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Floridians prep for Hurricane Irma on Snapchat

Be safe out there!

A Snapchat map of Hurricane Irma on the coast of Florida
Rani Molla is a senior correspondent at Vox and has been focusing her reporting on the future of work. She has covered business and technology for more than a decade — often in charts — including at Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal.

Snap Maps went from creepy Big Brother to helpful tool during Hurricane Harvey in August, when people in Texas used the feature to document the storm’s destruction in real time. Now, thanks to Hurricane Irma, it’s Florida’s turn.

Currently, Floridians are using the feature to document their storm preparations —stocking up on groceries, covering windows, leaving town — for Irma, which could make landfall tomorrow.

Hurricane Irma Snapchat Maps
Traffic evacuating Florida on Snapchat

For now, people are posting lots of pictures from the beaches as Irma’s winds begin to pick up:

Hurricane Irma Snapchat Maps

Hurricane Irma Snapchat Maps

Snapchat isn’t the only tech company that’s proving useful during the storm. Google, in conjunction with the Florida government, is posting road closures in real time on Google Maps as a service to those trying to evacuate. Already, 5.6 million people — over a quarter of the state’s population — have been told to leave.

Snap Maps are a relatively new location-sharing feature that let you view videos from your friends and strangers whose posts are public.

To view Snap Maps, open Snapchat and pinch your fingers together on the camera tool. You can then scroll to Florida to see what’s happening.


This article originally appeared on Recode.net.