The Hawaiʻi Tracker project began as a Facebook group started by Ryan Finlay in 2014 in response to natural disasters affecting the lower Puna community. These included Hurricane/Tropical Storm Iselle and the 2014-15 Pāhoa lava crisis.

Following the threat to Pāhoa, the USGS noted, “Communicating uncertainty associated with lava flow hazards was a challenge throughout the crisis, but online distribution of information and direct contact with residents proved to be effective strategies for keeping the public informed and educated about flow progress and how lava flows work.” Hawaiʻi County also facilitated 28 community meetings which allowed the public to ask questions and interact directly with USGS scientists and responding officials.

Hawaiʻi Tracker enabled the sharing of official and crowd-sourced information to the local community on social media ever since, although its reach would dramatically expand from a few hundred in 2014 to over 50,000 by the end of the 2018 Kīlauea eruption due to the scale of the disaster.

As of May 2023, the group has 118,000 subscribers, a result of continuing coverage since 2018 that includes eruptions of Kīlauea in December 2020, September 2021, and January 2023, as well as the November-December 2022 eruption of Mauna Loa.

Kīlauea’s largest eruption in over 200 years destroyed over 700 homes throughout the 3-month disaster. Residents needed to be informed about the volcanic processes that were severely affecting their lives and to have access to the information on which to base their decisions.

As a result, several community members stepped up to provide informational and educational updates. These were available in-person at the newly created Puʻuhonua O Puna relief hub as well as on the internet on Hawaiʻi Tracker. Social media ultimately proved the most effective way to connect dispersed evacuees, their families, and friends with community services and accurate and timely information.

As a moderated social media group Hawaiʻi Tracker emerged as the most-trusted informational and organizational resource for lava-impacted communities. Hawaiʻi Tracker synthesized all available information flows into actionable posts – USGS news and data releases, Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense warnings, area and road closures, and on-site observations from the public, aircraft, and trusted individuals.

In research on “Hawaiʻi residents’ perceptions of Kīlauea’s 2018 eruption information”, Hawaiʻi Tracker scored highest on relevance, expertise, sincerity and pace when compared to traditional news organizations, local government, and the USGS.

“A number of LERZ residents expressed concern at either not receiving enough eruption coverage from news organizations or receiving sensationalized coverage of eruption events that provided no practical information for residents to use. Additionally, several LERZ residents interviewed by Tsang & Lindsay (2019) reported that government officials did not provide regularly scheduled press briefings to inform their community of eruption developments. Thus, some residents chose to voluntarily provide on-the-ground, locally relevant eruption coverage as citizen journalists.”

“Individuals and groups from local communities (i.e. community messengers) in the LERZ and summit communicated 2018 eruption hazards through social media and/or in-person interactions with other community members. Specifically, these messengers provided on-the-ground eyewitness coverage that residents felt was missing from other sources or messengers (Tsang & Lindsay, 2019) and translated technical information provided by HVO into understandable terminology. Community messengers’ posts and videos were extremely popular with LERZ participants compared with those of @USGSVolcanoes or interview and survey participants’ friends, family, or neighbors.”

“Community messengers as a whole were perceived by LERZ participants as having positive relevance, sincerity, and pace. This is explained by the fact that these community messengers not only provided on-the-ground eruption information quickly and consistently for LERZ residents on widely accessible social media pages, but also had an intuition for how to make their communications relatable to their fellow community members. This is consistent with observations from the field of risk communication that the most successful and trusted communicators are those whose messaging is tailored to the needs of specific audiences (Covello, 2003; Sellnow et al., 2009). The most frequently mentioned community group also received consistently positive feedback in expertise, while other community messengers were given mixed evaluations for this attribute. The most frequently mentioned community messenger’s high ranking in expertise may result, in part, from acknowledging one of their members as a formally trained geoscientist in public communications, as well as the group’s perception by several LERZ participants as having the best ability to track and forecast lava flow hazards. Another possible factor contributing to LERZ participants’ positive perceptions of this particular community messenger group’s sincerity, relevance, and expertise is that this group’s members gathered eyewitness lava flow hazard information from other LERZ residents at venues like The Hub (Tsang & Lindsay, 2019).”

From “Factors Influencing Evacuation Behavior in Kīlauea Eruptions: An Examination of Residents in the Puna District, Hawaiʻi”, Publication of the National Hazards Center, 2018 by Jennifer Haney and Claire Havice, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania:

“Residents were asked about the information sources they relied on for emergency communications before and after they evacuated their homes. Depending on where residents evacuated to, certain sources may be more or less accessible. Internet sources were the most commonly utilized resource, before and after an evacuation, with an increase of nearly 5 percent after evacuating. Reliance on local television stations, national news networks, and newspapers also increased following a household evacuation. Local radio stations, other cable stations, and word of mouth, were less popular after evacuation.

More than 64 percent of residents reported that they have taken protective actions to reduce their household risk to volcanic hazards. The most common action taken was following updates, as well as warnings and advisories, on the eruptions. Internet sources and their popularity, particularly social media, offered invaluable updates as the eruptions progressed. A Facebook group called “Hawaii Tracker” emerged as the go-to resource for many residents. The group is public, which made it accessible for residents to view with and without a Facebook account. Individuals with Facebook accounts were able to post real-time updates, along with pictures and video, to the group. While we were at Puʻuhonua o Puna, we witnessed firsthand a report of a wildfire to the group before it was confirmed by the authorities. This rapidly available information allowed some residents ample time to evacuate, even with their belongings and animals, before an official evacuation order was issued.”

Big Island Press Club bestows ‘Excellence in Media Innovation Award’ to Hawaiʻi Tracker Facebook group

MEDIA RELEASE, March 27, 2019

Hilo, Hawaiʻi — The Big Island Press Club is awarding its inaugural Excellence in Media Innovation award to the Hawaiʻi Tracker Facebook Group during a community talk on April 18 at the Hawaiʻi Academy of Arts and Sciences School in Pāhoa from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

“The Hawaiʻi Tracker team brings together a diverse set of backgrounds in computer science, geology, photography, and online community emergency response,” says BIPC board member Denise Laitinen. “I’ve watched the group grow from just a few hundred members back in 2014 to more than 50,000 members today, and the work they do is truly a community asset and blessing.”

An online information community, Hawaiʻi Tracker was originally created by Ryan Finlay in 2014 to keep Puna residents informed and connected during the Pāhoa lava threat. During the historic 2018 eruption, Hawaiʻi Tracker became an essential resource for both Big Island residents and family and friends around the globe.

Hawaiʻi Tracker inspired the inaugural award from the press club, because of their innovative and consistent outreach during the 2018 Kilauea eruption. The community online resource participated in daily media briefings alongside journalists from around the world. Because the team has members with diverse skills and backgrounds they could provide updates in a variety of fields throughout the day. Through Facebook Live videos, daily written updates, video interviews with experts, GIS mapping, weather mapping, and other multimedia tools, Hawaiʻi Tracker was able to keep members informed around the clock.

In fact, Hawaiʻi Tracker team member Dane Dupont, who has a background in computer science, created GIS maps showing the amount and location of homes destroyed by lava. Such information was not available or not being made public by county officials. It was Hawaiʻi Tracker’s maps, not those of Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense, which were used by Governor Ige in press conferences and were used by the Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency and FEMA.

Throughout it all, Hawaiʻi Tracker provided verified information in a timely manner at a time when community members needed it most. They did all this even as some of the Hawaiʻi Tracker team members who lived in Leilani were being personally impacted by the lava eruption.

Facebook was so impressed with the growth and outreach of Hawaiʻi Tracker that they flew a film documentary crew out to the Big Island to interview the Hawaiʻi Tracker team and showcase their efforts. Hawaiʻi Tracker was also invited by Facebook to its annual Facebook Summit to showcase their work done as an example for other groups to follow.

The Excellence in Media Innovation award comes on the heels of the Big Island Press Club announcing its annual Lava Tube and Torch of Light winners. This year’s Lava Tube dishonor was awarded to the Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense Agency for its handling of communications with the public and the media during the 2018 volcanic eruption. Information often wasn’t forthcoming; when media releases were issued they sometimes contained errors. In addition, Civil Defense didn’t participate in daily Hawaiian Volcano Observatory telephone media briefings. Hilo Councilwoman Sue Lee Loy won BIPC’s Torch of Light award this year for sponsoring a charter amendment to bring more transparency to the process of awarding pay raises for Hawaiʻi County government’s top officials.

The April 18 community event will feature a talk by the Hawaiʻi Tracker team, including founder Ryan Finlay. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Big Island Press Club President John Burnett or email info@bigislandpressclub.org.

(Available via Hawaiʻi 24/7)

In 2019 the Hawaiʻi County Council recognized Hawaiʻi Tracker:

County of Hawaiʻi Certificate No. 5342

Certificate of Recognition Awarded to Hawaiʻi Tracker

On behalf of our island community, we the County Council of Hawaiʻi extend our sincerest congratulations to you for your first ever Excellence in Media Innovation award from the Big Island Press Club for your innovative and consistent community outreach during the 2018 Kīlauea eruption. It is with great pride that we recognize you for your dedication in bringing consistent and factual information to our island residents in a timely manner when they needed it most.

Thank you and congratulations!

Dated this 17th day of April, 2019

Signed: Valerie Poindexter, District 1; Susan L.K. Lee Loy, District 3; Ashley Kierkiewicz, District 4; Maile David, District 6; Rebecca Villegas, District 7; Karen Eoff, District 8; Herbert M. “Tim” Richards III, District 9; Matt Kanealiʻi-Kleinfelder, District 5, Sponsoring; Aaron Chung, District 2, Chairperson; Jon Henricks, County Clerk.

The issue at hand is volcano preparedness and resilience, including continued mental recovery from 2018 for affected island residents. Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic has landed many new residents on Hawaiʻi Island, adding to the need for volcano orientation and education beyond that demonstrated by local residents during the 2018 eruption. In contrast to the State of Hawaiʻi as a whole, which lost 0.7% of its population from 2020-21, Hawaiʻi County has grown 1.1% according to the U.S. Census Bureau, suggesting an even larger influx that has offset its losses. Add that to the world’s largest dormant volcano in Maunaloa, with state-directed evacuation plans due to be legislated within the next year, along with one of the world’s most active volcanoes in the currently-erupting Kīlauea, whose weekly changes and triggered earthquakes can still impact long-time residents, and the need for further volcano education and preparedness through outreach is clear.

The Volcano Education Program consists of content creation for online distribution as well as in-person outreach events. Educational and informational content is delivered through the Facebook Group and Hawaiʻi Tracker website, with videos also archived on YouTube.

Outreach events have included: Resilience Hub fairs in Nānāwale, Hilo, Waimea, and Naʻalehu; quarterly Activate Puna or Revitalize Puna gatherings in Pāhoa; community meetings in advance of Mauna Loa’s eruption in Ocean View, Pahala, and South Kona; meetings on the Pohoiki boat ramp hosted in person and virtually by DLNR-DOBAR or Limtiaco Consulting Group; volcanic hazard presentations to command personnel at Pohakuloa Training Area, which fortunately preceded the Mauna Loa eruption by several months; and many other collaborations with Puna-based community groups such as Hawaiʻi Animal Kuleana Alliance, Equality HI, Kua o Ka La NCPCS, Girls to Women Mentoring Hawaiʻi, and Malama O Puna.

Finally, a collaboration with Two Pineapples Media has allowed us to share both the USGS Volcano Awareness Month programs as well as the After Dark in the Park programs hosted by Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park with a larger online audience.

Over the course of the eruption of Mauna Loa, Hawaiʻi Tracker broadcast 22 livestreams over the course of two weeks, producing over 20 hours of content. We had the pleasure of being joined by Mayor Mitch Roth on 5 separate occasions, along with USGS-HVO Scientist-In-Charge Ken Hon, Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense Administrator Talmadge Magno, Pōhakuloa Training Area commander Lt. Col. Kevin Cronin, volcanic gas specialists Dr. Evgenia Ilyinskaya and Dr. Nadya Moisseeva, and Lou from Two Pineapples Media.

It truly is a team effort to be able provide the range of content that was shared during this eruption, from mapping efforts led by Kit Tincher, to all the fantastic photographers that shared their images and video that are too many to name. Special thanks to photographer Andrew Hara for collaborating once again with Hawaiʻi Tracker.

The moderation team of Dane Dupont, Ryan Finlay, Maren Purves and Sarah Wilkinson added roughly 16,000 new members over the course of the eruption, and managed to screen new requests to try and ensure only real people were joining the group. While the eruption took place, we were the target of two separate networks of fake accounts, with roughly 500 of those accounts removed while we were trying to maintain a steady stream of information for our legitimate users.

We have come a long ways from the 2018 eruption response from the County in terms of communication and providing people a safe lava viewing area, but there is still plenty of room for improvement.

Less recognized but equally important to improving residents’ resilience to the disaster were the crowdsourcing of manpower and resources that the network also enabled, and maintenance of the network itself, through social media moderation.

In 2023, Hawaiʻi Tracker has developed a Social Media Moderation Training Program for blue-sky periods and disasters, which includes a seminar portion as well as hands-on mentorship in moderating the group.

Drawing from the experience, success and failures of the Hawaiʻi Tracker model, a framework for Digital Resilience Hubs is planned for release in 2023.

Digital Resilience Hubs are trusted online communities that are prepared for disasters, but adapt to the changing needs of their community at other times. They support on-the-ground Resilience Hubs, managed on-island by Vibrant Hawaiʻi, by gathering and verifying information, managing public communication, and addressing rumors and misinformation.

Digital Resilience Hubs aim to change the philosophy of how information is shared between the public and authorities during times of disaster. The flow of information online is a two-way street; most commonly information flows out from authorities in the form of public releases and is distributed on social media. The alternative direction information flows takes first-hand experience and the collective knowledge of the internet to bolster the emergency manager’s efforts.

For this collaboration to be possible the Digital Resilience Hub must act as a buffer between the community and officials that is capable of making determinations or obtaining additional information as to the validity of various forms of information being shared online and escalating that information to the necessary personnel.

Thus each Digital Resilience Hub must have at least one officer certified through the Social Media Moderation training program.

Hawaiʻi Tracker is leading trainings to educate local community about the benefits and uses of Artificial Intelligence, as well as the threats it poses especially in the digital world.

Beneficial uses are still emerging, but generally AI can be leveraged to improve workflow and efficiency with its current capacity.

As AI is weaponized, an increase in scams, bot networks, and disinformation is expected, making the need for trusted digital spaces even more pressing. Dealing with AI threats has thus been incorporated into our Social Media Moderation training program.

The Hawaiʻi Tracker project has been awarded several grants from the County of Hawaiʻi, including the Puna Strong program administered by Hawaiʻi Community Foundation since 2021, and the Waiwai Grant program from 2022-2023 under the fiscal sponsorship of Malama o Puna and Kuleana Pāhoa.

The project also accepts donations through this website that make up a significant part of its yearly budget.

Ryan Finlay

Dane DuPont

Philip Ong

Andrew Hara

Sarah Wilkinson, Les Pederson, Maren Purves