Twitter to give bushfire alerts

Australia is to use social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to give people early warning of bushfires.

Residents of towns in Victoria state have said they had little or no warning of the devastating blazes that killed 173 people in February.

The usual advice for homeowners to stay and defend their properties or to seek refuge elsewhere will be revised to put far more emphasis on leaving early.

To help people decide, officials want to speed the flow of information.

Victorian state premier John Brumby says social networking sites on the internet will help to improve advice to households.

“We’ll be providing more information to the community, like Twitter and Facebook – alternative means of communication to get the information out to the public,” Mr Brumby said.

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