#2016cajunnavy
Everyone in my nearby communities has a flood story and multiple hurricane stories. Social media play a huge part in rescue efforts, information dissemination (warnings, closed roadways, electricity return estimations, etc.), and other general response efforts after these major disasters. Merely one historical disaster that I lived through which saw the impact of social media was the August 2016 flood, locally known as the Great Flood of 2016.
Background information: The Great Flood of 2016 in Louisiana was unforgettable by locals but largely overlooked by national media headlines during the event and in its immediate aftermath. Many parishes, including my home parish of Ascension, were flooded in only days, because rain from a low pressure system poured down upon us by the foot. Some parts not flooded by the time the rains ended dealt with backwater flooding while bayous and rivers rose past their banks. This occurred primarily in the Baton Rouge Metro Area, the Florida Parishes, and the Acadiana region. (NOAA has a great article about the August 2016 extreme rain and floods along the Gulf Coast.)
Besides The Weather Channel, while most national news overlooked our crisis, social media was ever-present. When residents required rescue from flooded homes and neighborhoods, they flocked to social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, as recounted in the 2016 Floods story from 64 Parishes. Residents were not looking for authorities to rescue them via social media. Their pleas went out to fellow Louisianians who had boats, which is not an uncommon commodity here, and that group of Louisianians was known as the Cajun Navy, first seen eleven years prior to the 2016 flood. Volunteer rescue response during a crisis was not new for Louisiana; it hearkened back to similar events after the levees broke in the New Orleans area during Hurricane Katrina. The social media aspect of it was stronger than before, though, because society used social media much more by 2016 than in 2005. Barely a month after the 2016 disaster, The Guardian recognized how Louisianians demonstrated knowing we can best rely on ourselves, when we used social media to seek help from the Cajun Navy instead of the federal government. Both The Guardian and 64 Parishes note how crowdsourcing through social media brought volunteers, awareness, and donations to the flood victims who needed it most.
The official Cajun Navy 2016 is now known as Pinnacle Search and Rescue. They have their own story and proudly explain what makes the Cajun Navy different. For every disaster they respond to, their rescue efforts are still sparked through communication with the common person on Facebook and Twitter.
Mr. Rogers is credited as saying, when a crisis strikes, "Look for the helpers." When or where else have you seen "the helpers" respond via social media after a crisis? I'd love to hear your stories.
For anyone who wonders, my home nor car was flooded in August 2016. I was among the fortunate ones. I know people who were rescued by Cajun Navy 2016, though, and watched rescues happen along the highway.
ReplyDeleteWhat an experience that must have been for you! Having a local group of volunteers who are connected via social media and familiar with the area must be invaluable, especially in such a scary situation where people need to be rescued quickly. That quote from Mr. Rogers is so reassuring, and one of my favorites. I can remember social media being a way for people to connect and check on one another during the blizzard Buffalo had last winter.
ReplyDeleteThe Great Flood of 2016 was the first time social media was so pivotal in rescue efforts and disaster information in Louisiana, as far as I'm aware. You're right about local volunteers being invaluable. Local volunteers make a huge difference during a flood, because they know not only the area bayous and rivers but the geography where roads are underwater and what buildings are there but cannot be seen.
DeleteFirst I must say I am so glad you were as fortunate as you say. Either way, it sounds like it was terrifying, yet inspiring. While I have never been involved in anything quite that severe, I recall the Labor Day Storm of 1998 in Central New York. At the time social media was not really a thing yet. I look back now and it certainly would have been such a help to many who were in need. This is exactly why when someone complains that social media is "ruining people" I remind them that there is so much good being done too.
ReplyDeleteSecond, Mr. Rogers is the best!
Sometimes hearing people say that social media is a waste or they have no use for it shocks me by now. During September 2021 in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, I was basically stalking the Facebook page of my electric provider for updates (had no power for almost 2 weeks), and I do not even have a Facebook account.
DeleteYour mention of the Labor Day Storm of 98 in Central New York also makes me wonder how big an impact social media could have played for 9/11, if it existed then.