Emergency communication networks on Twitter during Hurricane Irma: information flow, influential actors, and top messages

Abstract

This study combined network analysis with message-level content analysis to investigate patterns of information flow and to examine messages widely distributed on social media during Hurricane Irma of 2017. The results show that while organisational users and media professionals dominated the top 100 information sources, individual citizens played a critical role in information dissemination. Public agencies should increase their retweeting activities and share the information posted by other trustworthy sources; doing so will contribute to the timely exchange of vital information during a disaster. This study also identified the active involvement of nonprofit organisations as information brokers during the post-event stage, indicating the potential for emergency management organisations to integrate their communication efforts into those of nonprofit entities. These findings will inform emergency management practices regarding implementation of communication plans and policies, facilitate the embracement of new partner organisations, and help with establishing and sustaining effective communication ties with a wide range of stakeholders.

Keywords: Hurricane Irma; Twitter; emergency communication networks; information flow patterns.