More Canadians think emergency response teams should use social media: survey

More than half of Canadians think fire and police departments should be using social networking tools for emergency response and most would sign up for electronic alerts during an emergency, a new poll commissioned by the Canadian Red Cross suggests.

Of the 1,000 Canadians polled by Ipsos Reid this summer, 63% said emergency responders “should be prepared to respond to calls for help that are posted on social media networks,” such as Facebook and Twitter, according to a release from the Canadian Red Cross.

About 35% of those surveyed think emergency responders would currently respond to their requests for help posted on social media sites, and three quarters of those said they believe help would arrive within an hour, according to the survey.

More than half (54%) of those surveyed said they would also use sites like Facebook  to inform others that they were safe in an emergency, the Red Cross said.

Television and radio still remain the most common ways of receiving news of an emergency, the survey results suggest. However, about a third (31%) said they would prefer other methods such as social media or mobile phones.

About half of the respondents said they would sign up for electronic alerts during an emergency, for information such as where to find medical services, rather than for preparedness updates.

Despite many Canadians included in the survey having experienced disaster such as power outages. severe storms, and flooding, 66% have not taken steps to personally prepare for an emergency, the survey suggests.

More than a quarter of those respondents said they thought a “disaster was unlikely to occur in their area,” while 21% had never thought about emergency preparedness, and 12% don’t have the time.