FEMA recommends Twitter to communicate about hurricane

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on Monday recommended people caught in the path of Hurricane Sandy use social media to communicate in the event that the storm compromises other means of communication.

Phone lines may be congested during/after #Sandy. Let loved ones know you're OK by sending a text or updating your social networks.

— FEMA (@fema) October 29, 2012

FEMA was not the only agency dedicating its Twitter account to crisis communications on Monday.

The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) set up a "bipartisan list of East Coast governors on Twitter" to help get the latest advice and warnings out to people in the path of the storm. 

Federal offices in Washington, D.C., are closed on Monday -- although the Supreme Court is still hearing arguments, Forbes noted -- which means that many members of Congress were pointing Twitter followers to alternative contact information for district offices. East Coast representatives were using Twitter to distribute weather and service alerts.

Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) recommended that his followers not go "walking with the wind." Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement is the title of Lewis's 1999 memoir.

I hope everyone in the path of Hurricane Sandy stays safe. This is not a day to go walking with the wind.

— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) October 29, 2012

President Obama, who also pointed East Coasters to FEMA's resources, has canceled campaign appearances on Monday and Tuesday. Mitt Romney canceled events in Virginia and sent his campaign bus there to collect emergency supplies from campaign centers.

Several campaigns, including Romney's and that of Tim Kaine (D), a former Virginia governor and now Senate candidate, sent out emails reminding supporters to bring in campaign signs. 

Those campaign signs can become "airborne missles" due to high winds, as D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray put it in a tweet.

Folks, now is the last chance you'll have to secure potential airborne missles before winds begin picking up this afternoon.

— Vincent C. Gray (@mayorvincegray) October 29, 2012

On Sunday night, Romney's response to the storm prompted a popular parody under the hashtag #RomneyStormTips. A Twitter account by the same name was created and quickly accrued more than 35,000 followers.

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