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Social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, will be used by the State of Victoria to give residents early warning of bushfires, state premier John Brunby has announced.

The decision to use new communication channels follows criticism from residents that they had had little or no warning of the devastating blazes that killed 173 people in February.

The traditional bushfire advice is for residents to prepare, stay and defend their properties, or to seek refuge elsewhere. The new policy will place far more emphasis on leaving early, and it is hoped that social media sites will help speed the flow of information. Messages will also be targeted at individual communities.

Brunby said that 'alternative means of communication', like Facebook and Twitter, would be used 'to get the information out to the public so that they've got better information from a variety of sources, and if they need to make a judgement to go early they will go and they will go early.

Social media sites became a focal point for victims of the bushfires during February, as users posted updates, requests for information and helped coordinate the relief effort. Indeed, #bushfires became the top trending search on Twitter during the month. Even Australia's prime minister, Kevin Rudd, used his Twitter account to tell followers how to make cash and blood donations.

Google Australia engineers created a Flash map to keep track of the bushfires. Using real-time information provided by the State of Victoria's County Fire Authority via an RSS feed, the map reflected the number of fires at various locations and, using a system of coloured markers, indicated whether it was safe (green), controlled (yellow), contained (orange) or burning (red).

The map was created after the fire authority's own website struggled to cope with the surge in users seeking information.

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