Social Media in Disaster Communication

Palen, Leysia; Hughes, Amanda

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-63254-4_24

Cited by 130 publications

(87 citation statements)

References 103 publications

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“…The first research gap is the need to consider different publics when studying social media use during disasters. Some studies have focused on social media usages of vulnerable populations [90], and in turn more research needs to be conducted to better understand how different publics, (e.g., people with disabilities), use social media before and after an emergency [91]. Researchers also advocate for a better understanding of how technology serves or fails disenfranchised and marginalized groups [81].…”

Section: Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of social media use during disaster response and recovery phases

Young¹,

Kuligowski²,

Pradhan³

2020

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Under the National Construction Safety Team Act, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) investigated the May 22, 2011 tornado in Joplin, Missouri. The investigation was an effort to characterize (1) the wind environment and technical conditions associated with fatalities and injuries, (2) the performance of emergency communications systems and the public response to such communications, and (3) the performance of residential, commercial, and critical buildings, designated safe areas in buildings as well as lifelines. The final report of the investigation concluded with a list of sixteen recommendations, including but not limited to recommendations for action on emergency communications. Specifically, NIST recommended "the development of national codes and standards and uniform guidance for clear, consistent, recognizable, and accurate emergency communications, encompassing alerts and warnings, to enable safe, effective, and timely responses" [1, p.367]. This Technical Note is the third installment in the NIST effort to develop evidence-based guidance on the creation and provision of public alerts. The first publication in this series, "Outdoor Siren Systems: A review of technology, usage, and public response during emergencies," provided both an outline on the current status of outdoor siren systems in the U.S., as well as a literature review of how people respond to these systems [2]. The second Technical Note, "A review of public response to short message alerts under imminent threats," focused on short message alerts, underscoring best practices as well as strategies geared towards improving message design and delivery, based on the methods by which people receive and process these types of alerts [3]. In this publication, first we present an overview of current popular social media platforms and the capabilities that they feature, as well as their potential applications for emergency management. That is followed by an outline of social media use for disaster response and recovery research findings, organized by themes. The response themes relate to: 1) the use of these tools for formal emergency management, 2) innovative social media applications for disaster response, and 3) how the general public uses these platforms. The recovery themes involve: 1) social media during recovery for mental health, 2) recovery assessment, and 3) relationship development post-event. The research findings are followed by the limitations and practical considerations for emergency managers, as well as future research suggestions.

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Section: Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of social media use during disaster response and recovery phases

Young¹,

Kuligowski²,

Pradhan³

2020

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“…Previous research has shown that flood extent can be mapped from flood photos by consulting with a DEM (e.g., Gallien et al, 2011), and automation of this process in accordance with the location, orientation, and magnification of photos is needed for real-time NF monitoring based on photographs posted to social media. Social media has emerged as an important platform for two-way communication about flooding between authorities and community members (Feldman et al, 2016;Le Coz et al, 2016;Palen & Hughes, 2018) and can be used to gather information around the severity of floods (Fohringer et al, 2015;Smith et al, 2017;Wang et al, 2018). Flood monitoring efforts have also explored combining social media with remote sensing and unmanned aerial vehicle data (Rosser et al, 2017), although these efforts have been mainly focused on extreme events (Kogan et al, 2015;Middleton et al, 2014).…”

Section: Nf Monitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Is Nuisance Flooding? Defining and Monitoring an Emerging Challenge

Moftakhari

AghaKouchak

Sanders

et al. 2018

Water Resources Research

132

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Nuisance flooding (NF) refers to low levels of inundation that do not pose significant threats to public safety or cause major property damage, but can disrupt routine day‐to‐day activities, put added strain on infrastructure systems such as roadways and sewers, and cause minor property damage. NF has received some attention in the context of low‐lying coastal cities exposed to increasingly higher high tides, a consequence of sea level rise, which exceeds the heights of coastal topography. However, low levels of flooding are widespread and deserve greater attention. Here a simple, quantitative definition of NF is proposed based on established flood intensity thresholds for flood consequences (e.g., pedestrian safety, property damage, and health risks). Based on a wide range of literature including hydrology, transportation, public health risk, and safety impacts, we define NF based on depth >3 cm and <10 cm, regardless of the source. This definition of NF is not limited to high tide flooding but rather is inclusive of all possible flood drivers including pluvial, fluvial, and oceanic and can capture trends in NF resulting from trends in, and compounding effects of, flood drivers. Furthermore, we also distinguish between NF as a process and NF as an event, which is important for linking NF to societal impacts and developing effective policy interventions and mitigation strategies. Potential applications and implications of NF monitoring are also presented.

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“…The public use social networking sites to create self-help communities and organize neighbourhood aid. When disaster strikes, people want to provide help and social media is a handy tool for mobilizing civilians (digital volunteerism), organizing on-site response activities in the immediate aftermath of an emergency (Schmidt et al 2018), and also for successfully distributing help, coordinating action and managing knowledge (Sutton et al 2008a, Palen andHughes 2018) to optimize crisis management in the response and recovery phase of the disaster management cycle. Social networking sites can be used by citizens to identify victims as well as to find out if relatives and friends have been affected by the disaster (Reuter et al 2012).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of social media in emergency management during the 2019 flood in Poland

Domalewska¹

2019

Security and Defence Quarterly

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Objectives: The aim of this article is to discuss the role of social media platforms, Facebook and Twitter, during the floods that took place in Poland in May 2019. The following research questions guided the study: (1) How is social media used by different actors at various stages of the disaster management cycle? (2) To what extent were social networking sites used during the 2019 floods in Poland? Methods: The study employed social media analytic tools to analyze social media data published on Facebook and Twitter qualitatively and quantitatively in the period from 1 March to 10 June 2019. Results: Social Media is used during emergencies by various actors for different purposes: emergency services use it to broadcast weather alerts and situational updates; authorities communicate weather alerts and offer assistance; mass media outlets share up-to-date information; individual users connect and share their experiences of the disaster as well as express political views; organizations spread general comments, situational updates and political comments. Conclusions: Despite several drawbacks, such as the chaotic spread of messages, their unreliability and the politicization of the newsfeed, social networking sites support disaster management. Therefore, they should be incorporated as an additional communication channel during emergencies.

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Social Media in Disaster Communication

Cited by 130 publications

References 103 publications

A review of social media use during disaster response and recovery phases

A review of social media use during disaster response and recovery phases

What Is Nuisance Flooding? Defining and Monitoring an Emerging Challenge

The role of social media in emergency management during the 2019 flood in Poland

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