Tweeting and tornadoes

Justine I. Blanford, Jase Bernhardt, Alexander Savelyev, Gabrielle Wong-Parodi, Andrew M. Carleton, David W. Titley, Alan M. MacEachren

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

26 Scopus citations

Abstract

Social Media and micro-blogging is being used during crisis events to provide live up-to-date information as events evolve (before, during and after). Messages are posted by citizens or public officials. To understand the effectiveness of these messages, we examined the content of geo-located Twitter messages ("tweets") sent during the Moore, Oklahoma tornado of May 20th, 2013 (+/-1day) to explore the spatial and temporal relationships of real-time reactions of the general public. We found a clear transition of topics during each stage of the tornado event. Twitter was useful for posting and retrieving updates, reconstructing the sequence of events as well as capturing people's reactions leading up to, during and after the tornado. A long-term goal for the research reported here is to provide insights to forecasters and emergency response personnel concerning the impact of warnings and other advisory messages.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationISCRAM 2014 Conference Proceedings - 11th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management
PublisherThe Pennsylvania State University
Pages319-323
Number of pages5
ISBN (Print)9780692211946
StatePublished - Jan 1 2014
Event11th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM 2014 - University Park, PA, United States
Duration: May 1 2014May 1 2014

Publication series

NameISCRAM 2014 Conference Proceedings - 11th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management

Other

Other11th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM 2014
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityUniversity Park, PA
Period5/1/145/1/14

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Information Systems

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