Suggestions/recommendations – Social media conversation in the early hours following a disaster

Offering to Volunteer Or Asking for Non-Emergency Volunteers – e.g.  #[Your City’s Airport Code] + Volunteer

Calls for volunteer aid and support to assist with relief efforts such as disaster cleanup, emergency shelter support, volunteer initiatives supporting community need anywhere a pressing need to support members of the public in a relief situation.

Examples may include:

  • Disaster cleanup, after initial emergency response and victims are safe.  
  • And may also be used in non-disaster pressing needs
    • Local food banks whose supplies are running low
    • Local blood banks in need of emergency donors

Need to Get the News Out / Praise for Responders / Discussion of a Disaster

Examples of where and why this would be appropriate to use

When discussing an emergency in an area, the Mayor’s office, the media, or users (what’s trending), may choose to create a specific hashtag to discuss the situation. We ask people to NOT use the emergency hashtags unless for the specific intended use. We recommend naming the disaster with your airport code.

Examples for your city

#RKVVolcano (would be discussion of a volcano in Reykjavik, Iceland)
#SINTyphoon (would be discussion of a typhoon in Singapore)
#YVRTsunami (would be discussion of a tsunami in Vancouver, Canada)