VOST Portugal:

VOST Portugal began as a volunteer effort after fires ravaged the forests of Monchique, Portugal in August 2018. When the fires began, a group united on Twitter to share important information around the clock, even while traditional media sources remained silent. After connecting with each other, the volunteers decided to create a single Twitter account to keep those at risk informed of the fire’s movements.

When Hurricane Leslie descended upon Portugal, the same group leveraged their Twitter account to help predict which areas would be the most dangerous and warn locals. The group’s reporting during the hurricane lent credibility to the organization, and the European Virtual Operations Support Team (VOST Europe) invited them to join the consortium.

More than one year later, VOST Portugal is focused, much like its European counterparts, on disseminating the communications of the official entities on social networks and helping all those affected, directly or indirectly, by a natural disaster or other type of event. Everyone at VOST Portugal is a volunteer who works for the benefit of the community.