USSince 2005, American citizens have taken every precaution not to have a disastrous repeat of Hurricane Katrina. For those Americans who lived and survived in the Gulf Coast Region, Hurricane Katrina left thousands without the basic necessities of life and perhaps even worse—the loss of various loved ones.

The seven years between 2005 and 2012, both the influence of the Internet and the growth of government in the U.S. have made a significant impact in weather crisis preparedness. Since then, Facebook has become a publicly traded company, and Twitter has evolved to what some might consider—the perfect match to Facebook. Our government officials have declared these catastrophic storms as state of emergencies.

Well, how does this work together in tandem? Consider the devastation of the Gulf Coast and East Coast during the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. Which region was hit the worst, were they the same and did they share little to no similar casualties or fatalities?

These are all purposeful questions; however, the primary difference between Hurricane Katrina (2005) and Hurricane Sandy (2012) is the use of technology, primarily through social media.

By the use of a hash tag, organizations such as the American Red Cross and Salvation Army were able to launch volunteer campaigns, which kept interaction between volunteers and survivors.

Aside from the use of traditional media, people were able to poll the governments via Facebook and Twitter, essentially providing a report card on how effective the government responded to the needs to those affected. People could assistance in helping to execute crisis communication plans or donate items at the click of a button.

We learn from our past to better protect our future, this is the meaning of… “Sankofa”