ICT and Disaster Management

ICT-mediated public administration is a governance motive in this digital age. Government of India has embarked upon Digital India and Smart Cities Mission to reform public service delivery and governance in the country. However, the recent Chennai floods and the serious inadequacy of official emergency response system calls in question the ability of government to deliver when it is most needed. Public participation is an avowed objective of all government programmes including the development of smart cities or a digitally empowered India. Chennai Floods and the ensuing people-led disaster response and recovery presents a case where voluntary efforts steered disaster management through use of social media as official mechanisms failed. Based on secondary sources, this paper discusses the social media use in Chennai floods disaster and deduces observations for effective social media integration and public participation in governance through proactive government-led intervention.