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Tweeting up a storm: @Irene and 16 other must-follow accounts

Where to get real-time information about Hurricane Irene.

 

Jordan Valinsky

IRL

Posted on Aug 27, 2011   Updated on Jun 3, 2021, 3:07 am CDT

As Hurricane Irene slams the East Coast, the Daily Dot has rounded up the top things you need to be following on Twitter right now.

@NYCMayorsOffice is updating its feed with the latest news and evacuation information.

New York’s Governor, (@NYGovCuomo), Virginia’s Governor (@GovernorVA), New Jersey’s Governor (@GovChristie) and Massachusetts’s Governor (@MassGov) are also live-tweeting Irene.

@BreakingIrene, powered by MSNBC’s Breaking News Twitter feed, is providing the latest information about Irene on this topic-specific feed.

Anthony De Rosa, Reuters’ social media editor, is tweeting information and pictures on his account @AntDeRosa.

The New York Times also debuted a topic-specific Twitter feed dubbed @NYTLive which is also live-tweeting the latest Irene information. Reporter @brianstelter is also tweeting from the scene in North Carolina.

Cory Booker, mayor of Newark, New Jersey, is tweeting on his account, @CoryBooker, about how his city will be impacted by the impending storm. New York City’s mayor, Mike Bloomberg, is also tweeting at @MikeBloomberg.

In Washington, D.C., the District Dept. of Transportation is tweeting from @DDOTDC with the latest information on how Irene is affecting the area. WMATA, the local mass-transit agency, is also tweeting updates at @wmata. Unlike in New York, the city’s subways are currently operating. The agency has used Twitter to debunk rumors to the contrary.

The American Red Cross is tweeting tips and shelter information at @RedCross.

The Weather Channel is tweeting from @TWC_Hurricane and its competitor AccuWeather is providing a play-by-play at the more useful @breakingweather.

Of course, an event wouldn’t be official without a parody account. Hurricane Irene is tweeting at @Irene. (The account actually belongs to Irene Tien, an employee at a digital marketing agency in New York. She lent it to a friend for a few days to control.)

If you’re on Twitter, set up your mobile alerts and to keep track of the latest hurricane information. And if you’re not on Twitter, you can actually subscribe to any of these accounts by sending “follow” plus the account name to 40404—for example, “follow breakingirene,” without the quote marks—without having to create a Twitter account yourself.

See all of the Daily Dot’s Hurricane Irene coverage.

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*First Published: Aug 27, 2011, 5:30 pm CDT