As floods hit, R.I. delivered updates via social media

State’s DOT posted road closings and other essential info and saw a surge in fans and followers

When the East Coast got hit with torrential rain recently and flooding occurred at levels that hadn’t been reported in 200 years, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) turned to social media to help clean up the mess.

The department used the front page of its Web site for a constantly updated log of road closures and other transportation related issues caused by the massive storms. More important, they used outlets such as Twitter and Facebook to stay in touch with motorists directly.

At the peak of the flooding, nearly 100 roads were closed in Rhode Island, including I-95, according to Dana Alexander Nolfe, chief public affairs officer for RIDOT. About a dozen roads remain closed, but in some cases that’s because bridges need to be replaced.

“The staff was able to use social media from home, sending links about the RIDOT home page as it was updated,” Nolfe said.

RIDOT got involved with social media in January 2009, but they’ve never seen it put to the test until recently. Nolfe’s happy to report it passed with flying colors.