Tag Archives: social media

Mudslide rips through Washington

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Darrington might be the smallest town in the world making a huge impact on social media. That’s because many have been affected by a major mudslide along the banks of the Stillaguamish River, killing at least 21 people at press time.

As seen in that post, the author used #530slide. This hashtag was really how I found out about this story when the news broke. When I got up the morning that happened, it was trending on Twitter. However, for many, that hasn’t been enough.
“I haven’t been following the Mudslide that much,” said freshman accounting major Jacob Wiseman. “I feel like it doesn’t get coverage.”
Another tragedy is what has been grabbing the headlines, but one student says that this one hits home.
“I think this should be getting way more coverage than the Malaysian Airlines story. We don’t know exactly what happened to MH370, but we do know that (21) people are confirmed dead,” said junior broadcast journalism major Giovanni Mio.
The local news networks in Washington have been doing a fantastic job of informing their people. One reporter went as far to give a visual demonstration to really show what has happened. This story was later posted on USA Today

Another toll rising is the emotional one. Thinglink is a site that is a cooler version of tagging someone on Facebook. With it, one can tag stories, quotes, and additional data. The link above gives a lot of additional information that I otherwise would not have known.

A trends graph based on times tweeted and location.

This map, courtesy of Trendsmap.co, shows how much the hashtag #530slide has been used based on location. In the Washington area and many major news cities, this is something people are following very closely as the death toll continues to rise.


Although it is amazing to see both the beauty and destruction in nature, thousands from across the globe are showing their support.

Follow the #530slide hashtag on Twitter for more information. My thoughts and prayers are with all that have been affected by this tragedy.