Emergency management is a crucial organizational function that includes preparation and dynamic incident response to occurrences as they come up, frequently in random ways. The cascading impacts of a telling crisis can challenge a nation’s potential to function effectively and may amount to serious damages to its citizens, structures, resources and reputation (Simon, Goldenberg, & Adini, 2015) . The rise of social media tools has transformed the platform of emergency management significantly over recent past with abilities for social action now becoming real experiences. This paper is going to discuss the impact of social media on emergency management.
Social media is very critical in information disseminations, planning and training for emergencies, collaborative problem solving and decision making and information collection. Information dissemination through social media tools is an effective way to offer consistent information speedily to the public to allow them makes proper preparations for emergent situations (Wukich, 2015. Social media is also instrumental in planning and training for emergencies. Through social media, the personnel can be quickly trained, effective plans can be made, as well as cooperation between emergency management agencies and the public and other civil society entities can be ensured.
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In the event of natural disasters, it is easier and significant to train people online on how to respond in various situations and be of help to one another. However, information dissemination as well as planning and training for emergencies in acts of terrorism can be difficult and challenging. The terrorists can easily access the information being distributed, which would be detrimental (Simon, Goldenberg, & Adini, 2015) . At the same time, planning and training for this kind of emergencies may not be done through the social media platforms, as a lot of expertise is needed to deal with terrorists.
Social media is also helpful in emergency management as it allows for collaborative solutions to problems and decision-making process. Crowdsourcing through the social media platforms enables collective problem solving and decision-making, which is made possible by incorporating different streams of information from technologies to complement the supposed sense making and information breaks (Wukich, 2015). In addition, as far as vital humanitarian needs are concerned, data is aggregated, analyzed and planned. As many people get the information, authorities become better placed to contain and respond to many other emergencies.
Information collection is made easier through social media. A community social media platform that banks on email, text messages and smart phone software to let the public domain voice out their concerns and thoughts concerning the ongoing developments (Hughes, Peterson, & Palen, 2014). A community social media platform during acts of terrorism can work well in informing the people on eminent activities of the terrorists, and the way to respond to related situations by informing the authorities on suspicious activities. During natural disasters, people can be mobilized from far to join in the rescue missions of the victims or even donations through the social media.
With the availability of software tools like online discussion avenues and news aggregators, organizations can now circulate, obtain and analyze information in a more efficient and comprehensive manner. Despite the fact that social media has the potential of preventing a crisis from escalating out of control, organizations may not undermine their potential to exaggerate a developing situations through the social media platforms Simon, Goldenberg, & Adini, 2015) . There is the question of how an insignificant demonstration against eminent police brutality could initiate insurrections and vandalisms through social media. Social media has sometimes catalyzed rioters and viewers who can organize themselves and communicate through media platforms to do more harm. Most acts of terrorism are aggravated through social media as it may spark the attention of angry residents to fight back when they are supposed to leave this to the authorities. Therefore, it is dangerous to neglect the speed and impact of the social media in disseminating information among rioters.
Many changes have been witnessed since the terroristic events of September 11, 2001. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has formally revised the emergency readiness on planning basis so that it will sufficiently defend the health and safety of the public as far as the current threat environment is concerned. The review determined that we could rely on emergency readiness at nuclear power plants. However, this can be enhanced in a number ways like communications, resources management, drill activities and NRC regulation. The aspect of communications brings into play the social media platforms that NRC could effectively utilize to protect the public against eminent acts of terrorism. The public is alerted to use the reactor containment buildings through the social media platforms to protect themselves from external hazards like tornadoes and hurricanes. The events on September 11, 2001 highlighted the necessity of reexamining the organization of NRC (Simon, Goldenberg, & Adini, 2015) . Consequently, the NRC formed the office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR) in April 2002 to mobilize more efficiently experts to concentrate on these areas of eminent disasters. Through the social media, staffs with military and civilian experience are pulled from various areas to take care of the security docket.
In conclusion, social media affects politics, social protests and communication of information during emergencies positively or negatively. Social media is a tool that has equal measures to give both negative and positive outcomes during emergency management, depending on its use. Social media can positively be used to facilitate and accelerate the speed and extensiveness of communication. However, social media tool can intensify crises if information is ineffectively distributed or handled. The NRC can communicate their guidelines to the public and experts to address peculiar security challenges through the social media platforms.
References
Hughes, A. L., Peterson, S., & Palen, L. (2014). Social media in emergency management. In Issues in Disaster Science and Management: A Critical Dialogue Between Scientists and Emergency Managers. FEMA in Higher Education Program .
Simon, T., Goldberg, A., & Adini, B. (2015). Socializing in emergencies—A review of the use of social media in emergency situations. International Journal of Information Management , 35 (5), 609-619.
Wukich, C. (2015). Social media use in emergency management. Journal of Emergency Management , 13 (4), 281-294.
