【Watch Batman Death in the Family Online】

Thank heaven for social media.

That sentiment was definitely on Watch Batman Death in the Family Onlinethe minds of many people caught in the path of Hurricane Harvey, which is shaping up to be one of the worst disasters in U.S. history. It dumped 24.5 trillion gallons of water on Texas — enough to cover the entire state of Arizona in a foot of water. More than 32,000 people were displaced and forced to go to shelters. The official death toll stands at 46 (at the time of the podcast recording, it was 35).

SEE ALSO: Animals are being stranded by Tropical Storm Harvey

That last number might have been higher if not for social media. In the early hours of the hurricane, 911 systems were overwhelmed, and many people reported not being able to get through to emergency services at all.

With the water level rising and no help coming, lots of people turned to social media to plea for rescue.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

In many cases, their pleas were answered. When calls for rescue went out, influencers began retweeting, Facebook groups were formed, and certain "low-tech" apps (like push-to-talk communicators) became invaluable. Social media networks became a force in connecting rescuers with those in need, and helping volunteer forces organize.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

Public figures felt the power of social media in the wake of the disaster, too.

Popular Houston-based televangelist Joel Osteen was forced to respond when Twitter stirred up criticism that his massive Lakewood Church stood nearly empty while shelters in the area were filling up.

First Lady Melania Trump was a target, too, over her choice of footwear, although the backlash to that criticism was just as swift.

Over the course of the week, Twitter saw more than 27 million tweets related to Harvey, making it the second most-tweeted event in 2017 (the Super Bowl saw 27.6 million). Facebook opened up Safety Check to those affected by Harvey, and saw more than 1,000 users made requests for help via the feature, with more than 3,500 offers from volunteers seeking to help those affected.

On this week's MashTalk, we talk to Houston resident and Ringerstaff writer Shea Serrano, who became one of the most prolific "signal boosters" on Twitter for people affected by the storm, and Bill Moore, CEO of Zello, whose "live conversations" app was instrumental in enabling people to communicate directly when regular methods weren't working.

You can subscribe to MashTalk on iTunesor Google Play, and we'd appreciate it if you could leave a review. Feel free to hit us with questions and comments by tweeting to @mashtalkor adding the #MashTalk hashtag. We welcome all feedback.

---

Featured Video For You

---

Tropical Storm Harvey's mind-blowing stats

---

Topics Facebook Social Media X/Twitter

• Tech
• Shopping
• Science
• Life
• Games
• Social Good
• Digital Culture
• Deals

• Then and Now: Almost 10 Years of Intel CPUs Compared
• Apple's India push is already paying off
• 'Runaways' is Hulu's first Marvel superhero TV show
• Dare you look at the travesty that is this watermelon recipe video?
• The Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones are on sale for $100 off
• WhatsApp's Snapchat Stories clone now has more users than Snapchat
• This politician laughed so hard watching 'Veep' he knocked himself out
• Gorgeous Galaxy Note 8 concept lets you have your cake and eat it too
• SpaceX's Starlink will provide free satellite internet to families in Texas school district
• We made a 'Fargo' board game so you too can live a life of midwestern crime

• Subway cars get turned into brain
• Why that 'Game of Thrones' cold open was worse than 'Scooby Doo'
• Meizu Pro 7 has a second display to take selfies with the rear camera
• HTC users are seeing banner ads on their keyboards
• Kind women offer up their bridal gowns after Alfredo Angelo's closing leaves customers dress
• Hackers steal $7 million worth of Ether in 3 minutes
• Google Home now has an Australian accent
• First photos of Ataribox, the Atari 2600
• Arya Stark is our new Lady Stoneheart in 'Game of Thrones' Season 7
• 'Outlander' Season 3 trailer: Watch here

• Amazon Prime Grubhub deal: Save $10 off orders of $20 or more
• David Beckham's birthday dinner is a weird combo only his kids could come up with
• 16 things you need to let go of if you want to be successful
• Man's gluten
• Best vacuum mop combo deal: Save $140 on the Tineco Floor One S5
• The royal flag didn't fly half
• Adorable Maori toddler charms the internet with passionate haka dance
• The sandwich alignment chart that's tearing the internet apart
• Best vacuum mop combo deal: Save $140 on the Tineco Floor One S5
• This is how that wild 'Prince Philip dead' rumour started

• SpaceX's Starlink will provide free satellite internet to families in Texas school district
• Tesla to open new company
• We made a 'Fargo' board game so you too can live a life of midwestern crime
• Australian Twitter communities are more diverse than you might think
• Commissioning Misleading Core i9
• The tech equivalent of playing FMK is stressing people out
• Wait, what? In Windows 10 S, you'll be stuck with Microsoft Edge as default browser
• Elon Musk says Model Y crossover will come in late 2019 or 2020
• Virtual Reality: The True Cost of Admission (and Why It Doesn't Matter)
• The tech equivalent of playing FMK is stressing people out