twitter used next hurricane season by MDOT

MDOT to offer Twitter to evacuees
April 10, 2009
JACKSON - According to Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) executive director Larry L. "Butch" Brown, MDOT will utilize the popular social networking site Twitter to assist in providing traffic information for evacuation routes during the upcoming 2009 hurricane season.
MDOT has created six separate Twitter feeds that will provide route-specific traffic information to evacuees traveling Interstates 10, 20, 55, 59 and U.S. Highways 49 and 98. Evacuees will receive information such as traffic delays, contraflow information, fuel availability and roadway openings all on a real-time basis.
In order to access an evacuation route-specific feed, evacuees can simply type in the feed address in their web browser. If one is new to Twitter, click "Join Today." If one is an existing user, simply "login." Users will be asked to provide their full name, a user name, password and e-mail address. Once signed up, to follow the evacuation route-specific feed, one must click device updates to the "on" position on the Twitter screen to receive tweets via cell phone.
The feed addresses are www.twitter.com/mdot_i55, www.twitter.com/mdot_i59, www.twitter.com/mdot_us49, www.twitter.com/mdot_us98, www.twitter.com/mdot_i10 and www.twitter.com/mdot_i20.
"I am extremely excited about Twitter and how it will be used as a necessary tool providing information in a timely manner that is needed during hurricane evacuations," Brown said. "Utilizing this system will give MDOT the ability to not only get information directly into the hands of Mississippians evacuating, but also to evacuees from Alabama and Louisiana. Twitter will deliver instantaneously traffic information and will reach a large number of people needing traffic information while evacuating."
From MS Business Journal