Communication and Social Media Usage in Emergency Management - Literature review Example

COMMUNICATION AND SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE IN EMERGENCY MANAGEENT Student’s Name: Code + Course name Professor’s name University City, State Date Literature Review This chapter provides a literature review of communication and social media usage in emergency management. To access the facts for this literature review, an investigation sources such as peer-reviewed journals, reactions to reviews, scholarly publications, emergency reports, dissertations and books will be conducted. Communication and the use of the social media in the collection and dissemination of information during natural emergencies such as flood emergencies has received increasing recognition because of the massive role that the communication media plays in managing the crisis (Smith et al. 2015). It is clear that the use of the social media in communication has increased the challenges encountered by organisations in the management of flooding incidences. According to Smith et al. (2015), the social media ensures the rapid interchange of information among members of the public that places intense pressure on organisations responsible for the management of the emergency. As a result, organisations have to deploy the necessary processes and systems to ascertain instant awareness of the state of events on the ground that would enable them to resolve the emerging issues or risk the instant dissemination of the issues by the public via the social media. In the last decade alone, the UK and Turkey have witnessed intense storms that have caused severe floods thereby challenging the capabilities of the organisations responsible for managing the emergency (Saravanou et al. 2014). The literature review discusses the use of the social media in the management of flooding emergencies in the UK and Turkey concerning the development of the emergency communication, challenges encountered, and the notable communication gaps. Social Media Usage in Flood Emergency Communication In a number of flooding incidences across the globe, the social media has played a pivotal role in the dissemination of information about the emergency. Twitter stands out as one of the social media sites that disseminates information instantly about the state of events on the ground (Charlwood et al. 2012). According to Charlwood et al. (2012), news sources, Facebook, blogs, and forums also communicate information about the flooding emergency. The high sensitivity of comments on Twitter have compelled organisations to regard the social media platform as a communication platform which involves the rapid rising and falling of comments at various stages throughout the management of the flooding emergency. On the other hand, news and blogs serve as sources of persistent commentary about the emergency. The fact that news sources present high levels of commentary imply that traditional media outlets consider the social media as a viable source of information in crises. It is also evident that emergency broadcasters also use the social media in sourcing information about the emergency. Charlwood et al. (2012) also assert that the social media commentary yields positive and helpful information that is crucial to the management of the flooding emergency. Rather than posting cynical or ironic comments, as is the case with other issues, flood emergencies did not attract such commentaries on the social media. Moreover, the comments were not random and only provided meaningful information (Charlwood et al. 2012). This implies that social media commentaries bout flooding emergencies generate valuable and highly information content from individuals on the ground. The spreading of messages is a social media behaviour that is evident in the management of flooding emergencies. As a result, message spreading accounts for approximately half of the total dataset. It entails re-tweets, the distribution of relief-related comments, shares, warnings, news, donations, and general information about the emergency. The most prevalent form of message spreading is the spread of messages about donations and relief. The spreading of news items was the other form of message spreading that was prevalent in previous flood emergencies such as the Victoria floods in Australia. Of the total data set, only 7.5% of the disseminated message relayed information about warnings. However, the failure of the agency to use the social media in dissemination warning information was responsible for the limited use of the social media in the dissemination of warning information. One of the lessons learnt from the incidence by other flood emergency management organisations across the globe is the need to create official Facebook and Twitter handles by organisations that would serve as social media avenues of communicating warning messages. Even though social media commentary was not widespread in the first flooding events witnessed in January 2011, social media was ahead of official agency communication in disseminating information about the subsequent flash floods that occurred in February the same year (Charlwood et al. 2012). Therefore, emergency organisations should not underestimate the power of the social media in communicating warning information and other information about the emergency. The usage of the social media during the Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans back in 2005 also indicates the massive role that the social media plays in enabling the effective management of flooding emergencies (Fraustino et al. 2012). Southeast Louisiana witnessed Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. According to Fraustino et al., (2012), the number of families displaced by the hurricane were in excess of 500,000. The emergency flooded approximately 80% of New Orleans. Survivors of the catastrophe used the social media to determine safe locations. To be precise, 75% of the residents in New Orleans responded to a survey and visited the online sites that were specific to their localities in the aftermath of the hurricane. The dominance of mainstream media sites was also evident among the American public. Approximately 73% of the consumers of online news about the hurricane utilised the websites of news organisations to receive the latest updates about the emergency. It was also clear that the survivors of the tragedy activated other social sites with the use of the internet. Some of the social networks activated by the survivors include familial, geographic, school-related, and social sites. As mentioned before, the survivors used the internet to obtain information about the potential damage to property, and updating family and friends. Moreover, the internet also enabled relief donations as 9% of internet users went online to donate (Fraustino et al. 2012). During the Queensland floods in Brisbane, the social media played a massive role in communicating pertinent information to the affected individuals and the public. When the state witnessed the flooding, lead emergency responders, the media, and the affected residents thronged the media to obtain lifesaving information and relay it to the affected community immediately (Sykes 2011). According to Sykes, it was evident that the Brisbane Twitter community was very active throughout the incidence. The hashtag #qldfloods recorded between 14000 and 16000 tweets every hour. The hashtag was instrumental in coordinating information about the emergency (Sykes 2011). The period of Brisbane inundation recorded the highest number of tweets on the hashtag. Organisations, community members, and agencies used Twitter as a place of distributing raw information and footage about the emergency. The stakeholders also started trusting particular accounts that gave real-time updates about the calamity. At the beginning, individuals were passing real-time footages of raw footages of images and videos from Lockyer valley and Toowoomba. Eventually, the attention turned to Brisbane on the preparation and response to the floods (Sykes 2011). Rather than being a news event, the social media turned into a place of providing information about the proper ways of protecting yourself from the flood and the cleaning up process following the occurrence of the flood. During the Queensland inundation, the resultant social media streams served two main purposes: obtaining information about the emergency and relaying warning information to the affected community and the public (Ehnis & Bunker 2012). According to the authors, the social media acted as the central clearinghouse for all information related to the flood. As a result, the Queensland Police Service (QPS) and other government departments posted relevant information about the emergency on Facebook pages and Twitter handles. The existence of the QPS Facebook page served a critical role in communicating warning messages and general information during the flood. Serving as a trusted source, the public visited the QPS Facebook page to get up-to-date and reliable information concerning the inundation (Ehnis & Bunker 2012). The response of the community towards the 2009 November floods in West Cumbria was remarkable. Community resilience was evident throughout the emergency as the members of the community coordinated through bonding, bridging, and the use of the social capital via the social media (The British Psychological Society 2017). In the aftermath of Storm Diamond, the community used the social media in sharing photos and thoughts about the floods. Most importantly, the community used the social media to harness the resources of the community. The response entailed the creation of several Facebook groups that acted as sources of viable and reliable information. The groups managed to update individuals on the flood defence levels and the specific roads closed as a result of the emergency. Stranded individuals in West Cumbria posted in these groups thereby enabling strangers to open their homes and shelters to accommodate the affected individuals. Several groups also organised shelter for the affected individuals. Through the groups, it was possible to coordinate the effective collection and distribution of resources (The British Psychological Society 2017). From the experiences of Storm Diamond, it is evident that social media linkage plays a crucial role in the effective implementation of response and recovery operations besides enabling bonding and the bridging of capital. The social media groups mobilised individuals from diverse backgrounds to support the victims of the emergency. From the experience, it is clear that the social media has played a significant role in enabling people to join in times of adversities such as flooding emergencies. The Use of the Social Media in the Management of Recent UK Floods The recent flooding events in Tyne and Wear are some of the recent flooding emergencies in the UK that witnessed the intensive use of the social media in disseminating warning messages and general information about the flood. The flooding incidence occurred on 28 June 2012 (Liang et al. 2015). According to Liang et al., (2015), various parts of the county including Newcastle had witnessed short-duration thunderstorms and heavy rainfall that had already saturated the ground. The city of Newcastle encountered a supercell storm in North East England upon Tyne at 15:00 hours when most of the individuals were preparing to leave work. The 50mm of rainfall lasted for approximately 2 hours and resulted in dramatic effects on the affected area. Some of the effects were the flooding of the Newcastle Central Station and the damaging of the railway lines because of the landslides that occurred soon after the storm. The flood emergency also resulted in the flooding of the underground rail station, grade-separated junctions that connected the city to major arterial roads, and the suspension of bus services in some of the areas (Liang et al. 2015). During the incidence, many individuals took to the social media to voice their concerns about the emergency. People shared photos of the state of events on the ground and used the social media to determine the safest ways to their homes. An analysis of the social media platforms utilised in the aftermath of the tragedy indicated that approximately 1800 tweets were evident under the hashtags #toonflood and #newcastleendofdays (Liang et al. 2015). Emergency responders and local authorities engaged with the twitter handles as a proper way of communicating to the public. In search of data, Newcastle University embarked on a mission of reconstructing the events from data sourced from the public through crowd sourcing. The incentive to use the approach by the university emanated from the success of a similar approach following a fluvial inundation at Morpeth back in 2008. The system enabled the public to upload pictures and texts on specific locations on the map. The university publicised the system through local televisions and radio and encouraged the public to contribute to the study. At the end of the study, the system managed to capture 194 submissions comprising of both texts and photos as well as the approximate location and time (Liang et al. 2015). Hampshire flooding also revealed the significant contribution of the social media in the effective coordination of flood response and recovery efforts (Focus 2017). In essence, Twitter and other social media sites flood whenever it rains in the UK. The real-time nature of Twitter has placed it on the forefront in communicating the state of events during major emergency thereby enabling the identification of safe routes and the distribution of relief resources to the victims of the catastrophes (Saravanou et al. 2015). In essence, the public, agencies, and organisations consider Twitter as a media reporting tool. Therefore, Twitter plays a massive role in emergency relief and public safety. Concerning the UK floods that occurred in 2014, it was clear that Twitter played a massive role in identifying the areas affected by floods, the extent of the effect, and the resources required to deal with the disaster. The Use of the Social Media during Flood Events in Turkey In the latest local flooding incidence that struck Istanbul on June 2, the public posted real time images of the state of events in the area. In one of the viral images, a minibus was cruising alongside a Bosphorous ferry. The image indicated the intensity of the emergency and its effects to the society in terms of property loss. Social media has continued to communicate the impact of bad weather on the Turkish economy. The media has been reporting all flooding incidences and the resultant deaths caused by the incidences. Within a short time following the occurrence of the flooding incidence, the social media contains many pictures about the state of events and the rescue operations that are underway. However, contrary to the United Kingdom, Twitter had not played a central role in enabling the effective coordination of flood management efforts in the country. Ever since the Turkish Government banned the use of Twitter, government organisations and agencies stopped using twitter (Tufekci 2014). Therefore, only members of the public that managed to circumvent the website access can still use Twitter in the country. The ban is an indicator that government agencies in Turkey do not leverage on the benefits of Twitter in availing real-time information in the event of emergencies such as flooding incidences (Tufekci 2014). Even though the public can still use circumventing techniques to access the website, government agencies cannot use the site to obtain real time information from people located in the area about the state of events and the resources that could be sufficient to respond to the crisis. Moreover, the absence of public twitter handles and twitter accounts opened by government agencies has made it difficult for government agencies to obtain up to date information about the flooding emergency as it is the case in the UK, USA, Australia, and other countries that use Twitter. It is clear that the decision of the ruling party in Turkey to ban Twitter for its interests came at the expense of interfering with the effectiveness of the flood management approaches due to lack of accurate real time data provided by Twitter (Tufekci 2014). Therefore, the UK and Turkey are two different nations in relation to the use of the social media. The recent flooding emergency in Mersin in December 2016 is one of the flooding catastrophes that the country witnesses on a regular basis because of the rising sea levels. The Mersin Metropolitan Municipality warned residents to avoid getting out unnecessarily because of the prevailing flood situation. As teams embarked on repairing shops and other damaged structures, the Municipality could feel the devastating effect of the flood. In just 24 hours, Mersin recorded 155.8 mm of rainfall. The severe weather included heavy snowfall and severe winds. It resulted in the cancelling of some flight and ferry services. Images and videos posted on the social media revealed how the flooding emergency had brought everything to a standstill in Mersin. The images revealed the torrential downpour that struck the municipality and the ongoing response and recovery operations (Daily News 2016). In 2009, a flash flood killed at least 31 people in Istanbul, the capital of Turkey (Arsu 2009). At that time, it was clear that the Turkish Government was struggling with the heaviest rainfall ever witnessed in the last 80 years. According to reports from drivers, the heavy rains were capable of pushing heavy trucks off the road (Arsu 2009). Posts on the social media revealed victims that tried to reach the tops of trucks and buses to escape being carried away by the gushing water. According to Arsu (2009), the images also revealed Ikitelli, an area within the central business district that had witnessed the worst effects of the flood. The emergency claimed the lives of twenty-six individuals in Central Istanbul as five other people died in the outskirts of the city. The lack of proper infrastructure in the area turned out to be the primary reason behind the high death toll recorded during the emergency. Deadly floods also hit Ordu Province in Turkey in 2016 leaving two people dead, one missing, and several buildings damaged (Davies 2016). The flood also damaged bridges. Heavy rains started on July 4 and extended to July 5 causing flash floods and landslides that caused the damages. The social and local media reported the overflowing of small rivers such as Gargacak and Kacali. Within 6 hours, the area recorded 158 mm of rainfall that led to the landslides and flash floods. Images on the social media revealed the extent of the damage to the affected area (Davies 2016). The Gaps in Social Media Usage It is evident that information availed by the public on the internet is detrimental in the effective management of natural emergencies such as floods in the event of their occurrence. However, emergencies management organisations and agencies encounter several challenges in dealing with the emergencies. One of the identified gaps is the lack of a proper mechanism of filtering information availed on the social media to aid in the decision making process (Fohringer et al. 2015). The ability of organisations to filter information would enable the communication of the right message to the target audience. In the event of the management of flooding emergencies in the UK and Turkey, the lead emergency departments and local resilience forums could identify ways of filtering specific information such as the most affected regions and the resources lacking in specific regions to ensure that emergency responders avail the supplies in their required quantities (Fohringer et al. 2015). Some of the strategies include the use of key words in filtering information (Fohringer et al. 2015). According to Fohringer et al., (2015), creating Facebook groups and Twitter handles using specific keywords and hashtags respectively would enhance the filtering process thereby enabling the communities, agencies, and organisations to access relevant information within the shortest time possible. The management of the UK floods witnessed the use of crowdsourcing in filtering information. Crowdsourcing also contributes towards ensuring access to the intended information required to enhance the effectiveness of the response and recovery operations. Finally, agencies and organisations could also use natural language and machine learning to filter relevant information. Reference List Arsu, S., 2009. Flooding Kills at least 31 in Turkey. The New York Times. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/world/europe/10turkey.html Charlwood, J., Dennis, A., Gissing, A., Quick, L. and Varma, S., 2012. Use of social media during flood events. Research conducted by Alliance Strategic Research, commissioned by the Office of the Emergency Services Commissioner and the Victoria State Emergency Service. Available online at: http://www. floodplainconference. com/papers2012/Jilly% 20Charlwood% 20Full% 20Paper. pdf. Accessed, 28. Daily News., 2016. Snow, storms hit Turkey, at least 2 killed in floods. Available from: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/snow-storms-hit-turkey-at-least-2-killed-in-floods.aspx?PageID=238&NID=107887&NewsCatID=341 Davies, R., 2016. Turkey-Deadly Floods in Ordu Province. Floodlist. Available from: http://floodlist.com/asia/turkey-deadly-floods-ordu-province-july-2016 Ehnis, C. and Bunker, D., 2012, January. Social media in disaster response: Queensland Police Service-public engagement during the 2011 floods. In ACIS 2012: Location, location, location: Proceedings of the 23rd Australasian Conference on Information Systems 2012 (pp. 1-10). ACIS. Focus., 2017. Hampshire Flooding and Use of Social Media-Learning the Lessons. Available from: http://www.focusbiz.co.uk/hampshire-flooding-and-use-of-social-media-learning-the-lessons/ Fohringer, J., Dransch, D., Kreibich, H. and Schröter, K., 2015. Social media as an information source for rapid flood inundation mapping. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 15(12), pp.2725-2738. Fraustino, J.D., Liu, B. and Jin, Y., 2012. Social media use during disasters: a review of the knowledge base and gaps. Saravanou, A., Valkanas, G., Gunopulos, D. and Andrienko, G., 2015, May. Twitter Floods when it Rains: A Case Study of the UK Floods in early 2014. In Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on World Wide Web (pp. 1233-1238). ACM. Smith, L., Liang, Q., James, P. and Lin, W., 2015. Assessing the utility of social media as a data source for flood risk management using a real‐time modelling framework. Journal of Flood Risk Management. Sykes, E., 2011. Emergency 2.0: How Social Media proved itself in the Queensland floods. ABC News. Available from: http://www.abc.net.au/local/audio/2011/04/05/3182906.htm The British Psychological Society., 2017. Storm Desmond and social capital-A letter from the February Edition. The Psychologist. Available from: https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-29/february/storm-desmond-and-social-capital Tufekci, Z., 2014. The Day the Turkish Government Banned Itself from Twitter. Available from: https://medium.com/technology-and-society/the-day-the-turkish-government-banned-itself-from-twitter-778b806e38e3 Read More