Typhoon Morakot was the deadliest typhoon to impact Taiwan in recorded history when it struck in August 2009. The lack of a government public communications strategy and media hype of violence exacerbated public concerns and further delayed relief.
The Association of Digital Culture, Taiwan stepped in to help out. According to the Association, it aggregated disaster information, distributed disaster relief information through social media, and worked with traditional media to send out volunteers–while the government was criticized for its slow, plodding response. According to the Association, social media has been used in disaster relief but none of the efforts have been endorsed by governments in Asia until this model showed great efficiency. TH Schee at the Association has posted the full case study on Slide Share.
