored their accounts and responded to requests for assistance posted 

by disaster survivors. 

In my home State of Indiana, MESH Coalition, a public health, non-profit, publicprivate partnership is using social media for, what they call, ‘‘infodemiology.’’ They 

have dedicated staff monitoring social media as a disease surveillance tool and push 

information to hospitals and public health departments through Twitter. I had the 

opportunity to see this operation first-hand last week. I am hopeful that this innova-
56 

tive use of social media and new technology will be replicated beyond the Hoosier 

State. 

While I have highlighted some positive developments in the use of social media 

and new technology, I do realize that there are some challenges as well. For example, we must be mindful of how misleading, faulty, or malicious information or pictures can escalate quickly on social media sites and potentially negatively affect response efforts. In addition, as we learned from our private-sector partners in the 

last hearing, there is a need to establish common standards and procedures to help 

make the sharing of data more efficient. Our private-sector witnesses also agreed 

that there could be more done in the way of public-/private-sector partnerships to 

help maximize the use of social media for disaster purposes, and to leverage big 

data so response and recovery efforts can be focused on those areas most in need. 

I am pleased to welcome our distinguished panel of witnesses, and I look forward 

to hearing your perspectives on these issues. 
57 
58 
59 

Mrs. BROOKS. I look forward to hearing your perspectives on 

these issues, but I now recognize the gentleman from California, 

Mr. Swalwell, for any opening statements he might have. 

Mr. SWALWELL. Thank you, and good morning. 

I would like to thank the witnesses for being here as well as 

Chairman Brooks. I also appreciate the opportunity to be here and 

fill in for my colleague, the gentleman from New Jersey, Donald 

Payne, who is not here today because he has business at the White 

House. 

I would first like to begin by extending my sympathies to those 

who died or were injured during the plane crash at San Francisco 

International Airport on this past Saturday and to their families, 

and I would like to thank our first responders, our police, fire, and 

emergency personnel, who responded and mitigated the loss of life 

in that situation. 

This hearing is very timely because at the crash scene, we saw 

first-hand the role that social media can play. In fact, social media 

was first to provide on-the-ground reports and photos from the 

crash scene. 

It was actually the first tweet, the first information that came 

out was from a former AOL Media and Studios executive, David 

Eun from Samsung, who was on the plane and tweeted a picture, 

relayed that he and the majority of passengers were okay. This 

turned out to be credible information but also kind of set the tone 

for what would follow from the ground. 

Following what happened, survivors used Twitter, Facebook, and 

Path to assure loved ones that they were safe. 

San Francisco Airport SFO used social media to provide up-todate information on response efforts and the National Transportation Safety Board did the same with respect to its investigation. 
60 

I, myself, during the moments following the crash and the investigation used social media like Twitter and Facebook to both share 

and learn information, and just yesterday, President Obama gave 

remarks at the White House in which he talked about the administration’s effort and desire to encourage Government to be smarter, 

more effective, and more efficient through its use of technology. He 

cited FEMA’s use of web apps in the aftermath of Sandy. 

In this new age of social media and instant communications, it 

shouldn’t be surprising that they now play such an important role 

in the moments following an emergency disaster, and their use 

after this plane accident is a reminder of the most recent example. 

Just behind me I have the same infograph that my colleague, 

Mrs. Brooks, referred to, provided by the University of San Francisco, which provides great information on how modern technology 

is impacting disaster response. 

I do want to highlight that 76 percent of those polled used social 

media to let people know that they were okay; 76 percent of folks 

who were in a disaster, and 18 percent of those folks received their 

information from Facebook. 

Much of the social media is developed and produced in Silicon 

Valley, and I am proud to represent northern Silicon Valley in Congress. What Silicon Valley companies like Google, Facebook, and 

Twitter are doing to help ordinary citizens volunteer, share information, and be more prepared for disasters was discussed at the 

first hearing in this series held last month. I applaud them for 

their efforts. 

Today, our focus will be on how Government and our primary 

non-Governmental response organization, the Red Cross, use social 

media in disaster situations. This will hopefully include a discussion of both the opportunities and challenges to using modern technology. 

Among our witnesses are Sergeant Kierce, director of the Jersey 

City Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. 

This office has been on the forefront of interoperable communications and social media and last month was recognized in Washington, DC, with an International 2013 Computerworld Honors 

Laureate for implementation of a remarkable communications surveillance system. 

With its internet-based Mutualink, Jersey City OEM can facilitate communications across various frequencies and types of communications, provide first-responder users access to secure video 

systems, and enable first responders to share images of disaster 

and videos with hospitals and public safety officials. 

By integrating both social media and enhanced communications 

technologies into emergency response capabilities, Jersey City will 

be able to respond to disasters more quickly and more effectively. 

Although cities like Jersey City and San Francisco have proven 

particularly adept in integrating new technologies into its disaster 

preparedness plans, I understand that not every city has been just 

as successful. 

To be fair, Jersey City and San Francisco have benefited from 

significant grants from Federal homeland security programs. One 

of our largest challenges is that as funding for these programs has 

been reduced, fewer cities have had the resources necessary to de-
61 

velop robust communication systems and to cultivate the expertise 

necessary to navigate and effectively integrate social media into 

disaster response plans. 

The Social Media in the Emergency Management Field, a 2012 

survey results study released by the National Emergency Management Association, also known as NEMA, and the non-profit research organization, CNA, which my colleague also referred to, indicates that although local governments consider themselves moderately familiar with social media, the primary barrier to emergency management agencies’ use of social media is the lack of dedicated personnel on the ground. 

Additionally, there appears to be a generation gap when it comes 

to using social media on the part of the public and some emergency 

managers. It is hard to use social media to aid in a disaster response if you cannot spare the personnel to do the work or you 

don’t have anyone who understands the technology. 

In other words, we still have a lot of catching up to do. 

Another challenge is that there is undeniably a socio-economic 

component with respect to use and access to social media. Some 

Americans, particularly those who are low income, simply don’t 

have the same access to the internet, smartphones, or Wi-Fi. 

We can’t ignore the impact of the digital divide as we begin to 

integrate social media into disaster response activities. We can’t 

leave them behind or without information. 

Finally, for the Government to best utilize social media, it is not 

just about putting information on Twitter and Facebook, agencies 

need to be providing data in a usable, open-source format so the 

high-technology companies like Google can easily and quickly incorporate it into their web pages, apps, and other portals. 

I look forward to discussing with our witnesses the challenges 

that are ahead highlighting the successes and looking forward to 

what we can do to make sure that we are ready to respond to the 

next disaster. 

Thank you. 

[The statement of Mr. Swalwell follows:] 

STATEMENT OF HON. ERIC SWALWELL

JULY 9, 2013 

I’d like to begin by extending my sympathies to those who died or were injured 

during the plane crash at San Francisco Airport (SFO) this weekend and to their 

families. And, I’d like to thank the EMS teams, firefighters, and police for their heroic response. 

This hearing is very timely, for we just saw in this horrible accident how critical 

and relevant social media can be in times of crisis. Following what happened, survivors used Twitter, Facebook, and Path to assure loved ones that they were safe. 

SFO used social media to provide the public up-to-date information on response efforts and the National Transportation Safety Board did the same with respect to 

its investigation. I myself used social media like Twitter both to share and learn 

information. 

And, just yesterday, President Obama gave remarks at the White House in which 

he talked about his administration’s desire to encourage Government to be smarter, 

effective, and efficient, through its use of technology. He cited FEMA’s use of the 

web and apps in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. 

In this new age of social media and instant communication, it shouldn’t be surprising that they now play an important role in disaster response. And, their use 

after this plane accident is just the most recent example. 
62 

I have an info-graphic on the screen, provided by the University of San Francisco—located just across the bay from my Congressional district—which provides 

great information on how modern technology is impacting disaster response. For example, 76 percent of those polled used social media to let people know they are ok. 

And, 18 percent got emergency information from Facebook. 

Much of this social media is developed and produced in Silicon Valley, and I’m 

proud to represent Northern Silicon Valley in Congress. What Silicon Valley companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter are doing to help ordinary citizens volunteer, share information, and be more prepared for disasters was discussed at the 

first hearing in this series held last month. I applaud them for their efforts. 

Today our focus will be on how Government and our primary non-Governmental 

response organization, the Red Cross, use social media in disaster situations. This 

will hopefully include a discussion of both the opportunities and challenges to using 

this modern technology. 

Among our witnesses are Sergeant Kierce, Director of the Jersey City Office of 

Emergency Management and Homeland Security (OEM). This office has been on the 

forefront of interoperable communications and social media. Last month, the office 

was recognized in Washington, DC with an international 2013 Computerworld Honors Laureate for implementation of a remarkable communication and surveillance 

system. 

With its internet-based Mutualink, Jersey City OEM can facilitate communication 

across various frequencies and types of communications, provide first-responder 

users access to security video systems, and enable first responders to share images 

of disaster and videos with hospitals and other public safety officials. By integrating 

both social media and other enhanced communications technologies into its emergency response capabilities, Jersey City will be able to respond to disasters more 

quickly and more effectively. 

Although cities like Jersey City and San Francisco have proven particularly adept 

in integrating new technologies into its disaster response plans, I understand that 

other cities have not been as successful. To be fair, Jersey City and San Francisco 

have benefited from significant grants from Federal homeland security programs. 

One of our challenges is that as funding for these programs have been reduced, 

fewer cities have had the resources necessary to develop robust communications systems and to cultivate the expertise necessary to effectively integrate social media 

into disaster response plans. The Social Media in the Emergency Management Field: 

2012 Survey Results, a study released by the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) and the nonprofit research organization CNA, indicates that although local governments consider themselves at least ‘‘moderately familiar’’ with 

social media, the ‘‘primary barrier to emergency management agencies’ use of social 

media is a lack of dedicated personnel.’’ 

Additionally, there appears to be a generation gap when it comes to using social 

media—on the part of the public and some emergency managers. It’s hard to use 

social media to aid in disaster response if you can’t spare the personnel to do the 

work, or don’t have anyone who understands the technology. 

Another challenge is that there is undeniably a socio-economic component with respect to use of and access to social media. Some Americans, particular those who 

are low-income, simply don’t have the same level of access to the internet, smart 

phones, or WiFi. We can’t ignore the impact of this ‘‘digital divide’’ as we begin to 

integrate social media into disaster response activities. We can’t leave them behind, 

or without needed information. 

Finally, for the Government to best utilize social media, it’s not just about it putting information on Twitter and Facebook. Agencies need to be providing data in 

a useable, open-source format so the high-technology companies like Google can easily and quickly incorporate it to their own web pages, apps, and other portals. 

I look forward to discussing with our witnesses both the opportunities presented 

by social media and the challenges I laid out, as well as how we can go about tackling them. Be it more resources, new statutory authority, or better guidance from 

the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), we should be doing all we can 

to best harness the tremendous power of social media in disaster relief and recovery. 

The Congress should stand ready to work with the President in this effort, part of 

his broader goal to make Government more technologically savvy. 
63 

Mrs. BROOKS. Thank you. 

Other Members of the committee are reminded opening statements may be submitted for the record. 

[The statement of Ranking Member Thompson follows:] 

STATEMENT OF RANKING MEMBER BENNIE G. THOMPSON

JULY 9, 2013 

Good morning. Thank you Chairwoman Brooks and Ranking Member Payne, Jr. 

for holding this hearing today. 

Last month, this subcommittee heard testimony from private-sector witnesses who 

described the social media and big-data technologies that emergency managers and 

first responders can use to improve disaster response activities. 

Google.org and Palantir brought to bear impressive resources during Hurricane 

Sandy and the Boston Marathon bombings. 

PSE&G—a Newark, New Jersey utility company—described its social media efforts to keep its customers informed of power restoration efforts after Hurricane 

Sandy. 

PSE&G’s is sharing its best practices and lessons learned with other utilities and 

critical infrastructure companies. 

From Hurricane Sandy to the tornadoes in Oklahoma, it is clear that social media 

is becoming a staple in effective disaster response. 

Both the public and Government entities involved in disaster response have come 

to rely on social media to supplement and enhance situational awareness and outreach activities. 

This kind of innovation can not only be cost-effective but it can also saves lives. 

That said, we cannot lose sight of social media’s inherent vulnerabilities: The security and accuracy of information shared. 

As Jason Payne from Palantir aptly noted during the June 4 hearing, social media 

platforms must include ‘‘robust, built-in measures to allow users appropriate access 

and to share information... while protecting privacy and civil liberties.’’ 

I look forward to learning about the policies used by FEMA and its non-Governmental partners to ensure that potentially-sensitive information gathered to inform 

disaster response is destroyed when it is no longer needed. 
64 

I also look forward to hearing that this information is used only for the purpose 

of disaster response. 

Additionally, I am concerned about the circulation of misinformation during a disaster. 

We all know that rumors and unverified information can undermine legitimate response activities. 

I understand that FEMA launched Rumor Control, a website devoted to correcting 

misinformation circulated by social media sites, in the aftermath of Hurricane 

Sandy. 

That is a good start. 

But I am interested in learning about the guidance FEMA provides to its State 

and local Government and private-sector partners about how to verify information 

before it is shared. 

I am also interested in learning about the type of guidance provided to help verify 

open-source information that authorities may gain from social media. 

I look forward to hearing the testimony from our witnesses. 

Thank you, and I yield back the balance of my time. 

Mrs. BROOKS. We are very pleased to have a very distinguished 

panel before us today, and I would like to start out by introducing 

Shayne Adamski. He serves as the senior manager of digital engagement at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a position he has held since 2010. 

In this capacity, he is responsible for the strategy and coordination of web, mobile, and social media initiatives across the agency. 

Next up is Ms. Susie DeFrancis. She serves as the chief public 

affairs officer at the American Red Cross. She oversees all communications, Government relations, and strategic partnerships. Under 

her leadership, the American Red Cross has built a 21st Century 

communications operation concentrating on the use of social media, 

other forms of digital engagement, and building, as I said earlier, 

the first-ever social media center for humanitarian purposes. 

Next is Mr. Albert Ashwood. He is the director of the Oklahoma 

Department of Emergency Management, a position he has held 

since 1997. He joined the State’s emergency management department in 1988 and he previously served as president of NEMA, the 

National Emergency Management Association, and is testifying on 

behalf of NEMA. 

Finally, I want to thank you, Mr. Swalwell, for introducing Sergeant Greg Kierce. 

So welcome. Thank you very much for coming. 

The witnesses’ full written statements will appear in the record. 

The Chairwoman will now recognize Mr. Adamski for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF SHAYNE ADAMSKI, SENIOR MANAGER OF DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT 

AGENCY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

Mr. ADAMSKI. Chairwoman Brooks, Mr. Swalwell, Members of 

the subcommittee, good morning. 

I am Shayne Adamski, the senior manager for digital engagement at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal 

Emergency Management Agency. 

On behalf of Administrator Fugate and Secretary Napolitano, 

thank you for the opportunity to discuss FEMA’s use of social 

media. 

I am pleased to be here today to discuss the role of social media 

in disasters and emergencies and fortunate to have partners with 
65 

us here today who see the value in using these tools for public safety. 

Millions of Americans use social media every day to check in on 

friends and family, learn about current events, and share their experiences on-line. 

FEMA uses social media to be a part of this on-going dialogue, 

to meet people where they are, using tools and platforms they are 

already familiar with. 

With one click of the mouse or one swipe on a smartphone’s 

screen, a message is capable of being spread to thousands of people 

to have a tangible real-world impact, and as such, FEMA uses social media in numerous ways. 

So as we will see on the screens in the next slide, we use it to 

provide safety and preparedness tips to inform the public of the 

most effective ways to help disaster survivors as well as to let disaster survivors know where they are able to receive assistance. 

We use social media to provide up-to-date information about how 

the emergency management team, including FEMA, is helping 

communities and individuals prepare for, respond to, recover from, 

and mitigate disasters. 

On slide No. 3, we see the onset of the recent Oklahoma tornados: One of the many messages that we tweeted was 

‘‘#Oklahoma. We are working closely with State emergency management and local officials.’’ We stand ready to support as needed 

and as requested. 

Soon after we followed up with the news that FEMA had it deployed urban search and rescue, incident management, and mobile 

emergency response support teams to Oklahoma. 

On slides No. 4 and 5 we will see photos that we posted after 

Hurricane Sandy of our FEMA community relations teams who are 

now called disaster survivor assistance teams going door-to-door in 

the impacted areas helping survivors get help and apply for aid. 

Social media is, at its essence, a conversation, and it is a conversation that we strive to be an active part of. Of course in true 

conversation form, both participants listen and respond in turn, 

and social media is no different. 

This exchange is a critical component of being viewed as responsive or authoritative source of information. This two-way flow of information had an impact after Hurricane Sandy. As we will see on 

the next slide, we launched a rumor control initiative. It was an 

initiative using all of our on-line platforms to dispel inaccurate information that was being shared on-line. 

One example also is our disaster recovery center data feeds—excuse me—so we also regularly collaborate with our partners, particularly those in the private sector as Mr. Swalwell here had mentioned, including colleagues who work at Facebook, Twitter, and 

Google, so we can better understand how our messaging can be 

seen by more users especially during and after disasters. 

One example is our disaster recovery center data feed that contains information about open disaster recovery centers. Google regularly includes this data in their crisis maps which shares helpful 

information in a familiar and accessible format. 
66 

We are also tapping into the importance that cell phones play in 

everyday life especially through our smart phone app and text message program. 

In 2011, we released our FEMA smart phone app, which provides 

information on how to make a plan, build your emergency kit, how 

to stay safe, and how to rebuild after a disaster. 

It also has the ability to look up disaster recovery centers and 

open shelters as we see in my final slide. 

We are very proud of the fact that the information in the FEMA 

app is also accessible even if the user does not have a cellular or 

a Wi-Fi connection making it a valuable tool during a disaster. 

In 2011, FEMA was the first agency to establish its own text 

message short code meaning that anyone could text 43362 or 

4–FEMA to get information on open disaster recovery centers and 

open shelters. 

During the height of Hurricane Sandy, our text message program 

received more than 10,000 requests in 1 day from people searching 

for shelter locations within a specific ZIP Code. 

Citizens can also sign up to receive regular preparedness tips regarding the hazards that are most common in their area such as 

earthquakes, wildfires, hurricanes, as well as tornadoes. 

Moving forward, FEMA will continue to engage in on-line conversations that lead to a more prepared and better informed public. 

We are constantly refining our digital and social media approach, 

listening to feedback from our stakeholders, and keeping our ear to 

the ground on the ever-evolving world of social media and the digital space. 

We learn from the conversations we have on these platforms and 

from continued collaboration with our partners. We do all of this 

to achieve our core mission of supporting America’s citizens. 

I look forward to addressing any questions the subcommittee 

may have. Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Adamski follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF SHAYNE ADAMSKI

JULY 9, 2013 

INTRODUCTION

Chairman Brooks, Ranking Member Payne, and Members of the subcommittee: 

Good morning. I am Shayne Adamski, senior manager of digital engagement for the 

U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Emergency Management 

Agency (FEMA). On behalf of Administrator Fugate and Secretary Napolitano, 

thank you for the opportunity to discuss FEMA’s use of social media. 

I am pleased to be here today to discuss the role of social media in disasters and 

emergencies. Technology grows and changes rapidly, providing us with increased opportunities to educate and empower the public. Tools that did not exist even 5 years 

ago are now primary modes of communication for millions of Americans. Of course, 

tools such as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter were not created for the purpose of 

preparing for, responding to, or recovering from emergencies and disasters. However, the potential for useful application of these tools to strengthen the effectiveness of the FEMA mission exists and should be explored. 

FEMA’s success in fulfilling its mission is highly dependent upon our ability to 

communicate with the individuals, families, and communities we serve. For that 

reason, social media conversations are extremely valuable to the work we do, and 

we are fortunate to have partners with us here today who see the value of using 

these tools to increase public safety. 
67 

Today, I would like to discuss why social media is important to the work we do 

as well as how FEMA uses social media and strategic partnerships to fulfill our mission. 

THE POWER AND PROMISE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

FEMA’s approach to emergency management recognizes that individuals, families, 

and communities are our greatest assets and the keys to our success. In order to 

fulfill our mission, we must work together as one team—this notion is at the heart 

of our whole-community approach to emergency management. 

Social media is imperative to emergency management because the public uses 

these communication tools regularly. Rather than trying to convince the public to 

adjust to the way we at FEMA traditionally communicated, we have adapted to the 

way the public communicates, leveraging the tools they use on a daily basis. Millions of Americans use social media every day to check in on friends and family, 

learn about current events, and share their experiences. FEMA uses social media 

to be part of this on-going dialogue and meet people where they are, using tools and 

platforms they are already familiar with. 

FEMA also uses social media and other digital methods to communicate because 

as we have seen, information can lead to action. Our goal is for our safety-related 

information to have a real-world impact—to inspire actions that lead to more resilient families and communities. If someone sees a preparedness or safety tip from 

FEMA, the goal is that it will inspire them to prepare or empower them to tell a 

friend how to be more prepared or where to find help. 

Finally, social media and technology allow us to reach more people more quickly 

during disasters, when they need accurate, timely, and authoritative information 

that helps ensure the protection of their life or livelihood. With one click of the 

mouse, or one swipe on their smartphone’s screen, a message is capable of being 

spread to thousands of people and have a tangible impact. 

HOW FEMA USES SOCIAL MEDIA

FEMA uses multiple social media platforms to reach the public and to provide 

them with useful information. While no individual social media tool is exhaustive 

or all-encompassing, each allows us to communicate with the populations we serve. 

I would like to discuss a few of the social media tools we use at FEMA, and how 

we use them. 

We are very active on two of the most popular social networks in America— 

Facebook and Twitter—where we are able to reach the greatest number of active, 

engaged users. We have three Facebook pages and 34 Twitter accounts. Collectively, 

our Twitter accounts have 400,000 followers, while our Facebook pages have 

143,000 fans. FEMA also manages a YouTube channel as well as discussions on an 

on-line collaboration site called IdeaScale. 

These numbers also show our growth and demonstrate our increasing ability to 

communicate with Americans on-line. When I started in my position in June 2010, 

we had 25,000 followers on all of our social media accounts combined. Today, FEMA 

has well over 500,000 users on these sites. 

FEMA uses social media in five primary ways. 

First, we use social media to provide up-to-date information about how the whole 

community emergency management team, including FEMA, is helping communities 

and individuals prepare for, respond to, and recover from and mitigate disasters. 

At the onset of the recent Oklahoma tornadoes, one of the many messages that 

we tweeted was: ‘‘#Oklahoma: We’re working closely with state emergency management & local officials. We stand ready to support as needed & requested.’’ Soon 

after, we followed up with the news that FEMA had deployed Urban Search & Rescue, Incident Management, and Mobile Emergency Response Support teams to Oklahoma. 

And just after Hurricane Sandy we posted photos of our FEMA Corps Community 

Relations (now called Disaster Survivor Assistance Teams) personnel going door-todoor in the impacted areas, helping survivors get help and apply for aid in New Jersey and New York. 

We also leverage our social media accounts to help our Federal, State, local, Tribal, territorial, and private-sector partners share key messages. For example, we 

shared many status updates from trusted sources before, during, and after Hurricane Sandy, including from Governor Chris Christie, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and 

other Governors and mayors throughout the affected region. 

Following the Oklahoma tornadoes in May, we amplified key messages from the 

Oklahoma State government and the city of Moore. We regularly share updates 
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from our partners at all levels because we recognize that successful emergency management requires a whole-community approach and effort. 

Second, we use social media to provide safety and preparedness tips. As the subcommittee is aware, we are currently in the middle of the 2013 Atlantic hurricane 

season, so we recently posted tips regarding properly securing windows during a 

hurricane. Similar messages are posted regularly across all of our social media accounts to help ensure that Americans have actionable, specific ways to get themselves, their families, their business, and their communities better prepared for disasters. 

These safety tips focus on more than just preparedness. We also share information about how people are able to stay safe during and after disasters with critical 

reminders to stay away from damaged areas and allow emergency crews and rescue 

workers to work. 

Third, we use social media to inform the public of the most effective ways to help 

disaster survivors. Americans show tremendous generosity after disasters, so we 

provide tips on how that generosity could be most effective. For example, we encourage Americans to donate through trusted charities that know the specific needs of 

the impacted community. 

Fourth, we tell disaster survivors where and how they are able to receive assistance—whether that be from FEMA or from another trusted source. To accomplish 

this, we leverage all of our social media accounts, including those managed in each 

of FEMA’s regional offices. Our regional offices fill an important niche, providing 

useful information to local users, such as locations of FEMA’s Disaster Recovery 

Centers or by highlighting local resources. We employed this tactic after Hurricane 

Sandy and during both the recent floods in Illinois and the tornadoes in Oklahoma. 

Fifth, we tap into the potential of social media to gain valuable feedback. As I 

shared before, social media is at its essence a conversation and it is a conversation 

that we strive to be an active part of. Of course, in true conversation, both participants listen and respond in turn—social media is no different. This exchange is a 

critical component of being viewed as a responsive, authoritative source of information. 

This two-way flow of information had an impact after Hurricane Sandy. In the 

days following the hurricane, FEMA launched ‘‘Rumor Control,’’ an initiative using 

all of our on-line platforms to dispel inaccurate information being shared on-line. We 

listened and identified rumors circulating on-line, from logistics information to specific disaster assistance programs, and moved to quickly correct the misinformation. 

This was done by creating a Rumor Control page on fema.gov and m.fema.gov 

(FEMA’s mobile website), as well as through answering many questions received 

through our Facebook and Twitter accounts. FEMA receives questions almost daily 

on Facebook and Twitter, so we dedicate resources to answering them, thus helping 

to fulfill FEMA’s mission of supporting America’s citizens. 

To further facilitate feedback and interaction from the on-line community, FEMA 

also holds the equivalent of ‘‘virtual town halls’’ using Twitter chats. Twitter chats 

are real-time conversations using the platform. One recent example came after Hurricane Sandy. Federal Coordinating Officer for New York, Mike Byrne, participated 

in a Twitter chat and fielded many questions, such as ‘‘How do homeowners get the 

amounts they need to rebuild?’’ and ‘‘Has @Fema spread into affected communities, 

holding open houses and is it better coordinated w/other agencies than 1 mo ago?’’. 

These on-line ‘‘town halls’’ allow FEMA to answer questions in an open, public 

forum and contribute to growing our on-line following, which is essential to educating a greater number of Americans. 

As we use social and digital media, we follow record management and Paperwork 

Reduction Act rules. It is also important to note that FEMA writes content explicitly 

so that it is does not trigger the stipulations of the Paperwork Reduction Act and 

archives all social media content/conversations for records management purposes. 

COLLABORATING WITH KEY PARTNERS

In addition to sharing key messages on our social networks from our partners, social media also allows FEMA to work with partners, such as the American Red 

Cross, to share information about the nature of on-line conversations after a disaster. 

We also share what our private-sector partners are doing during a disaster, such 

as posting information about Tide Loads of Hope locations, where survivors can 

wash their clothes and Therapy Dogs International, which provides specially-trained 

dogs to comfort survivors. 
69 

Additionally, we collaborate with our partners across the emergency management 

team on messaging and outreach for preparedness campaigns such as September’s 

annual National Preparedness Month. 

To fully collaborate with our partners, particularly those in the private sector, we 

also make some types of information available for their use. One example is our Disaster Recovery Center data feed that contains information about open Disaster Recovery Centers. Google regularly includes this data in their Crisis Maps, which 

shares helpful information in a familiar and accessible format. 

We also regularly collaborate with our colleagues who work for platforms like 

Facebook, Google, and Twitter to better understand how our messaging could be 

seen by more users, especially during and after disasters. 

FEMA looks forward to making these non-profit and private-sector relationships 

even stronger in the future. 

SOCIAL MEDIA: PART OF FEMA’S LARGER DIGITAL PRESENCE

FEMA’s digital presence extends beyond social media. FEMA also communicates 

with Americans via the web and various mobile platforms. These channels complement each other and allow us to reach a larger audience. 

FEMA runs several websites that serve as authoritative sources for information, 

including: fema.gov, ready.gov, and disasterasssitance.gov. 

FEMA is also tapping into the importance that cell phones play in everyday life, 

specifically through our smartphone app, text message program, and Wireless Emergency Alerts. In my experience, cell phones are often a lifeline after a disaster and 

many times are the only source of information in the hardest-affected areas. As citizens continue to use smartphones more and more, those of us in emergency management should continually be looking for ways to share our message and make our 

services available through those devices. 

In 2011, we also released our FEMA smartphone app, which provides information 

on how to: Make a plan and build your emergency kit; stay safe and rebuild after 

a disaster; and look up open disaster recovery centers and open shelters. We are 

very proud of the fact that the safety information in the FEMA app is accessible 

within the app even if the user does not have a cellular or Wi-Fi connection—making it a valuable tool during a disaster. 

Text messaging is a form of communication that is particularly useful during and 

after a disaster when phone lines may be congested and voice calls often do not get 

through. Sending and receiving text messages requires less bandwidth and helps reduce the volume of phone calls in an area so that necessary communications are 

able to continue to be made. 

After the May 20 tornadoes in Oklahoma, we posted a message to Facebook that 

reminded people to use text messaging to check in with friends/family in the impacted area, as well as the American Red Cross Safe and Well site. The message 

was seen by more than 230,000 people on Facebook. 

In 2011, FEMA was the first Federal agency to establish its own text message 

short code—meaning that anyone could text 43362 or 4FEMA to obtain valuable information. Texting this code allows people to search for open disaster recovery centers and shelters. During the height of Hurricane Sandy, our text message program 

received more than 10,000 requests in one day from people searching for shelter locations within a specific ZIP code. Citizens could also sign up to receive regular preparedness tips regarding the hazards that are most common in their area, such as 

earthquakes, wildfires, hurricanes, or tornadoes. 

Local and State public safety officials can send Wireless Emergency Alerts directly 

to citizen’s cell phones, utilizing FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert & Warning System. 

These geographically-targeted messages are sent from emergency managers, the National Weather Service, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children 

to warn citizens about severe weather, AMBER Alerts and other threats to safety. 

During National emergencies, the President can also communicate with citizens 

using Wireless Emergency Alerts. 

PERSONAL PREPAREDNESS MEETS DIGITAL

At FEMA, we often share how Americans could use technology to be ‘‘digitally 

prepared,’’ and I would also like to take this opportunity to share some of those 

items today. 

To ensure they are prepared, we encourage people to take these steps: 

• Store useful phone numbers in their phone, including numbers for local police, 

fire departments, and their utility company; 

• Create a group of emergency contacts in their cell phone; 
70 

• Educate themselves on what social media tools are being used by their State, 

local, Tribal, and territorial emergency management offices, so that they are 

able to quickly access them in the event of an emergency; 

• Have an extra battery for their phone (or a solar charger) in their emergency 

kit; 

• Update their social media channels in the aftermath of a disaster to let their 

friends and family know they are safe by simply texting ‘‘I’m OK’’; and 

• Know how to use text messaging to check in with friends and family after a 

disaster. 

Many social media sites also allow users to update their status via text message, 

and I would encourage the public to become familiar with how to do so. 

MOVING FORWARD

Moving forward, FEMA will continue to engage in on-line conversations that lead 

to a more prepared, better-informed public. 

We are constantly refining our social media approach, listening to feedback from 

our stakeholders and keeping our ear to the ground on the ever-evolving world of 

social media and the digital space. We also learn from the conversations we have 

on these platforms and from continued collaboration with our partners. We do all 

of this to achieve our core mission of supporting America’s citizens. 

I look forward to addressing any questions the subcommittee may have. 
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Mrs. BROOKS. Thank you, Mr. Adamski. 

The Chairwoman now recognizes Ms. DeFrancis for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF SUZANNE C. DE FRANCIS, CHIEF PUBLIC 

AFFAIRS OFFICER, AMERICAN RED CROSS 

Ms. DEFRANCIS. Thank you, Chairwoman Brooks and Members 

of the committee. 

The American Red Cross appreciates this opportunity to share 

our experiences using social media to help people stay safe and recover from disasters, and we also look forward to learning from our 

Federal, State, and local partners here today. 

So today, I would like to make three points. 

The public is increasingly turning to social media and mobile 

apps to get help and to give help during disasters, and all of us 

must be listening and responding and integrating that information 

better into our response operations because, as you mentioned, the 

public has very high expectations that we are doing that. 

At the American Red Cross, social media plays an important role 

now in what is a 130-year-old mission. It is helping us provide critical information to the public, connect people to resources, and literally, save lives. 

Finally, social media is a powerful form of citizen engagement 

which can be harnessed to create more resilient communities so 

that the community can actually own the disaster response and 

this will help ensure our Nation is as prepared as possible. 

So as you mentioned, Chairwoman, that the American Red Cross 

surveys show people use social media for many reasons. Three out 

of four use it to find their friends and family and see if they are 

safe or to give information about their own safety. 
75 

They are also looking for hard facts. They want the weather conditions, road closures, damage reports. We saw during Sandy, they 

were looking for gas stations that had gas. 

More than a third say social media has motivated them to gather 

supplies or seek shelter. As you know, it is very hard to convince 

people to prepare, but social media is making a dent in that. 

As you said, the public expects us to be listening and responding. 

Three out of four Americans expect help in less than 3 hours to arrive after a post on social media, and clearly, we know we have a 

gap there in meeting that expectation. 

So the hub of Red Cross social media is our digital operation centers, opened in March 2012 but with a generous gift from our wonderful partner, Dell, and as you said, it is the first social media 

center specifically devoted to humanitarian relief. 

We were so pleased that you were able to come and visit our center along with Ranking Member Payne and we hope that other 

Members of the committee will come, other Members of Congress, 

we welcome and want to show you our facilities. 

So this center allows us to pull data from social networks, all social networks, and categorize them by topics. So it could be a topic 

such as damages, emotional support, need for shelter, food, and 

then we can categorize that and then read, reply, or take the data 

and redirect it to inquiries to our disaster operations staff so they 

can get on it. 

During Hurricane Sandy, we analyzed more than 2.5 million 

pieces of social data. We were searching for any actionable content. 

We tagged 10,000 of these posts and whether it was labeling it situational awareness or something that needed to go to our mass 

care operations. 

We sent more than 300 individual pieces of information to our 

operations team on the ground and about 88 of those resulted in 

concrete actions where we actually took a step we weren’t planning 

on taking to get people help. 

We tweeted and posted information on where our shelters and 

mobile feeding sites. I used to love to see our New York chapter 

send out a tweet that would say, ‘‘The Red Cross truck is at 99th 

and 101st streets in Howard Beach, and we are serving Salisbury 

steak today.’’ 

Social media also helped us identify gaps in our service delivery. 

When residents of Sayreville, New Jersey had not received assistance 5 days after landfall, they used Facebook to let us know, and 

we were able to route this information to our operation on the 

ground to get some service delivery going in an area we just hadn’t 

identified. 

Now you know the Red Cross relies on volunteers and so the way 

that we are able to scale up our social media operations during a 

disaster is through trained digital volunteers. 

During Sandy, more than 50 American Red Cross digital volunteers, some working remotely from around the world like Christoph 

Dennenmoser, from our German Red Cross, were actually responding to thousands of Facebook messages and tweets about Sandy. 

Now social media apps and other digital tools are an increasing 

part of 21st Century response but these tools, I need to hasten to 
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add, are not a panacea. Social media can supplement but does not 

replace traditional communications. 

Not everyone, as you mentioned, is on social media. There is a 

digital divide, and when the power is out and people can’t charge 

the cell phones, nobody is on social media, and the Red Cross will 

still drive through neighborhoods with bull horns announcing that 

we are there with food, water, and other supplies. 

Now our surveys have also found that mobile apps are increasingly becoming important. They are the fourth most popular way 

to get information in an emergency and remember TV, radio, and 

on-line news are still the top sources of information. 

The American Red Cross has released a series of five free apps 

for both iPhone and Android. People have downloaded these new 

apps 3 million times. They have weather alerts, preparedness information, shelter locations, and the ability to let loved ones know 

they are safe. 

A top Apple executive told our CEO, Gail McGovern, that he 

never leaves his kids without leaving our first aid app open for the 

babysitter to use. 

People have told us that they have literally saved lives in a restaurant using the app because it tells you how to stop people from 

choking, what to do in terms of cardiac arrest. 

Our tornado apps and other apps that we have are now tapping 

into the Government systems so that we can send an alarm that 

sounds when a tornado is approaching. We got a message from 

some mother who said, ‘‘Now I can go to sleep because I know this 

alarm wakes me up.’’ 

Finally, in catastrophic disasters, the Red Cross witnesses an 

abundance of care and concern from people who are unaffected, 

people who just really want to help their neighbors. They are often 

eyewitnesses to the events as you described with the plane crash 

and the first to help their neighbors. 

We are seeing the possibilities here as limitless in terms of giving the public a seat at our disaster operations table and have 

them help control the response if you will. 

So by social media and mobile apps and new technology, we can 

create more resilient communities, more effective disaster response, 

and a more prepared Nation. 

Thank you again for your leadership on this topic, Chairman, 

and I am happy to address any questions you may have. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. DeFrancis follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF SUZANNE C. DEFRANCIS

JULY 9, 2013 

Good morning, Chairman Brooks, Ranking Member Payne, Members and staff of 

the subcommittee. The American Red Cross appreciates the opportunity to share 

our experience using social media and new technology to help people stay safe and 

recover from disasters and other emergencies. Chairman Brooks, we applaud the 

personal interest you and the Ranking Member have in this area, as evidenced by 

your visit earlier this year to our Digital Operations Center, and we look forward 

to further engagement with you and the entire committee. 

The destructive disasters we have seen across our country—from wildfires in the 

West, to the Oklahoma tornadoes, Superstorm Sandy, which impacted Ranking 

Member Payne’s State of New Jersey and, the outbreak of tornadoes that devastated 

Henryville in Chairman Brooks’ home State of Indiana—underscore the fact that 
77 

disasters can strike anywhere at any time, and we all use all the tools and methods 

we can to help our neighbors in need. 

Today, I’d like to make three points to the committee: 

1. The public is increasingly turning to social media, mobile apps, and other 

new technology to find information and get help during disasters, and all of us 

who provide emergency relief must be listening and responding. 

2. The American Red Cross works to continually improve our services, and social media is an important tool in helping us share life-saving information, connect people to resources and literally save lives. 

3. Social media is a powerful form of citizen engagement which can be harnessed to create more resilient communities and ensure our Nation is as prepared as posssible. 

EMERGING SOCIAL MEDIA AND NEW TECHNOLOGY TRENDS

The power of social media as a communications tool during disasters became clear 

to us in the aftermath of the earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010. The American 

Red Cross saw tweets from people trapped under collapsed buildings. We heard directly from members of the Haitian diaspora who were communicating via text with 

loved ones in need of help. With cell service down in the early hours, people sought 

help however they could. 

Like many other disaster relief organizations and emergency responders at the 

time, the American Red Cross did not have an efficient way to process and respond 

to this information. We had to manually intake the messages and try to route them 

to the right places. It was a sign to us that technology was rapidly-changing traditional disaster response methods. 

In August 2010, the American Red Cross convened an Emergency Social Data 

Summit to discuss the evolution occurring in disaster response with the use and reliance by the public on social media. We convened other emergency response and 

disaster relief agencies, as well as the social media entities that were part of this 

growing phenomenon. This was the first time that Government, nonprofit, technology, and citizen sectors came together to discuss the opportunities and challenges 

we face in integrating social data with disaster response. 

More than 150 people attended the all-day summit and another 1,200 contributed 

virtually to the conference via Ustream and Twitter. It was quite a sight to see people live-blogging and tweeting in the same Red Cross headquarters building where 

citizens had once rolled bandages during World War I. 

SURVEYS OF WEB USERS

To inform the summit discussion, the American Red Cross conducted a survey of 

web users. Our survey results showed that many web users would turn to social 

communities to seek help during disasters and other emergencies. And, even more 

importantly, they expected first responders to be listening. 

The 2010 survey also found that Americans have high expectations about how 

first responders should be answering their requests, and it revealed a gap between 

public expectations and our ability to meet those expectations. For example, 69 percent said that emergency responders should be monitoring social media sites in 

order to quickly send help—and 74 percent expected help to come less than an hour 

after their tweet or Facebook post. 

In 2011 and 2012, the Red Cross conducted follow-up surveys on use of social 

media in emergencies. Those surveys found that Americans are becoming increasingly reliant on mobile devices during emergencies to provide information, useful 

tools, and a way to let loved ones know they are safe. 

The Red Cross surveys found that mobile apps now tie social media as the fourth 

most popular way to get information in an emergency, following TV, radio, and online news. The Red Cross survey found that 20 percent of Americans said they have 

received some kind of emergency information from an app. These findings led to the 

development of a series of Red Cross apps that I will discuss later. 

The survey identified a subsection of the population deemed ‘‘emergency social 

users,’’ people who are the most dedicated users of social media during emergencies 

and likely to take action based on information gathered through their social networks. 

• Three out of four emergency social users say they have contacted friends and 

family to see if they were safe. 

• More than a third say social information has motivated them to gather supplies 

or seek shelter. 
78 

• These users look for the hard facts—road closures, damage reports, and weather 

conditions—and they share personal information about their safety and their 

emotions. • Three out of four Americans (76 percent) expect help in less than 3 hours of 

posting a request on social media, up from 68 percent in the 2011 survey. • Forty percent of those surveyed in 2012 said they would use social tools to tell 

others they are safe, up from 24 percent the year before. 

USING SOCIAL MEDIA TO ADVANCE THE RED CROSS MISSION

For more than 130 years, the mission of the American Red Cross has been to help 

prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the 

power of volunteers and the generosity of donors. 

We respond to nearly 70,000 disasters each year—ranging from a house fire to 

a hurricane. We supply about 40 percent of the Nation’s blood to patients and hospitals. We teach skills such as First Aid and CPR that can save lives. We provide 

international humanitarian aid and support our military and their families through 

emergency communications and other programs. 

It may seem incongruous to some for an institution as old as ours to be embracing 

social media. But our experience teaches us that during a crisis, people will communicate the same way they communicate every day. Today, people are depending 

upon social media to communicate with their family and friends on a daily basis. 

And, as our surveys show, they are increasingly using social media to communicate 

in a disaster. 

To that end, the Red Cross has made social media and other forms of new technology a priority and our social presence continues to grow. We are present on all 

the major digital platforms. We have over half a million Facebook followers and we 

just celebrated our one millionth Twitter follower. 

DIGITAL OPERATIONS CENTER

The hub of our social media engagement is our Digital Operations Center at our 

Washington, DC, headquarters, which opened on March 7, 2012. It is the first social 

media monitoring center specifically devoted to humanitarian relief efforts. 

This center was made possible by our generous partner, DELL, which built the 

center for us and provided the equipment and its expertise. This revolutionary center enables the Red Cross to clearly see what is happening on the ground during 

an emergency. It helps us to better anticipate disaster needs and to dispense help 

more quickly—whether it is in the form of preparedness tips, first aid instructions, 

and information about shelter, food, or other services. 

The center allows us to pull in data from social networks on topics we choose. It 

consists of an engagement console which allows us to categorize posts by topic, and 

read, reply to them, or redirect inquiries to our disaster operations staff or other 

appropriate subject-matter experts. 

There are four screens which visually depict this information so we can easily 

monitor it: • The Heat Map tells us WHERE posts are coming from geographically; • The Community Screen tells us WHO is posting; • The Universe Screen tells us WHAT they are saying; • The Conversation Dashboard tells us HOW we are doing in our response efforts. 

The American Red Cross is very proud of our Digital Operations Center. And, we 

love to show it off. I invite all Members of Congress and their staff to visit our cutting-edge communication center to learn more about its capabilities and witness it 

in action. 

PUTTING EMERGENCY SOCIAL DATA TO WORK

Chairman Brooks, as you will recall, on March 2, 2012, an early season tornado 

outbreak devastated many communities in Kentucky and southern Indiana with 

more than 30 deaths and 300 injured. This disaster actually served as our first-ever 

test of the Digital Operations Center. Our small team of social media experts 

watched the heat map go red as the Indiana storms struck. Based on the activity 

and content of social media in the area, the team was able to determine that the 

tornadoes were heading right toward Henryville and quickly distribute preparedness 

information to thousands of people by offering links to Redcross.org and safety tips 

in 140 characters. We also were able to make operational decisions based on feedback and connect those on the ground with the resources they needed. 

Last October, when Superstorm Sandy struck, the American Red Cross launched 

the largest U.S. disaster response in more than 5 years. Our Digital Operations 

Center again played a crucial role. 
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Starting prior to landfall and continuing well after the storm passed, our teams 

in the Digital Operations Center analyzed more than 2.5 million pieces of social 

data searching for any actionable content from people affected by Sandy. They 

tagged 10,000 of these posts and interacted with them in some way, whether it was 

labeling a post as ‘‘situational awareness’’ or routing a need to our Mass Care operations. 

The social team sent more than 300 individual pieces of information to our operations team to help inform their decision making. This level of engagement allowed 

us to immediately address the needs and concerns of a large number of people in 

a densely-populated region of the country. 

We also were able to scale up our social media operations through the use of 

trained digital volunteers. They helped us monitor, authenticate, and route incoming disaster requests and information to our operations people and partners. They 

worked remotely using hash tags such as #crisisdata or #redcross to collect, collate, 

and respond to queries and concerns. 

During Sandy, more than 50 American Red Cross digital volunteers—some working virtually from around the world—responded to thousands of Facebook messages 

and tweets. They addressed an array of service delivery needs from finding the 

nearest shelter to answering questions about fallen trees and downed power lines. 

One of our Digital Volunteers was Christoph Dennenmoser, who works for the German Red Cross and has helped us respond to social posts on operations such as 

Haiti and Hurricane Sandy... all from his home or office in Germany. 

Our social engagement team, chapters, and digital volunteers offered information 

on where to find our shelters and mobile feeding sites. For example, our New York 

City chapter would tweet out that a Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicle would 

be at 99th and 101st streets in Howard Beach with hot meals and water. Some even 

tweeted out the menu for the day: Salisbury steak. 

The Red Cross found during Sandy that social media also helps us identify gaps 

in our service delivery. For example, residents of Sayreville, NJ had not received 

assistance 5 days after Sandy’s landfall. Several people there used Facebook to let 

us know, and we were able to provide this information from our Digital Operations 

Center to the operation on the ground and get service delivery going in that hardhit area we hadn’t identified before. 

We have found one major need remains consistent during all disasters—people 

are anxious and need emotional support. This gives us an opportunity to provide 

comfort and care using our ‘‘digital hugs,’’ delivered in 140 characters or less. 

For example, we received a tweet saying: OK #Sandy, you win. It’s official. I’m 

scared. 

We replied back: Sorry you are scared, pay attn to warnings and find shelter 

nearby just in case. Redcross.org (hugs) to you! 

The answer: Thank you. Stay safe as well. Thanks for the hugs . . . I need it. 

The Red Cross continues to learn from all of our response efforts as social media 

evolves. There is a balance between acting on information shared through social 

media outlets and ensuring what has transpired is accurate and correct. By watching and tracking social media continually, we often can correct misinformation 

quickly as we authenticate and verify information. 

MOBILE APPS PLAYING LARGER ROLE IN DISASTERS AND SAVING LIVES

As smart phones increasingly play a larger role in our lives, the American Red 

Cross is responding to this change with mobile solutions. Since June, 2012, we have 

released a series of five free apps for both iPhone and Android users. 

People across the country have downloaded these new apps more than 3 million 

times, giving them vital weather alerts, preparedness information, shelter locations, 

and the ability to let loved ones know they are safe. 

The First Aid app, which was launched in June, 2012, is the most popular and 

has been downloaded more than 1.4 million times. A top executive at Apple told our 

CEO Gail McGovern that he never goes out for the evening without leaving the app 

open for the babysitter. 

The First Aid App was followed by four more disaster apps: Hurricane, earthquake, wildfire, and tornado. Popular with users, they receive average ratings of 4.5 

out of 5.0 stars and received the ‘‘Best in Show—Most Life Changing Product’’ 

award at the recent CTIA—The Wireless Association Conference. 

CNN has called our Tornado App one of the ‘‘7 apps to survive a tornado.’’ It includes a siren that warns users when a tornado warning has been issued in their 

area. When the deadly tornadoes struck Oklahoma in May, our Tornado App was 

the number one free weather app and had 167,000 new downloads, bringing the 

total to 594,000 downloads since its March launch. 
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The Red Cross hurricane app, which has been downloaded more than 824,000 

times, became the No. 1 free weather app during Sandy and received the ‘‘Outstanding Achievement’’ award at this year’s National Hurricane Conference. 

But most gratifying is the feedback from users about how our apps helped save 

lives: 

‘‘I was in my friends car... when suddenly a friend of mine started having a seizure. I immediately looked at this app for help while calling 9–1–1 on another 

phone. I told the police about it and they said that there’s a good chance the information in this app saved my friends life.’’ 

‘‘I never have to stay up night again worried a tornado is coming when there’s a 

watch. I have a 9-month-old. I’m terrified one will come and I won’t have enough 

time to get her room & downstairs. I’ve had apps before that don’t work every time. 

This 1 actually does.’’ 

ON-LINE TOOLS ARE A SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUBSTITUTE FOR TRADITIONAL

COMMUNICATIONS

Social media, apps, and other digital tools are becoming an increasingly important 

part of 21st Century disaster response and services. But it would be a mistake to 

assume that these tools are a panacea. Social media should supplement but not replace traditional communications. Not everyone is on social media, especially in vulnerable communities. And those who do use social media tend to be younger, more 

urban, and more affluent. 

Moreover, when power is out and you can’t charge your smart phone, you will still 

need the Red Cross to drive through neighborhoods with bullhorns announcing that 

we are there with food, water, and other supplies. 

During Hurricane Sandy, the American Red Cross delivered help that cannot be 

delivered over the internet, as we: 

• Mobilized more than 17,000 workers and volunteers; 

• Provided more than 81,000 overnight stays in shelters; 

• Served more than 17 million meals and snacks; 

• Distributed more than 7 million relief items. 

PARTNERING TO EXTEND REACH OF SOCIAL MEDIA/NEW TECHNOLOGY

Social media and mobile technologies are bringing everyone closer together, and 

when Government, non-profits, internet, and other private companies, work together 

we can reach even more people with life-saving information and help. 

We can do this by sharing updates and information, and spreading the word 

through our own networks, while still preserving what is unique about our brands 

and the services we provide. 

For example, in the first hours after a disaster strikes, it’s important to inform 

and connect with family and friends. What better place to do that than on social 

media. The Red Cross has made changes to its Safe and Well website that allows 

people to update their status on Facebook and Twitter. We have also added an ‘‘I’m 

Safe’’ button to our apps that allows people to immediately send a text message, 

tweet, or Facebook post to let loved ones know they are safe. 

We have a very close working relationship with FEMA and State and local emergency management, often sharing information with each other through social media. 

During major disasters, the Red Cross social engagement team has a daily checkin with the FEMA social engagement team. We frequently echo and/or share one 

another’s outgoing content—for example FEMA will often help us push out Safe and 

Well to the public. 

We share situational awareness to be sure we’re coming to similar conclusions 

about client needs, and we are working to integrate our findings with the work of 

State emergency operations centers. 

A NEW FORM OF CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT

In catastrophic disasters, the Red Cross witnesses an abundance of care and concern from the unaffected—people eagerly wanting to help. They are often eyewitnesses to the events, and the first to help their neighbors. 

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate often speaks of his goal to have people see 

themselves as survivors and not victims of a disaster. He has pointed out that social 

media can empower the public to be a part of the response, not victims to be taken 

care of. We agree. 

In just a few weeks, we are set to launch the new, dynamic Team Red Cross app. 

This new app allows people to sign up to help, get trained right on their mobile de-
81 

vice and receive notifications about Red Cross volunteer opportunities in their community. 

We are very excited about this next level of digital engagement with the American 

people. 

With the help of technology, we are able to offer limitless opportunities, thereby, 

turning an abundance of care into more resilient communities, more effective disaster response, and a more prepared Nation. 

THE NEXT TECHNOLOGICAL HORIZON

Chairman Brooks, Ranking Member Payne, and Members of the subcommittee, 

thank you again for this opportunity to provide testimony today. We are delighted 

to be working with this subcommittee and your colleagues as we further explore the 

opportunities presented by engaging social media in our disaster preparedness and 

response. 

Social media is helping us improve our service delivery by giving us better situational awareness of the needs, helping us target help to specific locations, and getting more people engaged in giving and getting help. It is giving the public a seat 

at our Disaster Operations table. 

We have learned on this recent journey that we must continue to embrace change, 

remain open to new ideas and new platforms, and look forward to the next technological horizon. 

Thank you again for your engagement and leadership on this important topic. I 

am happy to address any questions you may have. 
82 

Mrs. BROOKS. Thank you, Ms. DeFrancis. 

The Chairwoman now recognizes Mr. Ashwood for 5 minutes. 
83 

STATEMENT OF ALBERT ASHWOOD, DIRECTOR, OKLAHOMA 

DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT 

Mr. ASHWOOD. Chairwoman Brooks, Congressman Swalwell, 

Members of the committee, thank you again for holding the hearing today on growing issue to the emergency management community. 

Today I am pleased to be representing the National Emergency 

Management Association as legislative committee chairman and 

past president of the association. I am also the director of the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management. 

As you know, in May of this year, my State suffered a series of 

severe weather events including two EF5 tornadoes. These storms 

developed in and around Oklahoma City within 11 days of each 

other. 

The EF5 is the most damaging classification of tornadoes with 

the wind speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour. It is so rare that 

the National Weather Service has only documented 60 since 1950. 

So to experience 2 within 11 days is extremely rare. 

Our job in emergency management, as is true with the entire 

public sector, is one of customer service. Part of our mission is accomplished by helping our customers respond to and recover from 

extreme events such as these. 

As the first tornado landed, we maintained contact with our Federal partners to not only meet the needs of response but to establish recovery efforts. Urban search and rescue teams were mobilized as Governor Fallin made a verbal request for Major Disaster 

Declaration. 

Later that evening, the President approved the request and we 

were well on our way of turning disaster victims into disaster survivors. 

Today we have nearly 14,000 families registered for assistance 

and roughly $45 million disbursed for rental assistance, repair, low 

interest loans, and grants. I cannot thank FEMA enough for the 

continued support and Congress’ continued support of the emergency management profession. 

Now, to the topic we are here for—social media and disasters. 

Communications with the public is always a great challenge following events of this magnitude and social media is no doubt the 

new tool of messaging. 

Once we were able to gain our footing following the immediate 

response, social media gave us situational awareness on the 

ground. We were able to confirm damage reports and assessments 

through photos and messaging from the general public. Between 

June 10 and June 23, we received 105 retweets and nearly 250,000 

impressions on Twitter as well as constant activity on Facebook. 

As the storms continued, the likes on our Facebook page increased from 200 to over 8,000 in a little less than a month. The 

emergency management community has recognized in the power of 

social media and its continuous evolution. 

Last year, NEMA joined with the Center for Naval Analysis to 

conduct a survey on how emergency managers use social media. We 

outlined numerous issues including both the strengths and limitations which I have outlined in detail in my statement for the 

record. 
84 

State public information officers are currently utilizing these 

findings and addressing them through their work groups. Their 

charge is to create a template of standard operating procedures and 

concepts for virtual operation support teams that will give us a 

surge capacity through volunteer manpower. 

These efforts will continue to bring social media into the everyday functions of emergency management. Even though emergency 

management community is still experimenting with using social 

media for two-way communications, we realize the necessities to 

try such things for the future. 

I have been in the business for 25 years and while I personally 

do not have a Facebook page nor do I know how to tweet, I know 

my customers need accurate, timely information, and social media 

is a tool we must not ignore. 

Thank you again for this opportunity to testify. I look forward to 

your questions. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Ashwood follows:] 

STATEMENT OF ALBERT ASHWOOD

JULY 9, 2013 

INTRODUCTION

Thank you Chairman Brooks, Ranking Member Payne, and Members of the subcommittee for holding this hearing today. I am the director of the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management (OEM), and today I am pleased to represent the 

National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) as we discuss the recent tornados in my State, how social media was utilized in this disaster, and trends of social media in the emergency management community. NEMA represents the State 

emergency management directors of the 50 States, territories, and District of Columbia. I am also chairman of the legislative committee for the association. 

In order to effectively understand the role of social media in a disaster, I will first 

outline a recent disaster in Oklahoma, describe how social media was utilized, and 

then examine the larger context of this new medium in an age-old profession. 

RESPONDING TO RECENT EVENTS

In May of this year, a series of severe weather events impacted numerous communities in Oklahoma, including two EF5 tornadoes developing in the Oklahoma City 

metropolitan area within 11 days of each other. The EF5 is the most damaging tornado with wind speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour. Since 1950, the EF5 and 

its predecessor the F5 tornado have been documented only 60 times in the United 

States. Therefore, the May events in Oklahoma should be categorized as extremely 

rare in our Nation’s severe weather history. 

We in the emergency management profession are about people and their capability to prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the damages these types 

of events produce. Our job, like all in a public service capacity, is one of customer 

service with our customers at the local level of government. In recovery, our duty 

is to administer the appropriate laws and regulations as they were intended to help 

‘‘victims’’ of disaster become ‘‘survivors’’ of disaster. I am proud to say this is currently happening in Oklahoma. 

As the live video showed the first EF5 tornado cut a path across the community 

of Moore, we remained in contact with our partners with the Federal Emergency 

Management Agency (FEMA). Response was the primary subject as Incident Management Teams and Urban Search and Rescue Teams quickly dispatched to support 

our local first responders. Even during this difficult time we simultaneously initiated recovery actions. 

Governor Fallin made a verbal Major Disaster Declaration request, initiated 

through FEMA headquarters to the President. This was a procedure new to me and 

my 25 years in this profession. In a short period of time, the President approved 

the request and by sunrise the next morning Federal equipment and personnel 

began pouring into Oklahoma to assist. Within the first 24 hours, the State of Oklahoma established Disaster Recovery Centers, dispatched Disaster Survivor Assist-
85 

ance Teams dispatched, and produced recovery messaging. Recovery was in full gear 

even as firefighters were still digging through piles of debris. 

To date, we have over 13,000 families registered for assistance, with all inspections completed, and roughly $28 million disbursed for rental assistance, repairs, 

low-interest loans, and grants. Of the estimated 1.1 million cubic yards of debris, 

we believe 60 percent has been removed, and we plan on completing this rest by 

early August. On behalf of the State of Oklahoma, I offer a sincere ‘‘thank you’’ to 

Administrator Fugate, our FEMA partners, and you who continually support this 

agency and our mission in Congress. 

UTILIZING SOCIAL MEDIA IN DISASTERS

Social media once again played an integral role in disaster communications following the tornadoes, flooding, and severe weather that occurred between May 18 

and June 2 in Oklahoma. 

Due to limited staffing in the OEM, the use of social media was not active during 

the initial 20 days after the first tornado. Rotating shifts were constructed by public 

information officers (PIO) to assist along with other agencies in answering media 

calls during call-heavy time periods. An inadequate number of personnel made it 

difficult to consistently provide Twitter or Facebook updates. Concurrently, OEM received more than 40 Twitter mentions and 20 Facebook wall posts which we considered positive. In numerous cases, other agencies shared the OEM’s situation updates and other information through social media. Due to the influx in information, 

the OEM began actively using social media to share recovery information for the 

State on June 10. Between June 10 and June 23, OEM received 105 re-Tweets and 

247,578 impressions on Twitter as well as 103 ‘‘likes,’’ 67 ‘‘shares,’’ and 16,359 people reached on Facebook. 

During the disaster, the Department leveraged social media to check damage reports and examine photos on social media sites. This was especially useful during 

and after the May 31 storms when an EF5 tornado impacted El Reno and continued 

southeast through the Oklahoma City metro area. Damage reports were limited 

even as local news was broadcasting uninterrupted coverage, so OEM used social 

media to gain situational awareness about the level of damage in those early hours 

following the storms. 

As the storms continued, the amount of information on social media sites gained 

momentum. The ‘‘likes’’ on the OEM Facebook page increased by more than 200 and 

total reach increased from around 200 prior to the disaster to nearly 8,000 by midJune. To assist the public with information, Oklahoma Management and Enterprise 

Services (OMES) and Oklahoma Interactive developed a disaster-specific website 

which became a centralized location for disaster information from OEM, other State 

agencies, voluntary organizations, and others. The website received 118,000 visits 

in 18 days. 

Determining the right language to use, in this case the correct ‘‘hashtag,’’ helped 

separate the weather-related tweets from others during the disaster. The hashtag 

used during and after the disaster had been used for the last few years during all 

types of severe weather events and is well known by most Twitter-savvy Oklahomans. Along with aligning the hashtags, more than 25 disaster-related Facebook 

pages were created by users to share information about the storms, including where 

to volunteer, how to donate, and other information. On Facebook, rumors and misinformation were more widely reported, but in anecdotal form. The OEM did not find 

any direct evidence of false information on Facebook, but on several occasions people 

with false information said they found the information on Facebook. In the same 

occurrence, Twitter had propagation of rumors and false reports that was in direct 

correlation with misinformation reported through traditional media. For example, 

reports of high fatality numbers quoted on local news reports spread quickly on 

Twitter. As in other events, the public took to social media to express negative opinions of local storm reports and other coverage from local media during the many 

hours of continuous coverage. 

The National Weather Service (NWS) reported an increase in use of social media 

for these severe weather events. They also posted custom graphics, including tornado track maps, at the same time they were provided to local emergency managers. 

NWS saw their Twitter follower count nearly double and their Facebook likes increased by more than 15,000. They also used custom time stamps on each of their 

tweets in order to minimize confusion often caused by re-Tweeting. Along with the 

OEM, Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, local shelters, and 

local rescue groups used Facebook and also Pinterest to share photos and information about hundreds of pets displaced by the storms. Facebook especially became an 

invaluable tool in reuniting survivors with lost pets. 
86 

SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS IN THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COMMUNITY

Social Media incorporates various activities such as adapting technology and social interface. This has proven vital to the world of emergency management. Social 

networking can improve interaction between State agencies and the public. As realtime information is communicated to the public, the need to maintain accurate facts 

increases in urgency. The concept of using social media to communicate with the 

public remains a new phenomenon for many in the emergency management community. The idea of using social media to aid in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters, has caught the attention of many in this field. Despite the 

benefits and shortfalls, social media continues to develop into an accepted form of 

communication. It has changed the way information is communicated and examined 

with citizens and the public. Two major trends seem to be forming as social media 

takes hold in the emergency management community: 

1. Disseminating Information.—The first trend seen by emergency managers is 

the use of social media to convey information in or around an affected disaster area. 

The versatility of this method is recognized, yet it often lacks any guidelines to 

make an organized effort to reduce the amount of chaos after a disaster. With volumes of information potentially pouring into the EOC, important data can be overlooked. Reliability, coordination, and integration are three critical factors needed to 

determine how social media will be used from both a public-safety aspect and as 

an information-sharing tool. As far as information sharing is concerned, social media 

is in its maturity. From a public-safety standpoint, social media is in its infancy. 

2. Volunteer Mobilization.—Often after a disaster, volunteer work groups come in 

quickly to assist communities. Without a robust volunteer management system in 

place, the influx of personnel could become a management concern. Social media has 

been able to bridge the gap between the need for volunteers and the chaos which 

could occur in the absence of coordination. Although social media has reduced the 

amount of confusion that accompanies a disaster there are still many avenues to 

be explored. The emergency management community is still in the trial phase of 

using social media to assist in volunteer management. 

To help assess the value and use of social media in the emergency management 

community, NEMA joined with the Center for Naval Analysis (CNA) last year to 

conduct a survey. To date, much of the data on social media and emergency management has been limited to anecdotal accounts or studies, so the CNA–NEMA 

study provided valuable information into the use of social media in emergency management. State emergency management directors and their Public Information Officers (PIO) were closely engaged in the development, distribution, and completion of 

the survey. Key findings of the survey included: 

• Familiarity with Social Media.—On average, respondents from State, county, 

and local levels of government all considered themselves at least ‘‘moderately 

familiar’’ with social media. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have become commonly associated with social media. 

• Use of Social Media.—Of those surveyed, all State emergency management 

agencies use social media in some capacity, as do 68 percent of county emergency management agencies and 85 percent of local response agencies. Of those 

surveyed, nearly all of the State emergency management agencies, half of the 

county emergency management agencies, and three-fifths of the local response 

agencies have used social media in response to a real-world event, primarily to 

push information out to the community. Over 90 percent of the events cited 

were from 2011 or 2012, underscoring the recent adoption of social media. 

• Determining Capabilities.—Respondents were asked to characterize their agency’s social media capability along four dimensions: 

1. Governance.—Commitment and buy-in from senior leadership and political officials at the State level is more than double that at the county and local levels. 

2. Technology.—Technology used for other purposes in an agency is often used 

in an ad hoc fashion to support basic social media operations, such as posting 

status updates. 

3. Data/Analytics.—Data-extraction efforts at all levels are still reliant upon 

manual review, making monitoring efforts difficult to scale-up during large 

disasters. 

4. Processes.—Formally defined and tested processes and procedures lag behind 

social media use. 

• Trust but Verify.—Of those surveyed 59 percent of State emergency management agencies, 55 percent of county emergency management agencies, and 41 

percent of local response agencies trust social media less than traditional media 
87 

sources. Nearly all respondents agree that, on receiving information from social 

media sources, their agency would attempt to verify this information. 

• Barriers to Implementation.—Survey results indicate that the primary barrier 

to emergency management agencies’ use of social media is a lack of dedicated 

personnel. While most respondents indicated that they would not necessarily 

look to the Federal Government to play a large role in supporting the development of their agency’s social media capabilities, they identified prime areas for 

potential support, including grant funding, training on how social media could 

be used, and the provision of guidance and standards. 

As a result of this effort, the State PIOs developed work groups to examine the 

above findings. The work groups will: 

1. Develop best practices and goals for use of social media by State emergency 

managers to better target resources and funding towards implementation of social media; 

2. Develop and distribute a social media governing model that specifically addresses the public-safety responsibilities and the implications for emergency 

management and response entities; 

3. Create a template of standard operating procedures to manage social media 

information to more effectively integrate social media and public-sourced intelligence into emergency management information processes; 

4. Develop concepts for Virtual Operations Support Teams (VOST) that allows 

for rapid expansion of capabilities by leveraging trained and trusted personnel 

to respond both virtually via external monitoring and response and as teams 

with crucial skills for deployment to emergency operations center, and; 

5. The range of non-categorical issues raised in the report. 

CONCLUSION

Social media has begun to play an integral role in emergency preparedness, response, and recovery. By understanding the way social media complements emergency management services, the future use of it can greatly enhance emergency 

management capabilities. Social media and its role in emergency management will 

continue to evolve. As the emergency management community shifts to accept this 

new form of communication, many aspects will need to be considered. A familiarity 

with social media will need to be established, the capabilities that pertain to emergency management will need to be identified and explored, verification of information will be a requirement and it will be critical to break down any barriers to implementation. Although the emergency management community is still in the experimental stages of using social media to convey important messages as well as receive information from the public, it represents the wave of the future. 

Again, I thank you for the opportunity to testify today and I welcome any questions you may have for me. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Thank you, Mr. Ashwood. It is not that hard. 

[Laughter.] 

Mrs. BROOKS. Everyone can try it. 

I would like to just turn it over to the gentleman from California 

for additional comments. 

Mr. SWALWELL. Thank you, Chairwoman. 

I am happy to introduce our final witness, Sergeant W. Greg 

Kierce. Sergeant Kierce is the director of Jersey City Office of 

Emergency Management and if I am not mistaken, that is in Mr. 

Payne’s Congressional district. 

Sergeant Kierce is the director of Jersey City Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, and is responsible for 

planning and coordinating all facets of the city’s emergency response to large-scale events impacting the city and the region. 

Over 29 years of law enforcement experience, he has received 

four Department Class A Commendations, eight Excellent Police 

Service awards, and a World Trade Center award, among many 

other honors. 

I know how much Ranking Member Payne appreciates Sergeant 

Kierce traveling down to Washington to testify today. I want to 
88 

thank you for being here as well and look forward to your testimony. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Thank you. 

The Chairwoman now recognizes Sergeant Kierce for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF W. GREG KIERCE, DIRECTOR, JERSEY CITY 

OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND HOMELAND SECURITY 

Sergeant KIERCE. Thank you, Congresswoman. 

Chairwoman Brooks and distinguished Members of the United 

States House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security, 

I wish to extend my sincere appreciation to Representative Donald 

Payne, Jr. for affording me the opportunity to appear before you 

today. 

As technology continues to evolve, emergency management organizations must adapt to new ways of responding to the media and 

public. The way people communicate and receive information has 

gone through a radical transformation in the last few years with 

the invention of social media. 

The potential applications of social media information for disaster managers include providing, evidence of pre-incident activity, 

near real-time notice of an incident occurring, first-hand reports of 

incident impacts, and gauging community response to an emergency warning. 

This information will contribute towards effective decisions for 

emergency responses. Yet to do this, emergency services organizations need a reliable way to identify and analyze emerging topics 

that indicate a significant disaster, emergency event, or unexpected 

incident is occurring within a given time frame and at a given location. 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency wrote in its 2013 

National Preparedness report that during and immediately following Hurricane Sandy, ‘‘users sent more than 20 million Sandyrelated Twitter posts, or ‘tweets,’ despite the loss of cell phone service during the peak of the storm.’’ 

New Jersey’s largest utility company, PSE&G, said at the subcommittee hearing that during Sandy they staffed up their Twitter 

feeds and used them to send word about the daily locations of their 

giant tents and generators. 

‘‘At one point during the storm, we sent so many tweets to alert 

customers, we exceeded the number of tweets allowed per day,’’ 

PSE&G’S Jorge Jose Cardenas, vice president of Asset Management and Centralized Services, told the subcommittee. 

Following the Boston Marathon bombings, one-quarter of Americans reportedly looked to Facebook and Twitter and other social 

networking sites for information, according to The Pew Research 

Center. 

The sites also formed a key part of the information cycle when 

the Boston Police Department posted its final ‘‘CAPTURED!!!’’ 

tweet of the manhunt, more than 140,000 people retweeted it. 

Community members via a simple Google document offered 

strangers lodging, food, or a hot shower when roads and hotels 

were closed. Google also adapted its Person Finder from previous 

use with natural disasters. 
89 

Emergency Responders are some of the biggest beneficiaries of 

social media. They also have to manage the challenges that these 

new networks present. Traditional lines of communications have 

been redrawn and social media has changed the singular authority 

that first responders require. 

As each disaster sparks its own complex web of fast-paced information exchange it can both improve disaster response and allow 

affected populations to take control of their situation as well as feel 

empowered. 

Drawing up an effective social media strategy and tweaking it to 

fit an emergency, however, is a crucial part of preparedness planning. As part of disaster preparedness it would be useful to teach 

the public how to use social media effectively, how to get information from the web, and also how to put out useful information. 

The challenge for first responders is how to integrate the directives that they formulate with the social media conversations impacted citizens are engaged in. Developing an informed public is 

the first step in getting both citizens and first responders working 

together. 

Applying social media tactics to corporate and Government crisis 

communication has several advantages. 

First, it brings credibility to your organization at a time when it 

is likely to be most needed. This occurs because the use of social 

media, including but not limited to blogging and podcasting, is inherently conversational and transparent allowing near real-time information to be disseminated to concerned citizens, employees, and 

the media. 

At the same time, it prompts discussion, debate, and feedback 

from the very people who most care about the crisis and who are 

more likely to shape the lasting perception of the incident once the 

immediacy dies down. 

Social media also guarantees your message will be heard. Because there are no press deadlines, no misinformed reporters, and 

no need for the use of information technology department, you can 

disseminate the information how you want to and as quickly as you 

want. 

Another benefit of social media is that it provides a unique and 

efficient way for crisis communicators to defend an organization’s 

brand and reputation. 

For example, if a blog is speaking negatively about an organization or spreading false information, crisis communication can respond by posting counter remarks or linking to other blogs and online content that sets the record straight. 

Key points to consider as to the use of social media—you need 

to slow down the freight train that is coming at you. Use your social voice to let the public know you are aware of the situation, you 

are looking to find the answers, and you will be providing the facts 

as they become available. Putting the brakes on even a bit at time 

will slow the velocity. 

When the crisis hits, start setting up alerts and searches based 

on the information you have, and who is talking about it. Talk to 

your people and determine what is factual is and what is not. Here 

is the key to remember; if there is one ounce of truth to what has 

caused the crisis, then that is what is needed to focus on. Kill the 
90 

rumors, provide the facts, and clarify the issues at play. This will 

remove the momentum. 

Tackle the issues head-on. This is not the time to try to spin the 

story or make excuses for what occurred. This is time for concrete 

facts and humility. ‘‘We are sorry. We are human. We strive for 

better and you deserve better.’’ 

These are three sentences can suck the oxygen out of a fiery 

room and remove the fuel. Own the situation. Explain what was 

wrong, why it was wrong, and how you will prevent it from happening in the future. Once you do that, the worst that can happen 

is people will agree with you. 

Misinformation and competing directives can often come from unofficial sources and reach large numbers of people through viral 

distribution. On the other hand, social media allows first responders to communicate directly with citizens without having to rely on 

third parties like traditional media. 

A recent Red Cross survey asked 1,058 adults as to their use of 

social media sites in emergency situations. It found that if they 

needed help and couldn’t reach 9–1–1, 1 in 5 would try to contact 

responders through a digital means such as email, websites, or social media. 

If web users knew of someone else who needed help, 44 percent 

would ask other people in their social network to contact authorities, 35 percent would require post for help directly on response 

agency’s Facebook page, and 28 percent would send a direct tweeter message to first responders. 

It is human nature to want to help people who need it. As social 

networks cut out the middle man in traditional media and put ordinary citizens in direct contact with those in emergency situations, 

the impulse to help is even stronger. 

As a result, people organize amongst themselves to solve problems. In some cases it is in concert with emergency professionals; 

however, in other situations it’s not possible, and people act independently to issue help on the scene. 

Social media can help in both of these instances. The key to marshalling whatever help is available is to identify and prioritize 

needs that arise from the crisis and to track whether these needs 

are met. 

Because of the popularity of Facebook and Twitter, many help 

actions have begun on these networks but because they haven’t 

been designed to do this kind of work; the utility is limited. 

One thing is clear, the public’s use of social media in crises is 

growing. One of the many challenges this presents is the ability of 

first responders and governments to monitor the information and 

act on it in a timely manner. 

The advent of social media has revolutionized the ways people 

communicate and gather information about stories and topics that 

are important to them. This change has adversely affected the way 

public information officers must interact with the public and media 

during emergencies. 

By complementing your first emergency communication plan 

with social media techniques, your organization has a better 

chance of communicating messages, informing the public and 

media, and ultimately surviving a crisis situation. 
91 

The first people to respond during a disaster are usually not 

trained responders or other professionals. Frequently, they are simply bystanders. The enormous potential of social media is to leverage this fact to turn bystanders into lifesavers. 

Also like to—New Technology; Mutualink Interoperability Communication Systems. 

Behind any collaborative and coordinated undertaking, there 

must be effective communications. There is a misconception that 

the Government can quickly and effectively respond in all incidents. In reality, a wide range of situations can occur in your community that requires varied degrees of response at different times 

of the situations. 

This is most often true in long-running or unfolding emergencies 

such as large natural or man-made disasters. In these situations, 

often the need for communications continuity across functions and 

sectors, such as communications among tactical, logistical, and 

public outreach, is often overlooked. 

This can hamper response, mitigation, and recovery efforts in 

many ways. This includes unnecessary traffic congestion or key 

transit points being blocked, medical, food, and shelter services 

being overwhelmed, and/or improperly located. 

During incidents many communications channels will reach peak 

capacity and alternate means of communications will be required 

to alleviate or supplement first-line communications resources. 

Enabling interoperable communications among disparate communications assets plays an important role in ensuring both seamless 

communication among different agencies and entities, regardless of 

the communications resources but also provides the needed flexibility to supplement availability and circumvent communications 

limitations when primary communications resources are unavailable. 

A wide variety of communications resources are available and 

used within our communities. These include a plethora of two-way 

radio systems, the public telephone system, mobile telephone, satellite, and broadband data working providing IP communications. 

Despite a decade of significant investments and concerted efforts, 

a pervasive National communication interoperability solution for 

emergency response has remained a bridge too far; at best, small 

pockets of interoperable communications ability existing among a 

few select agencies. 

With advanced and affordable interoperable communications resource sharing, these assets can be harnessed to provide a resilient 

and ubiquitous communications environment that will enable 

seamless communications across a multitude of partners, and provide critical communications paths with them. 

Developing—— 

Mrs. BROOKS. Sergeant, I need you to wrap up. Thank you. 

Sergeant KIERCE. Thank you. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Okay. Well, we just want to get to our questions. 

Any final comment? 

Sergeant KIERCE. The final comment would be, Chairwoman, I 

just want to continue on this Mutualink, it will take just a couple 

of seconds. 
92 

In 2009, for the first time, a public safety emergency response 

marine vessel was outfitted with an advanced multimedia interoperable emergency communications system that is currently in 

use in Jersey City. 

This vehicle was also pressed into service and during the historic 

flight on the Hudson and we were able to interoperate with—provide interoperable communications between all first responders and 

also provided real-time situational awareness video to the first hospitals and things of that nature. 

Thank you very much. 

[The prepared statement of Sergeant Kierce follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF W. GREG KIERCE

JULY 9, 2013 

Chairman McCaul and distinguished Members of the United States House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security I wish to extend my sincere appreciation to Representative Donald Payne, Jr. for affording me the opportunity to appear 

before you this morning. 

As technology continues to evolve, emergency management organizations must 

adapt to new ways of responding to the media and public. The way people communicate and receive information has gone through a radical transformation in the last 

few years with the invention of social media. 

The potential applications of social media information for disaster managers include providing: 

• evidence of pre-incident activity; 

• near real-time notice of an incident occurring; 

• first-hand reports of incident impacts; 

• gauging community response to an emergency warning. 

This information will contribute toward effective decisions for emergency responses. Yet to do this, emergency services organizations need a reliable way to 

identify and analyze emerging topics that indicate a significant disaster, emergency 

event, or unexpected incident is occurring within a given time frame and at a given 

location. 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) wrote in its 2013 National 

Preparedness Report that during and immediately following Hurricane Sandy, 

‘‘users sent more than 20 million Sandy-related Twitter posts, or ‘tweets,’ despite 

the loss of cell phone service during the peak of the storm.’’ 

New Jersey’s largest utility company, PSE&G, said at the subcommittee hearing 

that during Sandy they staffed up their Twitter feeds and used them to send word 

about the daily locations of their giant tents and generators. ‘‘At one point during 

the storm, we sent so many tweets to alert customers, we exceeded the [number] 

of tweets allowed per day,’’ PSE&G’S Jorge Cardenas, vice president of asset management and centralized services, told the subcommittee. 

Following the Boston Marathon bombings, one-quarter of Americans reportedly 

looked to Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites for information, according to The Pew Research Center. 

The sites also formed a key part of the information cycle: When the Boston Police 

Department posted its final ‘‘CAPTURED!!!’’ tweet of the manhunt, more than 

140,000 people re-tweeted it. 

Community members via a simple Google document offered strangers lodging, 

food, or a hot shower when roads and hotels were closed. Google also adapted its 

Person Finder from previous use with natural disasters. 

Emergency Responders are some of the biggest beneficiaries of social media, they 

also have to manage the challenges that these new networks present. Traditional 

lines of communication have been redrawn and social media has challenged the singular authority that First Responders require. 

As each disaster sparks its own complex web of fast-paced information exchange 

it can both improve disaster response and allow affected populations to take control 

of their situation as well as feel empowered. 

Drawing up an effective social media strategy and tweaking it to fit an emergency, however, is a crucial part of preparedness planning. As part of disaster preparedness it would be useful to teach the public how to use social media effectively, 

how to get information from the web and also how to put out useful information. 
93 

The challenge for First Responders is how to integrate the directives that they 

formulate with the social media conversations impacted citizens are engaged in. Developing an informed public is the first step in getting both citizens and first responders working together. 

Applying social media tactics to corporate and Government crisis communication 

has several advantages. 

First, it brings credibility to your organization at a time when it is likely to be 

most needed. This occurs because the use of social media—including but not limited 

to blogging and podcasting—is inherently conversational and transparent allowing 

near real-time information to be disseminated to concerned citizens, employees, and 

the media. And at the same time, it prompts discussion, debate, and feedback from 

the very people who most care about the crisis and who are more likely to shape 

the lasting perception of the incident once the immediacy dies down. 

Social media also guarantees your message will be heard. Because there are no 

press deadlines, no misinformed reporters, and no need for the use of your Information Technology department, you can disseminate the information how you want 

and as quickly as you want. 

Another benefit of social media is that it provides a unique and efficient way for 

crisis communicators to defend an organization’s brand and reputation. For example, if a blog is speaking negatively about an organization or spreading false information, crisis communicators can respond by posting counter remarks or linking to 

other blogs and on-line content that sets the record straight. 

Key points to consider as to the use of social media: 

• You need to slow down the freight train that is coming at you. Use your social 

voice to let the public know you are aware of the situation, you are looking to 

find the answers, and you will be providing the facts as they become available. 

Putting the brakes on even a bit at a time will slow the velocity. • When the crisis hits, start setting up alerts and searches based on the information you have, and who is talking about it. Talk to your people and determine 

what is factual and what is not. Here is the key to remember—if there is one 

ounce of truth to what has caused the crisis, then that is what you need to focus 

on. Kill the rumors by provide the facts and clarify the issues at play. This will 

remove the momentum. • Tackle the issues head on. This is not the time to try to spin the story or make 

excuses for whatever has occurred. This is time for concrete facts and humility. 

‘‘We’re sorry. We’re human. We strive for better and you deserve better.’’ These 

three sentences can suck the oxygen out of a fiery room and remove the fuel. 

Own the situation. Explain what was wrong, why it was wrong, and how you 

will prevent it from happening in the future. Once you do that, the worst that 

can happen is people agree with you. • Misinformation and competing directives can often come from unofficial sources 

and reach large numbers of people through viral distribution. On the other 

hand, social media allows First Responders to communicate directly with citizens without having to rely on third parties like traditional media. 

A recent Red Cross survey asked 1,058 adults about their use of social media sites 

in emergency situations. It found that if they needed help and couldn’t reach 

9–1–1, 1 in 5 would try to contact responders through a digital means such as email, websites, or social media. If web users knew of someone else who needed help, 

44 percent would ask other people in their social network to contact authorities, 35 

percent would post a request for help directly on a response agency’s Facebook page 

and 28 percent would send a direct Twitter message to responders. 

It is human nature to want to help people who need it. As social networks ‘‘cut 

out the middle man’’ in traditional media and put ordinary citizens in direct contact 

with those in emergency situations, this impulse to help is even stronger. As a result, people organize amongst themselves to solve problems. In some cases this is 

in concert with emergency professionals; however, in other situations it’s not possible, and people act independently to issue help on the scene. Social media can help 

in both of these instances. The key to marshalling whatever help is available is to 

identify and prioritize needs that arise from the crisis and to track whether these 

needs are met. Because of the popularity of Facebook and Twitter, many help actions begin on these networks but because they haven’t been designed to do this 

kind of work, their utility is limited. 

One thing is clear—the public’s use of social media in crises is growing. One of 

the many challenges this presents is the ability of first responders and governments 

to monitor this information and act on it in a timely manner. 

The advent of social media has revolutionized the way people communicate and 

gather information about stories and topics that are important to them. This change 

has adversely affected the way public information officers must interact with the 
94 

public and media during emergencies. By complementing your emergency communication plan with social media techniques, your organization has a better chance 

of communication messages, informing the public and media and ultimately surviving a crisis situation. 

The first people to respond during a disaster are not usually trained responders 

or other professionals—frequently, they are simply bystanders. The enormous potential of social media is to leverage this fact to turn bystanders into lifesavers. 

NEW TECHNOLOGY: MUTUALINK INTEROPERABLE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM

Behind any collaborative and coordinated undertaking, there must be effective 

communications. There is a misconception that the Government can quickly and effectively respond in all incidents. In reality, a wide range of situations can occur 

in your community that requires varied degrees of response at different times of the 

situations. 

This is most often true in long-running or unfolding emergencies such as large 

natural and man-made disasters. In these situations, often the need for communications continuity across functions and sectors, such as communications among tactical, logistical, and public outreach, is often overlooked. 

This can hamper response, mitigation, and recovery efforts in many ways. This 

includes unnecessary traffic congestion or key transit points being blocked, medical, 

food, and shelter services being overwhelmed, and/or improperly located. During incidents many communications channels will reach peak capacity and alternate 

means of communication will be required to alleviate or supplement first-line communications resources. 

Enabling interoperable communications among disparate communications assets 

plays an important role in ensuring both seamless communications among different 

agencies and entities, regardless of their communications resources, but also provides the needed flexibility to supplement availability and circumvent communications limitations when primary communications resources are unavailable. 

A wide variety of communications resources are available and used within our 

communities. These include a plethora of two-way radio systems, the public telephone system, mobile telephone, satellite, and broadband data networks providing 

IP communications. 

Despite a decade of significant investments and concerted efforts, a pervasive National communication interoperability solutions for emergency response has remained a bridge too far with, at best, small pockets of interoperable communications 

ability existing among a few select agencies. 

With advanced and affordable interoperable communications resource sharing, 

these assets can be harnessed to provide a resilient and ubiquitous communications 

environment that will enable seamless communications across a multitude of partners, and provide critical communications paths among them. 

Developing partnerships, engaging in planning and practice, and utilizing new 

and affordable communications bridging technology to facilitate communications 

among partners is essential to modern-day emergency preparedness and response 

best practices. 

The Mutualink Interop Network is a ground-breaking method of connectivity. The 

network operates in a peer-to-peer environment that can be accessed via dedicated 

or virtual connections. The plug-and-play structure of the network eliminates complex and expensive configurations. 

Entities joining the Mutualink Interops Network are ‘‘automatically discovered’’ 

by all existing network participants make the determination whether to include new 

Mutualink subscribers in their visible list of network peers. Additionally, network 

participants can search the directory by geography and entity type developing communities of similar agencies. 

Communications on the secure Mutualink Network are end-to-end encrypted 

using Federally-approved AES ciphers and are mutually authenticated using standard-based public-key cryptography. 

An Interoperability WorkStation serves two primary functions: It is the point of 

communication between two entities on the network for voice, text, and sharing data 

files; it is also the control point by which resources may be contributed to the incidents. 

The Interoperability WorkStation (IWS) allows users to communicate in several 

distinct methods: 

• Intercom allows communications between Interoperability Workstations during 

an incident. 
95 

• Transmit broadcasts to radio and other resources participating in incidents and 

IWS users can text messages and share video feeds and data files with other 

incident participants. 

Additionally, portable configurations of the Interoperability WorkStation can be 

moved, at any time to pre-determined destinations with qualified broadband access, 

providing users with back-up dispatch capabilities. 

It is a well-established fact that most of the NYC police and fire department first 

responders at the World Trade Center in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks had virtually no ability to communicate with each other. That utter 

lack of ‘‘interoperability’’ has been enshrined in the history books as one of the monumental shortcomings of that tragic day. 

It is far less known that almost 8 years later, on the day that Captain Chesley 

Sullenberger brought his Airbus A320 airliner down safely in what has since been 

dubbed ‘‘The Miracle on the Hudson,’’ that many of the police, fire, and emergency 

services agencies on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River—as well as many of 

the nearby New Jersey hospitals—were able to benefit from a remarkable degree 

of communications interoperability. 

At the request of the New Jersey State Police OEM the Jersey City OEM Homeland Security Mobile Command/Communications vehicle equipped with the 

Mutualink Interoperability system was dispatched that day to Weehawken, NJ. 

On-board cameras connected thru the Mutualink system focused on the floating, 

crippled aircraft, where they were able to capture video images of the stunned passengers, and share those images in real-time with area hospitals, emergency rooms, 

other public safety agencies and local command centers. 

In October 2009 for the first time, a public safety emergency response marine vessel was outfitted with an advanced multimedia interoperable emergency communications platform enabling seamless communications, and video and information 

sharing among agencies both in the water and on the ground. 

The system, developed by Mutualink, allows real-time coordination during incident response by enabling communications between incompatible two-way and pushto-talk radios, telephone PBX systems, and mobile telephones, along with the ability 

to share and view live feeds from video camera networks traditionally not accessible 

by remote parties. Following 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, attaining interoperability 

between technologies that are normally incompatible with each other to improve response has been a Federal priority. 

The state-of-the-art boat dedicated in the honor of fallen police officer Marc 

Dinardo was acquired by the Jersey City Office of Emergency Management/Homeland Security thru Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Urban Area Security 

Initiative (UASI) funds and is operated by the Jersey City Police Emergency Services Unit. It patrols the same Hudson River waters where US Airways Flight 1549 

made a successful water landing and supplements maritime assets of the NYPD, 

NJSP, and the U.S. Coast Guard. 

In 2012 a Bomb Command vehicle was purchased for the Jersey City Police Emergency Services Unit thru DHS UASI funding and this to was outfitted with a 

Mutualink system. As was the case with the marine vessel, Mutualink designed a 

special application providing connectivity to the on-board bomb robot enabling bomb 

technicians to share video with counterparts throughout the country greatly enhancing information-sharing capabilities. 

Mutualink CEO Mark Hatten credits the success of the project to Jersey City’s 

progressive leadership and commitment in the area of homeland security and emergency preparedness. ‘‘Jersey City has been at the forefront of interoperable emergency communications and from the beginning it has been a guiding force in helping 

us shape a solution that meets the rigors and needs of responders and personnel 

in real situations. The maritime interoperable communications deployment directly 

results from Jersey City’s vision of enabling unified communications capabilities 

across all environments,’’ stated Hatten. 

Previous projects with Jersey City included the installation of Mutualink into 

their mobile command vehicle, the first to operate over a wireless data connection, 

as well as into their Emergency Operations Center. Hatten added, ‘‘When Jersey 

City came to us with the idea of doing a marine deployment, we saw it as a great 

opportunity for both sides to work together and make it a reality.’’ Mutualink developed a hardened interoperable work station that can be used not only in harsh maritime environments experienced by tactical and response boats, but also in other severe land-based environments. 

The successful deployment into a marine environment required Mutualink to engineer a new piece of hardware capable of operating in extreme environmental conditions. A new Interoperability Work Station (IWS) was developed within an IP67- 

rated waterproof enclosure requiring no outside ventilation for cooling and flash 
96 

drive technology was incorporated to handle the excessive vibrations and pounding 

a boat typically experiences on the water at high speeds. A Furuno 17’’ LCD screen 

displays the Mutualink software and video while communication audio is capable of 

coming over an amplified speaker system or a privacy handset. Data connectivity 

is accomplished using a FiretideTM wireless mesh network with antennas directed 

out over the water carrying the encrypted data back to land where it then rides Jersey City’s fiber network. Mutualink can also operate in a mobile environment over 

satellite and cellular data networks. 

Mutualink has significantly enhanced our capabilities to react and respond internally but also our ability to interoperate with any other agency on the network including many of our neighbors and critical assets in the private sector to include: 

• Newport Shopping Mall (Directly connected to inter-state (PATH) and intercounty transit (Hudson Bergen Light Rail) systems). 

• New Jersey City University, Saint Peters University. 

• Jersey City Public School System (Sixteen facilities with approximately 35 thousand students). 

• Jersey City Medical Center (Level 2 trauma center). 

• Christ Hospital. 

• Jersey City 9–1–1 Emergency Communications Center. 

• Port Authority of NY/NJ Police Communications Desk. 

• Goldman Sachs (Jersey City Gold Coast Financial area). 

• Le Frak organization (Largest property owner of residential and commercial 

properties located in the Hudson River Newport area). 

• Mack-Cali properties. 

This is all accomplished using the same communications infrastructure we already have in place. Newark, Paramus, Trenton, and Atlantic City are just some 

of the New Jersey cities already using the Mutualink system along with 22 area 

hospitals in northern New Jersey which can now interoperate via dispatcher, radio, 

video, and text messaging. 

Enhanced communications continue to be of vital importance for effective response 

to disasters. Lack of communications directly contributes to low levels of situational 

awareness for both high-level commanders and emergency responders in the field. 

When all lines of contact are down, effective response to disaster is greatly diminished. Establishing and maintaining lines of direct contact between decision makers, 

formal and informal responders, Government officials, and the public is a primary 

objective in any emergency planning or response scenario. 

A continuing reexamination of providing emergency communications is critical for 

lessening their impacts of future disasters. Utilizing advances in technology that 

allow for higher degrees of mobility for communications systems introduces a new 

level of flexibility for operational command structures. 

In closing, I would like to once again express my sincere gratitude for affording 

me this opportunity to appear before you today. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Thank you, Sergeant. 

At this time, I would like to recognize myself for 5 minutes of 

questions. 

I think it is clear from what we have heard that social media and 

the use and the dependence by the public, it is obvious, and so I 

think a critical issue, I am going to start out with you Mr. 

Ashwood, because you obviously talked about what happened in 

Oklahoma and our thoughts and our prayers are with those who 

are now recovering, and I know it is going to take a long time to 

recover from such devastating tornadoes. You talked about how social media was relied upon and was used in Oklahoma. 

What my concern is, and from my time with talking with first 

responders in Indiana, is how are the personnel in your agencies— 

whether it is in Oklahoma or on behalf of NEMA—you are representing, you know, National emergency managers—what kind of 

training are people receiving on the use of social media either from 

Federal Government sources such as FEMA or from any other 

source? 

What kind of training do people have, because when I think as 

I mentioned before the hearing began at a conference where I re-
97 

cently spoke to several hundred personnel from Indiana focused on 

emergency management—when I talked about social media, everyone was quite nervous. I could tell that people are very nervous 

about their lack of preparedness, their lack of abilities, and so what 

are we doing with respect to training? 

Mr. ASHWOOD. Well, I think it is important to say that of course 

social media is an evolutionary process that we are going through 

right now. It is not just Twitter and Facebook, it is what it might 

be 10 days from now or 5 years from now, and we need to make 

sure that we stay as close to the curve as possible and a lot of that 

has to do with the training and what exactly we offer and what exactly we take. 

The opportunities are there. FEMA does a good job of making opportunities available for social media training as well as other entities. Our staff in Oklahoma has taken training, but more importantly, we have distributed the training to our local emergency 

managers. We have done that through our public information officers’ course. 

We have also done that through a homeland security course that 

is offered through FEMA that we have utilized as well. So getting 

it down to the very lowest levels to me is more important than 

what even we have at the State level. 

We need to make sure that the grassroots effort of knowing that 

social media is there and it is part of our existence and that it is 

part of our response and recovery efforts from this point forward 

is more important than exactly what my staff has even right now 

that they will also get it as well. 

I know that is going to be different from State to State. I can 

only speak on Oklahoma with this issue, but the opportunities are 

there is what I will say. Whether or not they are taken advantage 

of, it depends on each State. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Thank you. 

I would like to—I have a question for FEMA, for Mr. Adamski. 

One of the things that we learned not only in the survey, but 

from our hearing, at the last hearing we had on social media with 

the private sector was that the data extraction efforts at all levels 

are reliant upon a manual review often making monitoring efforts 

difficult to scale up during large disasters. 

We know that Red Cross has their digital operation center to 

help monitor the high volume of social media posts, but we heard 

from Google and Palantir and other companies that there is software support to help the first-responder communities and nonprofit 

organizations collect and analyze this information. 

How is FEMA using these analytical tools to help sift through all 

of the data? How are you partnering with the private-sector companies to take the tools that they are creating? How is FEMA using 

this in this effort and then pushing it out to the State and locals? 

Mr. ADAMSKI. Absolutely. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman, for 

the question. 

For the last couple of years, we have been doing it manually, 

which I believe is a tip to our hat in the fact that we have staff 

who are trained and who are doing that human analysis. 

To your point about the volume of data and scaling it, that is 

why, we are, when we have recently been looking at tools where 
98 

we can automate the analysis, when we do social listening similar 

to what the Red Cross does. So we can look for those trends as well 

as to improve and increase our operational efficiencies as well. 

So we do training with both our headquarters staff as well as our 

regional staff as well, who are digital communication specialists 

and they share those lessons learned and share best practices with 

their State counterparts and with all of their counterparts across 

all levels of Government as well and we also share best practices 

with international counterparts as well. 

So it is looking at how we can now learn from previous disasters 

as well as our relationships with the private sector of how we can 

utilize their tools if there are new trends and that are out there 

as well as looking at articles and best practices that anybody out 

in the private sector is using with regard to the tools to provide 

good customer service and stakeholder outreach. 

Mrs. BROOKS. How large is FEMA’s digital engagement team and 

what kind of training actually since so many rely on FEMA, to 

then create the training and push it out, can you share with us just 

very briefly? 

Mr. ADAMSKI. Absolutely. It is about 20 people. That includes 

both headquarters staff, regional staff who are in our regional offices, as well as our joint field offices. So the digital communication 

staff have regular interactions with their counterparts both—in the 

digital presence or on digital and social media as well as all communication channels sharing those best practices with their counterparts and answering questions. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Thank you. 

I now turn it over to the gentleman from California for any questions. 

Mr. SWALWELL. Thank you. I wanted to start with Mr. Adamski. 

At the last hearing we heard from private-sector witnesses that 

although social media has allowed us to make great strides in how 

we respond to disasters or emergencies, the lack of uniform opensource data standards hindered the abilities of companies like 

Google to develop social media tools during disasters. 

Can you elaborate a little bit on what exactly they are talking 

about and what you are doing and efforts that FEMA is taking to 

address this? 

Mr. ADAMSKI. Absolutely. I appreciate the question. 

With regard to open standards and common alerting protocols, as 

the representative from Google had referenced, that is one thing as 

they are saying that National Weather Service is taking advantage 

of. 

That is one thing that we are looking at. How can we improve 

and do a better job of providing our information out there to their 

points so anybody can go out there and use it, it is not customized 

to one audience or one technology? It is platform agnostic. 

Mr. SWALWELL. Just as an example, this would mean say FEMA 

puts like a PDF or something on its website, that would not be able 

to transfer to all of the other types of operating formats that 

Google or other social media sites have. Is that as you understood 

it? 

Mr. ADAMSKI. Correct, because it is static. It is not dynamic. It 

can’t be read by other machines and any time you use human 
99 

intervention, then you are actually, to their point, you are actually 

creating more time to work on it. 

Mr. SWALWELL. In your testimony, you discussed FEMA’s efforts 

to stop the spread of misinformation through its rumor-control 

website, and to me this sounds a lot like a website I use called 

Snopes. Are you familiar with Snopes? 

My dad will send me crazy emails. I am like, ‘‘Dad, just go to 

Snopes. This is not true. It will debunk it.’’ 

Can you talk a little bit about the rumor control and how you 

are sharing these best practices with local governments so that 

they can employ this as well? 

Mr. ADAMSKI. Absolutely. The one thing that we saw from Sandy 

because we did social listening, we saw there was a huge number 

of false information and false rumors that were out there. 

So we wanted to be able to, on all of our digital platforms, correct 

that information as well as let our partners be force multipliers 

and point—and if they heard that rumor whether 6 hours later or 

2 days later, because we did see that the same rumors kept rearing 

their heads back up. 

So using our stakeholders to be force multipliers we found to be 

very successful. We do find that after every disaster there are 

sometimes rumors or misinformation as part of normal course. 

Not necessarily to the scale of what we saw with Hurricane 

Sandy, but after even the Oklahoma tornadoes, we created a small 

page to help correct any misinformation about disaster services, 

programs, and things like that. 

That is another piece of information when our regional staff as 

well as headquarters staff are interacting we talk about those best 

practices and how can they be utilized and why and how social listening is important. 

Mr. SWALWELL. Great. 

Ms. DeFrancis, going back to the digital divide, can you describe 

what efforts the Red Cross is taking to ensure that traditional 

forms of communication are preserved as social media is still being 

integrated into disaster response? 

Ms. DEFRANCIS. Sure. Thank you for that question. As I mentioned, TV, radio, and on-line websites are still the place that most 

people go to get their information. So we make sure that we have 

a very strong presence on all of those operations. 

We have an advanced public affairs team that goes to the site of 

every disaster to communicate information to the public. We are 

getting out in advance of a, you know, a disaster we know is coming, we are putting out information in advance about how to prepare through all those traditional means. 

So we feel very strongly that—in fact, I remember during Sandy, 

we knew we were getting through to a community when they were 

tired of hearing our bullhorn coming through the streets, but we 

feel very strongly that we need to continue to employ those traditional means of conditions—— 

Mr. SWALWELL. All of the above of course. 

Ms. DEFRANCIS [continuing]. Recognized. Yes. 

Mr. SWALWELL. Great. 

Finally, Sergeant Kierce, I wanted to talk a little bit about the 

Urban Area Security Initiative grant also known as UASI. We have 
100 

in our district, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, they put on 

what is called Urban Shield; it is a training exercise that actually, 

the Boston Police Department attended and then they put on their 

own Urban Shield to train first responders and evaluate how they 

respond to terrorist situations like a mass transit casualty situation, and I am wondering how have programs like that Homeland 

Security Grant program helped Jersey City achieve the interoperability capabilities that you have talked about? 

Sergeant KIERCE. Well, Congressman, basically with the Urban 

Area Security Initiative, Jersey City and Newark are the two main 

cities that make up the Jersey City/Newark UASI with the 7 contiguous counties. 

As I started to get into the program Mutualink, it allowed two 

things. It established interoperability between all of the different 

agencies that respond to events both in Jersey City and Hudson 

County and for the entire region. 

It also allowed us to share or establish a private-sector information-sharing platform where the Jersey City waterfront houses 

many of the large financial entities that obviously are involved in 

global economy, and we always had reason to have to get information to them as quickly as possible because of anything that could 

impact them. 

What we have done through the UASI dollars has been able to 

embrace a program where we can actually bring these folks in and 

you are dealing with real-time situational awareness, receiving information once it is vetted with us for accuracy, and it helps them 

actually, you know, perform their business, but without this UASI 

dollars, none of this would have been possible. 

Mr. SWALWELL. Great. Thank you, Sergeant Kierce. 

Thank you, Chairwoman. 

Mrs. BROOKS. The Chairwoman will now recognize other Members of the subcommittee for questions they may wish to ask of the 

witnesses, and in accordance with our committee rules and practice, I plan to recognize Members who were present at the start of 

the hearing by seniority on the subcommittee and those coming in 

later will be recognized in order of arrival. 

So at this time, I would recognize the gentleman from Mississippi, Mr. Palazzo for 5 minutes. 

Mr. PALAZZO. Thank you, Chairwoman Brooks, and thank you for 

holding this timely, relevant, and extremely important hearing especially because we are only 39 days into hurricane season. 

In Part I of this hearing a couple of months ago, I highlighted 

the fact that when Hurricane Katrina devastated my district in the 

Gulf Coast in 2005, Facebook was still an infant relatively speaking, Twitter was nonexistent, and the first iPhone wouldn’t come 

out for almost a year later. 

I also highlighted the use of social media during Hurricane 

Sandy where millions of people went to social media, shared information, watched live Twitter feeds, and checked up on loved ones. 

But despite the explosion of social media used during disasters, 

many people don’t know where to go for credible information. Although most of it—if not, almost most—excuse me—although most, 

if not all States have emergency agencies and they have Twitter 
101 

handles, their followers pale in comparison to the actual population 

of each State. 

For example, Mississippi has a population of 3 million, but the 

Mississippi Emergency Management Agency only has 8,000 followers on its Twitter page. New Jersey has 13,000 followers despite 

9 million citizens. The State of New York has 19 million residents, 

but its emergency management Twitter handle only has 64,000 followers. 

These State agencies constantly provide disaster warnings, preparation tips, and critical information, yet only a fraction of Americans directly follow their social media pages. 

This morning, I tweeted links to the social media pages of Mississippi’s Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, the Red Cross, 

and the Mississippi Department of Transportation. I encourage all 

of my colleagues on this committee and in Congress to do the same 

and encourage their constituents to follow their own State emergency management agency’s social media page. 

By tweeting this information, our constituents can know where 

to go for on-line information before, during, and after a disaster 

strikes and won’t have to make judgment calls as to whether the 

information they are getting is credible. 

So this leads to my question. How can FEMA, State agencies, 

and Red Cross quickly and better develop a large on-line presence 

that people will instinctively know where to go for credible information? 

Ladies first. 

Ms. DeFrancis. 

Ms. DEFRANCIS. Thank you, Congressman. 

Well, we have been working at it for a while. I mean, we just, 

I think last week, we passed our 1 millionth Twitter follower, 

which we were very proud of, and we have about over half a million on Facebook, and of course we are on a lot of the other platforms. 

If I could just recognize in the room is Wendy Harman who 

helped build our social strategy at the Red Cross and now she is 

moving into our disaster operations team to help integrate this information because it is great to have Twitter followers, it is great 

to have Facebook, but it is when you want to get their information 

to people that can actually help them, get them meals—that is 

what we need to do is really integrate it better. 

So we continue to build that presence and cross, so I mean when 

we are giving a TV interview, we are telling people, you know, to 

go check our Twitter site. We are trying to cross-reference all of 

that and they are all part of I think a really seamless 21st-Century 

communications shop. 

I think the other thing we would say is that we are trying to 

push social media out of just the public affairs shop. It should be 

really part of all of our operations, whether it is our blood centers, 

our, you know, our disaster people of course, our health and safety, 

everyone in a—who is a subject matter expert in a particular area 

of the Red Cross should be able to use social media. It shouldn’t 

just be handled by the public affairs people. We call that making 

it part of our operational DNA. 

Mr. PALAZZO. Thank you. 
102 

Mr. Adamski. 

Mr. ADAMSKI. No, I appreciate the question. It is a question that 

we get an awful lot because the public doesn’t also—they don’t realize that FEMA as a Government agency or even on Twitter, to your 

point. 

So just like any organization in the private sector who needs to 

do outreach education, we have to do that for ourselves as well as 

we help with amplifying local and State messages as well as accounts to your point as well, as well as Red Cross and local Red 

Cross chapters, to help get that information out there and help 

share to be a force multiplier for our partners across all levels of 

Government. 

The other piece where we try and enforce it with outreach is on 

the preparedness side of making sure that folks have a digital plan, 

that they know about those resources ahead of time. 

The other thing I will note real quickly as well is the wireless 

emergency alerts which is a new tool that is out there is it allows 

folks who have a newer phone to receive alerts in an area where 

a local emergency manager would send out that alert. 

So the great thing about it is that you don’t need to subscribe 

or even know about it. 

The one thing we are doing is educating folks on what those 

alerts mean and that they should follow those local warnings from 

local officials because the reason that they are pushing that message out is because there is an imminent threat or possibility for 

severe weather for example. 

So it is constant education and amplification of all of our partners’ messages and accounts. 

Mr. PALAZZO. Well, thank you. If the Chairwoman would indulge 

me for one more second, this past week we had some severe weather in our district and my phone started alerting me. 

I didn’t even know Verizon had an alert messaging system. So 

those things are really handy and the fact that everybody has some 

form of mobile device and have become quite dependent upon it I 

think is extremely important. 

But also I always want to thank our first responders—I am definitely tongue-tied today—our emergency operation personnel, our 

National Guard members, our Salvation Army, our Red Cross. 

If people don’t think that they go into harm’s way, I just want 

to share a photo from February 10, 2013. We had an E4 tornado 

in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It was large. It was violent. That is one 

of the disaster relief trucks of the American Red Cross. 

So we thank you and we depend on you before, during, and after 

a storm. 

Thank you very much. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Thank you, Mr. Palazzo, well said. 

I would now like to recognize the gentleman from Pennsylvania, 

Mr. Perry, for 5 minutes. 

Mr. PERRY. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. 

This question essentially goes to Mr. Adamski, at least initially. 

I believe that Twitter has been and is a very effective tool in relaying information during emergency situations. Unfortunately—I 

know we have heard a lot of good news stories today, but I think 

we are charged with kind-of looking at every facet, so unfortu-
103 

nately, following the Boston bombings, there were several tweets 

containing damaging or potentially damaging misinformation. 

For example, there was an explosion at the JFK Library in Boston which was connected to the original blasts or a Saudi Arabian 

national has been arrested over the bombing or a Muslim with 

shrapnel wounds is being guarded in a hospital as a person of interest or blood donors are needed now, people need to go and give 

blood now. 

With individuals allowed to tweet and post any information they 

choose, how do we guard against the spread of misinformation that 

can prove detrimental to the safety of first responders and victims 

and—I understand that you have the rumor page, but then it leads 

to another question as well, is what is the job, what is the role of 

Federal agencies and what is the role of the private sector and 

where do we draw the line and when we figure that out, and how 

do we figure that out in this quickly-evolving arena? 

Mr. ADAMSKI. Absolutely. I appreciate the question. 

As you know, in our role at FEMA, we coordinate emergency response to disasters as well as support all levels of government. 

With regard—you are correct with regard to social media as far as 

there being the bad actors out there which is why it is even more 

important to make sure that agencies are doing a social listening. 

Misinformation can come in through other communication mediums as well, whether it is news reports, whether it is 9–1–1. I 

often like to use the analogy that folks can call 9–1–1 and call in 

a false report. Obviously, there are mechanisms in place to be able 

to root those out and figure out if it is a false report and whatnot. 

So even though social media is new, they are still going to be bad 

actors but there are also bad actors in other communication mediums as well. 

With regard to FEMA and the social listening that we do, we do 

it within the scope of our mission of disasters and emergency management and to the extent where we can help our Government 

partners across the board we will. 

I know often our regions will reach out to their State counterparts if there is a disaster in their State and ask them if they need 

any assistance with social listening for example. 

Or at least—and if they don’t at that time, at least they know 

that that is a service that our digital communications specialists 

can help with as we help support our States in that nature, but 

again, we are looking at it through the lens of disasters and emergency management. 

To your point, it is important across all sectors that because that 

information and that conversation is occurring, that folks do participate in social listening. 

Mr. PERRY. You know, social listening, it is a term that has been 

bandied about here and I don’t know that it is in most people’s 

lives, but, you know, it leads, at least for me, it leads to other questions. 

At the least in late of events occurring in the Federal Government recently regarding the IRS or what-have-you and you think 

about applications like Google’s People Finder or social listening in 

particular and even the alert that the gentleman for Mississippi got 

on his phone and I am wondering if, you know, do people know? 
104 

Is this mostly—did you know that you have the application? Do 

you want the application? What about HIPAA violations? You 

know, somebody tweets that their grandmother’s X and sends it to 

Ms. DeFrancis at the Red Cross or something like that. Are there 

HIPAA violation concerns? 

How—you know, I am not home right now because of my home 

has just been half obliterated and I am down at the neighbors and 

then the looter at the next town says, ‘‘Okay, well that is my next 

target.’’ I mean, how do we handle those things? 

Mr. ADAMSKI. No, absolutely. I think the public using any social 

communication tool needs to be cognizant and aware that if they 

are posting information in real time or if they are posting personally identifiable information that anybody can see that. 

Even if their account is locked we recommend that they don’t 

post that information to your point that it is personally identifiable 

information. 

If we do see somebody who either sends us an email or tweets 

at us or sends us a fake Facebook post and they have that information in there that can personally identify them then we will respond back asking them not to continue using those communication 

mediums but we will give them a way to where—an off-line way— 

to where we can communicate with them as it fits into our normal 

operation so then they can feel secure that their information won’t 

be shared and that we won’t be sharing their information with— 

in the public space. So to your point that others won’t be able to 

see it. 

Mr. PERRY. Finally, in your interaction with your partners, 

whether it is Twitter or whether it is Google, what have you, is 

there ever any concern at least from their part expressed to you 

about agencies like FEMA or other Government agencies competing 

in a way and their domains and their intellectual properties in 

these applications and so on and so forth? 

I mean, I know you are trying to be proactive and we applaud 

you for that, but I think we need to make sure that we are moving 

with diligence in that regard. I just wonder if that has ever been 

an issue that you have discussed. 

Mr. ADAMSKI. They haven’t, no, they haven’t raised the concern. 

To your point about we are being diligent in how we use the tool 

to make sure that we aren’t sharing PII information, personally 

identifiable information. Absolutely. 

Mr. PERRY. Thank you. 

Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Thank you. 

Question for Ms. DeFrancis. 

I just want to—you talked about volunteers around the globe actually assisting with you and we had a weekly SMEM chat on 

Twitter and we learned that virtual operation support teams are 

volunteer teams that lend support via the internet to emergency 

managers and first responders who are overwhelmed by the volume 

of data that you might get created after a disaster. 

Has Red Cross—is that the type of team that you are referring 

to? Have they leveraged these virtual operation support teams for 

your disaster relief efforts? How were they used? I am curious how 

they were used, and then I would like the others to answer as well. 
105 

Ms. DEFRANCIS. Sure. Well, many of the individuals on the VOS, 

virtual operations teams, are also Red Cross digital volunteers. So 

these are people who have an interest in helping during a time of 

disaster to help organizations get out the information they need as 

broadly as they can. 

So while we have not use VOS specifically and they are best at 

spotting trends and things like that, we have many of our digital 

volunteers are also members of that and we train our volunteers 

in Red Cross-specific answers. They are not just spotting trends. 

There are also able to say you need to go here for shelter. You need 

to go here for food and water. 

So we do have a training program to enable us to do that and 

be able to scale up. I think that it is an important—you know, you 

don’t keep a big staff. We have like three in our National headquarters. Our chapters all are tweeting as well and posting on 

Facebook, but you can’t keep a big staff all the time. 

You need to have a way to scale up because we go from 4- or 

5,000 mentions a day to, you know, tens of thousands of mentions 

a day during a disaster and certainly people like this who can help 

us scale that up are vital to doing it. 

Mrs. BROOKS. So approximately how many digital volunteers 

does Red Cross have? 

Ms. DEFRANCIS. I think during Sandy we used 50 of them and 

that was probably the, you know, the maximum. Like I said, many 

of our people in our chapters are tweeting and so we have over 300 

chapters who are probably engaged. So it is hard, but I would say 

50 about now in digital—trained, digital volunteers. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Mr. Ashwood, any comments on your virtual operations volunteers? 

Mr. ASHWOOD. While we have not used the VOS acronym, it has 

been part of our operations plan from many years back that we 

bring in public information officers from other State agencies that 

all move into our operation center as an assist during times of disaster. 

Of course, a lot of those now are being transitioned over to the 

technological side to take them to Facebook, to take them to Twitter, to help us with that messaging, and make sure that we do get 

the accurate messages out there or correct those messages that are 

inaccurate. 

I think the bigger question here is what we do in times of nondisaster. How do we resource to that need, that communications 

need, because I can promise you any disaster if you do a hot watch 

and after-action, No. 1, the issue is going to be communications, 

and information is the silver bullet that takes care of disaster victims afterwards. 

If they have the proper information, they can make the proper 

decisions for themselves and their family. So we have to constantly 

strive to resource to that need during non-disaster times. The question earlier about why don’t people follow us more during non-disaster times—we are not saying anything very interesting most of 

the time. 

We need to make sure that we are well-engaged not just from an 

ancillary position here but to make sure that we are there. Part of 

that new communication, that new messaging from Day 1, whether 
106 

it were during a disaster or not, and I think that is the key to marketing the whole thing. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Thank you. 

Sergeant Kierce, during the Hurricane Sandy episode and the 

different—I am sure you dealt with a huge number of public safety 

agencies in New York and New Jersey—do you know whether or 

not they used digital volunteers and have these virtual operation 

support teams? 

Sergeant KIERCE. I think one of the challenges that we face, 

Chairwoman, was the fact that both Jersey City and New York had 

significant power outages in addition to loss of Verizon cellular 

connectivity and things of that nature. 

In Jersey City in particular, we have a very large senior citizen 

population so what we are doing now through our community 

emergency response team training, we are kind of embracing a scenario where we can as we train these teams, you know, as our volunteers throughout the city to give them basic training. 

As the gentleman to my right had said too I think it has to be 

more of a non-emergency, more friendly-type use scenario because 

folks seem to if they don’t really use it enough, they tend not to 

really—forget how to use it or don’t want to use it. 

So it is kind of a challenge that we all face. On my side, I have 

three daughters and I learned that if you didn’t speak on Facebook 

they wouldn’t speak to you. So I learned how to use it pretty quickly. 

Mrs. BROOKS. I understand. I have the same dilemma in my 

household. So thank you very much. 

I will turn it over to the gentleman from California for any further questions. 

Mr. SWALWELL. Sure, thank you. 

I wanted to go back to Mr. Adamski. As far as the efforts that 

FEMA is taking right now to work on open-source formats, what 

exactly, specifically have you done so far and what can we expect 

in the next say 6 months to a year? 

Mr. ADAMSKI. I appreciate the question. So as I mentioned in my 

verbal remarks and in my submitted testimony, we do have the 

disaster recovery center data feed which is a useful tool where folks 

can go and grab that information. 

With regard to what we are currently working on, it is looking 

at the actual data itself and cleansing the data to make sure it is 

actually good data as well as looking at the infrastructure to be 

able to support, to be able to push that information out to users. 

I can’t give—at this time, I can’t give necessarily a time frame, 

but we have multiple folks in multiple program offices at FEMA 

looking at it and how it impacts each of their areas and how we 

can get that information out. 

So it is not a—so we are not—the conversations aren’t why 

should we do it, it is how do we get it done? 

Mr. SWALWELL. Is there a goal to have all of the data that FEMA 

puts out in a open-source format that can be accessed by all? 

Mr. ADAMSKI. I would say it depends on the data. Obviously, we 

wouldn’t be releasing to—we wouldn’t be releasing obviously personally identifiable information to the public or things like that, 

but if it is either—if it is data from disasters where it is not nec-
107 

essarily tied to an individual, then we will look at that as well as 

if there are other resource information that we can provide, safety 

tips as well so others can go and grab it, take that and then put 

it into their products, their websites, so the public doesn’t necessarily need to come to a FEMA product, they can actually get 

that information, to your point, wherever they are going through 

their normal course and we can use our partners to be force multipliers that way. 

Mr. SWALWELL. Great. 

This question is for Mr. Ashwood and Sergeant Kierce. 

We talked about that CNA report which highlighted that although we have come a long way, there is still a lot of challenges 

and the biggest being not enough people in local and State government and even Federal Government who are trained to use social 

media. 

Sergeant Kierce, I think your own example, you know, even for 

yourself it would seem uncomfortable and you know, I can only 

imagine that millions of Americans are still just now embracing social media and to ask these employees to use it in a disaster situation which many times, you know, you have no preparation, you 

don’t know that it is coming, and now you are put in the position 

where you have to get this information out there. 

What are you doing locally and what can the Federal Government do to assist efforts to make sure everyone in the department, 

not just the public relations, not just the communications folks, 

that everyone who needs to relay communication to the public is 

trained to do so in that kind of all-of-the-above approach, not just 

social media but making sure that it reaches everyone who needs 

to know? 

Sergeant KIERCE. Well, I think it is—communicating with the 

public is always a challenge especially during emergency situations 

and as I mentioned previously, you know, it seems now from our 

information approximately 60 percent of the people in the United 

States are dependent on cellular communication as their primary 

means. 

So I think although the social media networking is very, very 

good, you also have to be very, very cognizant to the fact that you 

have to remain in a state of readiness where you go back to the 

old means of communicating where it goes back to establishing 

local centers where information can be relayed to citizens in times 

of need. 

The other problem that I do see although it is very, very valuable, the old saying, you can’t unring the bell. Once the information 

is out there, if it is inaccurate, you have to make sure you get it 

back and get things back on track. 

We are in a situation now where we have found that, you know, 

most of the communication was done during Hurricane Sandy 

when there was cellular communication capabilities through text 

and things like that. 

So with our—we have recently had a new administration come 

in and they are very electronic-friendly where we are upgrading all 

of our communications, our Twitter pages and Facebook pages and 

also the website. And encouraging people to use these more frequently as opposed to just using them during emergency situations. 
108 

Mr. SWALWELL. Great. 

Mr. Ashwood, do you briefly have anything to add? 

Mr. ASHWOOD. Just basically that the real change is with people 

of my age, my generation, that we have to realize how people communicate today, and it is not—might not be the way that we communicated growing up. 

We don’t have land-lines anymore. People use cell phones. It is 

a different scenario and we have to leave our comfort zone and say 

how do we integrate, how do we engage, how do we make sure that 

the messaging is out there? 

As far as incorrect information that is out there, a lot of that is 

self-correcting. You know, we talk about—and Mr. Adamski 

brought it up—there are other misinformation out there. When the 

traditional media comes out with misinformation, the only person 

that can correct that is the same person that told it to you. 

Mr. SWALWELL. Right. 

Mr. ASHWOOD. Whereas within social media, if incorrect information out there, you are bombarded with other tweets coming in that 

are telling you that is incorrect information. So it is almost self-correcting in that sense. 

What we have to do especially like I said, the people who are my 

age group and older, we have to conform to the new way that people communicate. We have to say that this is not comfortable to us, 

but it is something that we have to do for the future. 

Remember, there was a time none of us wore seatbelts and none 

of us had smoke detectors either, so change is coming. It is being 

done as we are sitting here. It is just going to take a little bit of 

time. 

Mr. SWALWELL. Right. 

I think Ms. DeFrancis nailed it when she said we still have to 

make sure that we use traditional means and I know the Chair 

was a former prosecutor, I was a former prosecutor, and I think 

this analogy probably works. 

I learned in the courtroom when I was presenting a case to the 

jury, because of the CSI effect, I had to, you know, you know, have 

PowerPoint presentations that really grabbed the jurors, but I still 

had to use, you know, the cold hard evidence and put that on the 

table and let them see that and it was kind of an all-of-the-above 

approach. 

I couldn’t, you know, forget about the new technologies that were 

out there but people still want the traditional means and I think 

that applies here and how we use social media in disaster response. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Thank you. 

I just have a couple more questions. This is actually for Mr. 

Adamski. 

The Department of Homeland Security runs the Virtual Social 

Media Working Group and—out of the Science and Technology Directorate and I have seen some of those reports, and their mission 

is to provide best practices to the emergency preparedness and response community on the safe and sustainable use of social media 

technologies. 

Does FEMA have a representative on that working group? If so, 

who is that? What is their title? Does that person report to you or 

maybe are you on that group? 
109 

Mr. ADAMSKI. No, absolutely. I appreciate the question. 

So, we do have a member on the working group. It is our dayto-day social media lead, Jason Lindesmith. He served a 3-year 

term and my understanding is that they asked members who are 

part of the working group to serve 3-year terms. 

So what we are—and since his term is up, we are looking at a 

digital communication specialist in one of our regional offices to see 

if we can help add that second person to the new term. 

With regard to the person, the person has a dotted line to me. 

Jason has a dotted line to me. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Okay, thank you. I think it is very important, the 

work that they are doing because obviously the best practices—this 

is such an evolving, I think a communications tool that we need to 

ensure that those best practices are coming together and then are 

being circulated to the field so to speak to ensure that that training 

happens. 

Talking about one of the biggest barriers, I think, and I think 

Mr. Ashwood has talked about it, with respect to emergency management agencies’ use of social media might be the lack of dedicated personnel and, you know while maybe we wouldn’t expect for 

the Federal Government to pay for that personality per se, the 

training, the guidance, the ability to train and to use grant funding 

for this purpose I think is very important. 

To what extent, if you know, does FEMA incorporate social 

media and maybe I will open it up to the others into their EMPG 

grants, the homeland security grants, you know, whether or not 

this type of training is provided in FEMA grants. Are you aware? 

Mr. ADAMSKI. My understanding is that if it fits within the emergency preparedness, their emergency preparedness activities as 

well as their homeland security strategy but to your note, though, 

since I am not in the grants department, we can get you a more 

definitive answer. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Okay, thank you. 

Mr. Ashwood or Sergeant Kierce, whether or not you know 

whether or not social media training, helping with personnel 

costs—is that an allowable expense at this point? 

Mr. ASHWOOD. Well, the emergency management performance 

grant, some view it as the emergency management preparedness 

grant. It is not. It is the emergency management performance 

grant and the flexibility is there for the training, for the social 

media evolution here as we are at the State level and the local 

level. 

It is really the opportunity that is there for the States to take 

advantage of. I don’t see anything in EMPG that does not allow us 

to do what our strategy is to engage and incorporate social media 

with our locals as well as our State. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Thank you. 

Sergeant Kierce, anything further? 

Sergeant KIERCE. Yes, just to echo what Mr. Ashwood said, 

through the UASI program, you know, there is a considerable 

amount of dollars available for information sharing, especially between the public and private sectors, which I think is also another 

avenue that needs to be explored. 
110 

Obviously, with our business communities and things like that, 

they have grave concerns that many times they are not receiving 

the information as quickly as possible which could ultimately, you 

know, affect their business capabilities also. 

Mrs. BROOKS. With respect to the private sector, I am curious, 

Ms. DeFrancis, whether or not Red Cross Safe and Well website— 

it has been a very popular resource during recent disasters. 

Google also stated that their Person Finder program has been 

very important. How are those coordinated? Speaking of the private sector, how are we coordinating Google with Red Cross’ Safe 

and Well program? 

Ms. DEFRANCIS. Thank you. Well, we developed Safe and Well in 

the aftermath of Katrina and as Congressman Palazzo said, that 

was a long time ago in terms of the development of digital tools. 

So we have been constantly refining it and bringing it more upto-date. We recently in our last redesign of it allowed that not only 

would you go on Safe and Well and register, but then you could 

also click on a button to post your update to Facebook or Twitter. 

So more eyeballs would see that you were doing that. 

We are in discussions with Google about People Finder and we 

certainly understand the importance of getting as many people to 

see that, but we have certain protocols around Safe and Well that 

protect privacy of people and we want to make sure that we, in 

doing that, protect that. 

Mrs. BROOKS. I guess I will just open it up to the rest of the 

panel to discuss whether or not—whether technology companies in 

your own jurisdictions or Google, Twitter, you know, what kind of 

communications are any of you having with those companies? 

Mr. Ashwood. 

Mr. ASHWOOD. Well, I think the key there is the relationship 

with the private sector. It doesn’t matter whether it is just social 

media or working directly with the private sector on all issues of 

emergency management. 

We have a long way to go to make sure that we are fully incorporated within the private sector and that they are working with 

us. So I think that is the real key. I know many States are further 

along than others. 

I know with our State that we have a Governor’s private sector 

task force that we are trying to utilize and really put them in the 

solution business for some of the issues that we have because, quite 

frankly, they have better answers than we do many of the time— 

much of the time. 

So we need to make sure that that relationship is strong and 

keeps going and this is just one aspect that we utilize during those 

conversations. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Anyone else? Any other discussions on the privatesector partnerships? 

Mr. ADAMSKI. No, absolutely. So when we have that conversation 

at those information-sharing sessions, we share what information 

we have whether it is preparedness information or as I said earlier, 

our disaster recovery center data feeds. 

So we can make them aware of the tools that they can ingest into 

their products as appropriate as well as in some of those information-sharing sessions that we have had that was how we learned 
111 

that some of the platforms that are out there and specifically Twitter, you can actually update your status message via text message. 

So if you actually sync up your account with your cellular phone 

number, you can actually update your status message in 140 characters with it just having it two bars for cellular connectivity. 

So that piece goes to preparedness to all of the previous discussions about being prepared ahead of time, having a plan as well as 

letting your friends and family and loved ones know that you are 

okay and sharing that information with them. 

So it is those information-sharing sessions that I think have been 

valuable and will continue to be valuable. 

Mrs. BROOKS. I would like to know and Sergeant Kierce, you 

mentioned that you had so many—you had posted so much on 

Twitter that it caused a problem with the number of posts, and in 

fact, it is my understanding that Twitter, you can be in Twitter jail 

when you post too many times. 

I am curious—what are your different organizations’ relationship 

with Twitter? How are we handling that in these times so that 

Twitter doesn’t shut down your account for a period of time? Did 

that happen, Sergeant Kierce, or did you just have to deal with the 

shutdown for a period of time? 

Sergeant KIERCE. Well, you know, you are limited as far as characters and things like that, being able to formulate many messages 

especially of an emergent nature, you know, you have to have particulars in there, so it is a bit of a challenge. 

We just dealt with it. You know, and fortunately, when it did 

come back on-line, it did work, but the—as I say, one of the biggest 

challenges we are facing now is trying to incorporate all of the different groups. 

Special needs is a major concern we have also. So updating our 

registries and things like that and kind of instructing folks as to 

if in fact they do fall into that category to embrace use of the social 

media where we can keep in touch with them; very, very important. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Yes, Ms. DeFrancis. 

Ms. DEFRANCIS. Chairwoman, I would say that we are in constant discussions with all of the companies—Twitter, Facebook, 

Google—all of them, and I think in terms of Twitter, I think we 

have stayed out of jail by them—having previous conversations 

with them, them knowing the types of things that the Red Cross 

will be doing. 

But, you know, we know that the next technological horizon is 

going to come from those private-sector companies. We are very excited to see what more that we can do with those tools, and I think 

their involvement in all of this is really important because that is 

the future and like you said, it is Twitter and Facebook today, we 

don’t know what it will be tomorrow. 

We have been surprised by mobile apps. We used to put all that 

information on long tear sheets and hand them out. Now they are 

on the convenience of your phone, and so we are pretty excited 

about that, but it underscores the importance of everybody working 

together. 
112 

Our relationship with the technological companies, the internet 

companies, is they really want to help. They want to be there on 

the front lines helping with these solutions. 

Mrs. BROOKS. Anyone further? 

Well, thank you. 

At this time I just really want to thank the witnesses for your 

valuable testimony. It is building upon what we learned from the 

private sector in our previous hearing. 

As you have stated so eloquently, Ms. DeFrancis, that partnership is critical, it is something we need to be looking to the private 

sector to bring us the next innovations, but then I think that the 

challenge is, how do we make our own emergency responders, first 

responders comfortable with this new technology? 

What kind of training is being provided to them? What kind of 

resources are we dedicating to this? I think we will only see it grow 

from what happened in Hurricane Katrina to future disasters and 

unfortunately we all know that there will be natural disasters. 

Knock on wood, hopefully no more, you know, terrorist incidences 

in this country, but we must count on all of your agencies and programs, you know, promoting the use of social media. People are expecting it. 

With the data that we have seen, people are expecting us to respond. They are expecting us in Government and in the recovery 

efforts to help them. 

So I just want to thank you all so very much for your efforts, for 

getting people aware and ready prior to disasters, but then even 

more importantly, for your recovery and all that you all are doing 

whether it is in the law enforcement, emergency management, nonprofit, Federal Government, I just want to thank you all so very 

much. 

This is going to conclude our hearing at this time. Members of 

the committee may have some additional questions for the witnesses. If they had to leave, they may have some questions which 

they can pose to you, ask you to respond to these in writing, and 

pursuant to committee Rule 7(e), the hearing record will be held 

open for 10 days. 

So without objection, our subcommittee stands adjourned, and I 

thank you. 

[Whereupon, at 11:36 a.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.] 
(113) 

A P P E N D I X 

QUESTION FROM CHAIRWOMAN SUSAN W. BROOKS FOR SHAYNE ADAMSKI

Question. As the public has become increasingly more reliant on the internet, and 

even FEMA recommends that disaster survivors register for assistance on-line, how 

do you work with the private sector to ensure that resources are brought in such 

as mobile cell towers and wi-fi hot spots? 

Answer. FEMA works in partnership with all levels of Government when we respond to emergencies. One of the tools used is the National Business Emergency 

Operations Center (NBEOC) that is activated during responses and is located in the 

National Response Coordination Center under Emergency Support Function No. 15. 

This is a primary two-way communication flow with private-sector entities. In collaboration with State/local/Tribal/territorial emergency managers, if there is a need 

after a disaster for mobile cell towers, Wi-Fi hot spots, or even cell phone charger 

stations, we utilize the NBEOC and our existing partnerships with those in the private sector to assist with filling this need. 

As part of our preparedness messaging before an emergency, we encourage individuals to have a NOAA Weather Radio All-Hazards or Red Cross radio to receive 

important updates and information from local emergency managers. We also encourage individuals to keep on hand extra batteries for cell phones and if they have a 

car, to have a phone charger so they can charge their phone from the car battery. 

This recommendation is in addition to having other basics, like extra food, water, 

flashlights, and batteries. A comprehensive list of suggested preparedness items can 

be found at www.ready.gov. 

QUESTION FROM CHAIRWOMAN SUSAN W. BROOKS FOR ALBERT ASHWOOD

Question. One of the interesting things we saw in the aftermath of the tornadoes 

was the use of social media to promote grassroots participation in relief efforts. Specifically, the use of Twitter and Facebook to connect survivors with people who were 

donating goods, services, shelter, and other essential items. Was the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management aware of these sites when they first surfaced, 

and from your perspective, how well did these efforts complement the State’s response efforts? 

Answer. The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management was aware of the 

websites that assisted in the response efforts. Not only did the department know 

that the websites existed, but the OEM coordinated with Oklahoma Management 

and Enterprise services and Oklahoma Interactive to develop a disaster-specific 

website that became the centralized location for disaster information from the Office 

of Emergency Management. This website received 118,000 visits in just over 2 

weeks. This website and the creation of those like it, contributed to the management 

of the goods that were donated for the masses. 

Æ