Finding new channels to reach British Columbians with important emergency information and preparedness materials is the mandate of a new social media unit that joined the Emergency Management BC (EMBC) team almost four months ago.

Since its addition, British Columbians have been able to engage in the online conversation and connect to real-time information through the launch of the EmergencyInfoBC website and multimedia tools, which include photos, audio and video, twitter and animation.

During Emergency Preparedness Week the social media team has released its new Twitter hashtag quick list so that British Columbians can monitor and quickly share emergency response and prevention information.

Among the hashtags to watch for:

#AMBERalert #earthquake #landslide #avalanche #evacuation #tsunami #BCFlood #fire #wildfire

While the flood threat remains high in many parts of the province, the EmergencyInfoBC site will continue with its Flood Smart campaign with video tutorials of how to sandbag, interviews and explanations of the science behind snowpack and plenty of other useful information, along with emergency bulletins.

Dovetailing on this year's Emergency Preparedness Week's theme of personal preparedness, knowledge and awareness, the team showcased a unique "Cooking for your Family" video with well-known food blogger, the Family Feedbag, to heighten public knowledge of emergency kit food rations.

Later this month, capitalizing on international Zombie Awareness Month, EMBC will promote its safety message with fans of the popular horror genre to help engage younger audiences with the standard emergency preparedness messaging that is vital to survival in almost any emergency or disaster.

EMBC social media by the numbers (Since January 2012):

Twitter: 5,507 followers; average of 573 new followers per month, Klout Score: 49 (specialist)

YouTube: 26 videos, 2,611 views

Flickr Set: 11 sets, 128 photos, 994 views

First-ever Province of B.C. Pinterest Board: 3 boards, 16 followers, 10 repins

Overall Estimated Reach: 69,935 accounts reached (Source: Tweetreach)

Most interesting new follower: Bif Naked @bifnaked

To learn more and become part of the conversation, join the Emergency Management BC conversation at: www.emergencyinfobc.gov.ca

Contact:

Ministry of Justice
Government Communications and Public Engagement
250 356-6961