When the powerful earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March this year caused one of the world’s worst-ever nuclear accidents, people in the area were desperate for information and advice on the risks from radiation. Nature’s news team, in particular Geoff Brumfiel in London, Declan Butler in Paris, and David Cyranoski in Tokyo, were able to provide them with timely, accurate information that in many cases could not be found anywhere else, in both English and Japanese, using a variety of social media. As the crisis went on, we used many different online tools to engage with our audience. We hosted a live online Q&A with an expert in the heath effects of radiation, which had over 1,200 participants and has been replayed more than 13,000 times. A Japanese scientist who took part also translated the transcript into Japanese and posted it on her blog, which garnered tens of thousands of hits. We also created an interactive Google Earth application showing the location of every nuclear power plant in the world, with the population density within 75 kilometres, and a short video explaining the situation in Japan. Our coverage was also instrumental in getting data on radiation levels held by the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organisation released. The CTBTO was collecting data from its global monitoring stations, but was unable to share it with the public. After we reported this, Austria began voluntarily releasing the data, and the organisation is now considering making the data available as a matter of course. The response from our Japanese readers was overwhelming. Visits to the news website from Japan doubled in March and April, and increased 7-fold on the blog. We received many e-mails and comments on the website from Japanese readers thanking us for our coverage, which many said helped to inform their choices of whether to leave their homes, and was more reliable and easier to understand than official government advice.
