With a dangerous summer once again approaching in Australia, Twitter has shared some new advice to help people make best use of the app in emergency situations – which also applies to other regions in times of crisis and panic.

Though Australia has experienced some particularly dangerous events of late. Indeed, according to Twitter, in 2022 alone, there have been over 175,000 Tweets in Australia about natural disasters, covering the gamut of floods, bushfires and more.

In order to make best use of the app in an emergency, Twitter has provided these key tips:

• Follow trusted sources for breaking news and in-the-moment updates - Twitter recommends local Red Cross or other assistance organizations, along with official handles of emergency services, as well as weather providers who can help to provide official context and information.
• View Twitter in reverse-chronological order – Twitter recommends that users tap the stars icon in the upper right-hand corner of the feed to view the latest Tweets first in your timeline, in order to keep up with breaking news around the event.
• Use hashtags – Twitter says that event hashtags can help to organize the tweet stream into the most relevant updates, so you can find information faster, or get your tweets seen by others searching for the same.
• Track Twitter Moments – Yes, Twitter Moments is still a thing, and Twitter suggests that users follow these curated overviews on events to stay up to date, where relevant.
• Use Twitter Lite – Finally, Twitter notes that its Twitter Lite app (available at mobile.twitter.com) can provide a faster and more accessible service for people in rural and remote areas, and/or where telecommunications have been disrupted.

These are important notes to help make best use of the app to stay on top of the latest news, and Twitter is the best social app for keeping up with real-time updates around major events.

And as we’ve witnessed over the past few years, natural disasters are becoming increasingly common, and more intense, as our shifting climate adjusts, and sends more weather events our way. This, increasingly, seems like the new norm, and as such, it’s worth taking a moment to consider how you would respond in the case of such an event, and how the apps and tools that you have available could help in staying connected.

Twitter can be a valuable channel in this respect, and these notes could be a big help in such a scenario.