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"The use of social media during national and international crises, both natural and political, is something that Mashable has followed with great interest over the past few years.\nAs a culture, we started becoming more aware of the power of social media during times of crisis, like when the Iran election in 2009 caused a furor, both on the ground and on Twitter. More recently, the Internet and social media played an important role in spreading news about the earthquake in Haiti and political revolution in Egypt.\nBut what about other kinds of natural disasters or crime? Can social media be used to good effect then?\nIn 2009, two girls trapped in a storm water drain used Facebook to ask for help rather than calling emergency services from their mobile phones. At the time, authorities were concerned about the girls' seemingly counterintuitive action.\nHowever, according to new research from the American Red Cross, the Congressional Management Foundation and other organizations, social media could stand to play a larger and more formal role in emergency response. In fact, almost half the respondents in a recent survey said they would use social media in the event of a disaster to let relatives and friends know they were safe. \nTake a look at the data presented below, courtesy of CreditLoan, and in the comments section, let us know how \u2014 or if \u2014 you would want to use social media during an emergency.\nClick to see large version."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2011/02/11/social-media-in-emergencies/>