Researchers to help create 'early-warning systems' through social media to combat future disasters

Researchers from the University of Leicester's Department of Media and Communication, led by Dr Paul Reilly, are contributing to a European Commission Horizon 2020-funded project which will examine how social media can be used to crowdsource information during a crisis situation -- and how this information can help reduce response and recovery times and raise awareness about the risk of future disasters.

The project, 'IMPROVER: Improved risk evaluation and implementation of resilience concepts to critical infrastructure', will see the Leicester team look specifically at how community representatives and those involved in emergency management can use social media to create early-warning systems that can be activated during such events.

They hope to identify examples of good practice for information dissemination to the public during crises. These will be used to develop a communication strategy for emergency services and incident managers that will raise public awareness about the risks associated with these events.

Dr Paul Reilly, who is leading the Leicester project, said: "We hope this research will provide valuable evidence for agencies involved in emergency management and members of the public.

"We will look at the value of crowdsourced crisis information for those involved in emergency management. In particular, we will explore how members of the public can be empowered to provide accurate and timely information during these events that decrease response and recovery times."

The researchers will examine: natural catastrophes, such as earthquakes and flooding; fires in buildings and tunnels; and outdoor events such as pop concerts.

Examples such as the Flood Alert app in the UK and the 'One Source One Message' in Australia will be used to explore how the live information provided by social media users might be used by resilience practitioners to increase disaster preparedness within communities vulnerable to such incidents.

The Leicester team will consist of Dr Paul Reilly and Research Associate Dr Dimitrinka Atanasova from the University of Leicester's Department of Media and Communication, with this part of the project due to finish in December 2016.

Dr Atanasova added: "Crowdsourcing efforts are on the rise. In the very recent Nepal earthquake we have witnessed another wave of crowdsourcing efforts, such as tweet and image maps of people trapped in debris. As these efforts are rising, there is also a growing need to critically evaluate them which is what we hope to do it this project."

The IMPROVER project also includes: SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden; Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Centre; The Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø; DBI (Denmark), INOV INESC INOVAÇÃ; INERIS (the French National Institute for Industrial Environment and Risks); SP Fire Research AS; University College London; and the European Commission's Joint Research Centre.

Dr Reilly and Dr Atanasova will be discussing the research at the IMPROVER kick-off meeting, which will take place at the SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, Borås, Sweden on 11 and 12 June.\