Japan nuclear plant firm joins Twitter

BANGALORE, INDIA: As Japan is burning down the smoke of devastating earthquake and tsunami, information about radiation leaks and blackouts are reaching the social media.

And to add to that social media fever, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), which operates the quake-hit Japanese nuclear reactors, has joined the bandwagon of Twitter on Thursday.

Every second the cyber space is filled with new updates from the land of disaster and sites like Twitter, YouTube and Facebook are underscoring the power of social media.

Proving that they are the lifelines during such instances of of disaster, these sites are also helping raise fund to help and rehabilitate the victims of the earthquake and the tsunami that followed. So the decision of TEPCO to embrace social media is an expected one.

Though the account has posted only two tweets so far, in Japanese of course, the account is an instant hit and within 12 hours the site has attracted over 132,640 followers.

According to an AFP report, TEPCO said it planned to provide information about radiation leaks and blackouts through its Twitter blog, though no major information has come so far.

Its first tweet was about the threat of major power blackouts in the capital unless electricity use was reduced in the aftermath of the massive earthquake and tsunami, the report added.

The company also follows accounts of local news media, regional authorities, Twitter users offering messages on earthquake alerts and support for quake victims.

The twitter account is @OfficialTEPCO and is available only in Japanese.