This weekend Hurricane Irene managed to cause some serious damage along the east coast. After having it’s own Twitter account and seeing millions of American’s updating on social networks about the storm’s damage, it got us thinking about how social media has changed the way the world reacts to emergency situations. When there’s a storm in our home town, Windsor Ontario, discussions begin on Twitter, residents update each other on conditions and damage, and the community comes together online. We’ve found an infographic that illustrates how American’s use social media tools in emergencies.

Do you fall into any of these categories?