Heavy Rain Event in Japan

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Social media posts requesting rescue and safety confirmation were highlighted by people who had been isolated due to landslides and other damage. Since Oita Prefecture had an official Twitter account,
Hazard:
Flooding, Landslide
Year:
2020


Publishing Organisation

unknown

Category

Real-world

Theme

Social Media

Thematic
  • Collecting and Analysing Information from SMCS
  • Ensuring Credible Information
  • Making Information Accessible
Disaster Management Phase

During

Description
Social media posts requesting rescue and safety confirmation were highlighted by people who had been isolated due to landslides and other damage. Since Oita Prefecture had an official Twitter account, it was able to retweet the posts picked up by AI Disaster Risk Management Solution "Spectee Pro" to confirm damage conditions and provide appropriate contact information, which was used for multiple rescues.
What limitations were identified?

To summarize the issues identified as overall trends in the areas affected by this disaster (Kyushu and Chubu regions, including Oita Prefecture), in social media such as Twitter, people affected by disaster can find a way to request rescue using the hashtag #rescue if they are unable to make a phone call. Therefore, when trying to find information from "#rescue," tweets unrelated to rescue requests were lined up, "burying" important information.

Researchers from the International Research Institute of Disaster Science at Tohoku University (IRIDeS) analyzed 1,058 tweets in which "#rescue" was used and found that only 2% of the tweets were presumed to have come from the disaster area, while the rest were from outside the disaster area and were not urgent. In addition, when some news media tweeted articles calling for the use of this hashtag, they used "#rescue" as it is, which caused recipients to retweet the articles in order to spread them, thus contributing to the "burying" of information. The IRIDeS researchers concluded, "The challenge is to improve the social media manners of people outside the affected areas. Also, the news media should be aware of the magnitude of their influence.

The hashtag "#Rescue" is likely to be used as a "last recourse" for communication from disaster-stricken areas when telephone service is not available. The "#Rescue" page on Twitter urges people not to spread the hashtag unnecessarily, but to call emergency services (119 in Japan).
Which social media and crowdsourcing technologies were used?
Which social media platforms were used?