History and activities of the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre

Bossu, Rémy; Haslinger, Florian; Hébert, Hélène

doi:10.26443/seismica.v3i1.981

“…Indeed, after a significant earthquake timely information is critical in order to fill the information void and prevent false information from circulating (Fallou et al, 2020). Social media bots such as the @LastQuake initiative developed by the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC) on Twitter enables the center to respond to the need for information within a few tens of seconds (Bossu et al, 2018(Bossu et al, , 2023(Bossu et al, , 2024Steed et al, 2019). By freeing itself from the constraints of human writing speed or working hours, automating the publication of part of the information guarantees fast, global and uninterrupted information.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The EMSC is one of the world's leading institutions for public seismic information offering information on earthquakes and their effects (Bossu et al, 2024). Over the years, it has developed an innovative and multi-channel earthquake information system comprising a mobile application, a desktop and mobile website, a Twitter bot, named @LastQuake, and recently a Telegram bot with the same name (Bossu et al, 2018(Bossu et al, , 2023.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prebunking earthquake predictions on social media

Fallou,

Bossu,

Cheny

2024

Front. Commun.

Self Cite

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Earthquake misinformation has not only a significant impact on crisis management, but also on trust in scientific information and institutions. As a global center for seismic information, the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC) has developed a strategy to combat false information related to earthquakes, particularly on Twitter (now known as X). This strategy includes the automation of prebunking tweets to prevent the spread of false information and, particularly unreliable claims of earthquake predictions. In the field of false information, predictions of earthquakes have a particular characteristic: their appearance follows a specific dynamic and the attention paid to them is predictable, which makes the automation of countermeasures (prebunking and debunking) both possible and relevant. Therefore, the objectives of the EMSC’s automatic tweets are to warn people in advance, particularly those who may be vulnerable to earthquake misinformation, while filling the information void with verified, scientifically-based information in the meantime. This paper seeks to examine the usefulness of such a tool. It does so by analyzing users’ engagement with these tweets. In addition, it focuses on two case studies, the seismic sequence in Turkey following the M7.8 earthquake on February 6, 2023 and the M6.8 Morocco earthquake on September 8, 2023. The results show engagement with the automatically generated tweets but an even greater interaction and engagement with manual tweets, highlighting the importance of a holistic approach. Recommendations include optimizing the visibility of the tweets, extending efforts beyond social media, and exploring alternative platforms. The paper advocates for a comprehensive strategy, combining automated tools with manual engagement and leveraging diverse communication channels to take into account cultural differences.

show abstract

“…Indeed, after a significant earthquake timely information is critical in order to fill the information void and prevent false information from circulating (Fallou et al, 2020). Social media bots such as the @LastQuake initiative developed by the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC) on Twitter enables the center to respond to the need for information within a few tens of seconds (Bossu et al, 2018(Bossu et al, , 2023(Bossu et al, , 2024Steed et al, 2019). By freeing itself from the constraints of human writing speed or working hours, automating the publication of part of the information guarantees fast, global and uninterrupted information.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The EMSC is one of the world's leading institutions for public seismic information offering information on earthquakes and their effects (Bossu et al, 2024). Over the years, it has developed an innovative and multi-channel earthquake information system comprising a mobile application, a desktop and mobile website, a Twitter bot, named @LastQuake, and recently a Telegram bot with the same name (Bossu et al, 2018(Bossu et al, , 2023.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Table_1.DOCX

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Potential of Crowdsourced Data for the Rapid Impact Assessment of Large Earthquakes: The 2023 M 7.8 Kahramanmaraş-Pazarcık, Türkiye, Earthquake

Bossu,

Böse,

Steed

et al. 2024

Seismological Research Letters

2

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Reliable and rapid impact assessment for large earthquakes is a challenge because it is difficult to rapidly determine the fault geometry and thus the spatial distribution of shaking intensities. In this retrospective study of the M 7.8 Kahramanmaraş-Pazarcık, Türkiye, earthquake, we evaluate how eyewitness observations crowdsourced through the LastQuake system can improve such assessments. These data consist of felt reports describing the local level of shaking or damage and manually validated geolocated imagery. In the first part of this study, the methods used to derive macroseismic intensity values from felt reports, particularly for high values, are validated by comparison with independently determined intensities. This comparison confirms that the maximum intensity that can be derived from felt reports does not generally exceed VIII. A fatality estimate of 3000 could be made within a few hours by evaluating the number of people exposed to high intensities using the felt reports and assuming a point source. However, this estimate was known to be an underestimate because of the point-source approximation; this underestimate was also confirmed by the geolocated imagery showing high levels of damage at epicentral distances well beyond those predicted by circular isoseismals. However, improved estimates could have been derived from the event’s ShakeMaps using the U.S. Geological Survey Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) fatality loss-modeling system, either by incorporating the felt reports into the ShakeMaps computation or using, in addition, a finite-source (here line-source) model derived from the felt reports using the Finite-fault rupture Detector software. The inclusion of fault geometry would have resulted in a fatality estimate with data collected within 10 min of the origin determination, which was consistent with the final PAGER alert level and the reported death toll that were both only known days later. Although more work would be helpful to assess the reliability of the derived fault geometry, in regions where they are collected in large numbers, felt reports collected within 10 min of the earthquake can be used to substantially improve current fatality estimates.

show abstract

History and activities of the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre

Cited by 3 publications

References 37 publications

Prebunking earthquake predictions on social media

Prebunking earthquake predictions on social media

Table_1.DOCX

The Potential of Crowdsourced Data for the Rapid Impact Assessment of Large Earthquakes: The 2023 M 7.8 Kahramanmaraş-Pazarcık, Türkiye, Earthquake

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About