ABSTRACT

Despite the increasingly prominent role of social media in disaster events, studies analyzing its use in rescue operations remain scanty. Hurricane Harvey hit Texas with unprecedented rainfall and flooding in 2017 and was marked by widespread use of social media for rescue requests. We conducted a survey of 195 Twitter users in Houston and surrounding communities who had requested for rescue during Harvey. The objective was to investigate our targeted group's socioeconomic and flood exposure characteristics, report the effectiveness of Twitter, and highlight lessons learnt and suggestions made for its use in future rescue missions. Survey revealed that those requesting rescue on Twitter were better educated, employed (80%), and homeowners (81%). Majority of them were flooded (87%), but remained satisfied with current location and did not consider moving. Calling relatives and friends for rescue was most responsive and yielded higher assistance-provided rate than using Twitter. Our respondents found Twitter helpful, but identified issues such as not knowing when volunteers received their requests or whether they would send help. They suggested promoting Twitter accounts and hashtags that accept emergency requests. This study provides baseline information and actionable suggestions for first responders, community managers, and resilience practitioners to improve future rescue missions.

尽管社交媒体在灾难事件中的作用日益突出，但分析其在救援行动中的使用的研究仍然很少。2017年，哈维飓风袭击了得克萨斯州，空前的降雨和洪水袭击了德克萨斯州，其标志是广泛使用社交媒体进行救援。我们对休斯敦及周边社区的195位Twitter用户进行了调查，这些用户在哈维期间曾要求救援。目的是调查目标群体的社会经济和洪灾暴露特征，报告Twitter的有效性，并强调汲取的经验教训以及在将来的救援任务中使用它的建议。调查显示，那些在Twitter上要求营救的人受过良好的教育，受雇（80％）和房主（81％）。其中大多数被淹（87％），但仍对当前位置感到满意，因此不考虑搬家。与使用Twitter相比，打电话给亲戚和朋友进行救援最有效，并且提供的援助率更高。我们的受访者认为Twitter很有帮助，但发现了一些问题，例如不知道志愿者何时收到他们的请求或他们是否会发送帮助。他们建议推广接受紧急请求的Twitter帐户和标签。这项研究为急救人员，社区经理和防灾从业人员提供了基线信息和可行的建议，以改善未来的救援任务。但发现了一些问题，例如不知道志愿者何时收到请求或他们是否会发送帮助。他们建议推广接受紧急请求的Twitter帐户和标签。这项研究为急救人员，社区经理和防灾从业人员提供了基线信息和可行的建议，以改善未来的救援任务。但发现了一些问题，例如不知道志愿者何时收到他们的请求或他们是否会发送帮助。他们建议推广接受紧急请求的Twitter帐户和标签。这项研究为急救人员，社区经理和防灾从业人员提供了基线信息和可行的建议，以改善未来的救援任务。