Over the past few weeks and particularly the past 24 hours I have been truly saddened by the QLD floods – the stories shared and the footage aired paints the truly devastating picture of what our poor QLD’ders are going through.

Apart from doing my bit by donating to the cause, I have created this article to help everyone out there learn more about what tools are available online should you not know where to go for the latest information. In addition I think this article depicts some very clever use of digital to keep the community informed and so I want to credit those behind the initiatives given the timeframes they have been dealt to turn them around so quickly.

Queensland Police – Broadcasting Via Social Media
The Queensland Police have set up Facebook & Twitter pages to create a central hub of information for those want to access up to the minute information. QLD police are providing updates on road closures, links to video news and press conferences on the floods as well as recruiting people to help with jobs like sandbagging. Aside from this the QLD Police pages are also being used to bust some of the rumours / myths circulating about road closures and transportation etc to ensure that the general public is being provided with accurate information.

Hats off to QLD police and any agencies involved – you are doing an absolutely brilliant job with keeping the community informed!!! Over 140,000 people have liked the Facebook page and over 9,000 people are following QLD Police on Twitter which shows the reach QLD Police has achieved by tapping into Australia’s largest social communities.

If you are affected by the floods and need more information visit the Queensland Police Facebook Page here or the Twitter page here –

ABC Crowdsourcing Updates
The ABC are also doing their bit by crowdsourcing information from everyday people caught up in the floods. The ABC has produced an interactive map which highlights the various issues caused by the floods (everything from livestock damage to road closures) – so the community can keep up to date with what is happening. The site asks the public to submit a report on an issue related to the floods which is then verified and added to the map. The ABC has stated that this is an experiment however it seems many people are getting involved and there is a lot of very useful information already being shared on the portal.

If you want to get involved and share information for the benefit of others click here – http://queenslandfloods.crowdmap.com/

The FloodAid.com.au Project
As I prepared this article a tweet caught my attention and it that tweet was related to a very interesting online project that is currently in production. floodaid.com.au as it will be known aims to connect people with resources to those in need of resources. As the diagram below suggests the concept is simple – it will allow those in need of help to post their request for help or to search for existing help and it will also allow those who want to help to raise their hand to do so. This is a fantastic concept – one which I hope will get up in the coming days. However to help make floodaid.com.au a reality the masterminds behind the idea are looking for help from digital designers and developers. So this is how us as a digital community can get behind the cause. To find out whom to contact and more information about the project click here

And a last bit of help
The above really shows how powerful social media and digital can be – particularly in a crisis. My personal way to leverage digital for the cause is right here. If you are yet to donate please do so as every dollar counts – click here to do so.

If you have come across any useful online tools for the floods or simply want to comment please share your thoughts below.

© Digital Marketing Lab Blog
Written By: Teresa Sperti