Health Management & Information Science

Health Management & Information Science

Social Media and Natural Disasters: Lessons from Kermanshah Earthquake(s) in 2017: Case Report

Document Type : Articles

Authors
Alireza Mashallahi 1
Milad Ahmadi Marzaleh 2
Vahid Shojaeimotlagh 1
Abbas Ostadtaghizadeh 3
1 Department of Adult and geriatric Nursing, Naghadeh School of Medical Sciences, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran.
2 Department of Health in Disasters and Emergencies, Health Human Resources Research Center, School of Management and Medical. Informatics, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
3 Ph.D. of Health in Disasters and Emergencies, Department of Disaster Public Health, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
10.30476/jhmi.2025.104933.1255
Abstract
Introduction: Social media has emerged as a transformative tool in disaster management, addressing challenges such as communication gaps, coordination inefficiencies, and delays in information dissemination. The Kermanshah earthquake in Iran serves as a case study, highlighting the critical role of platforms like Telegram and Instagram in disaster response and recovery.
Methods: This case report examines the role of social media during the Kermanshah earthquake by analyzing data from social media activity, official reports, and news coverage. The analysis focuses on how social media facilitated information exchange, resource mobilization, and community engagement during the post-disaster period.
Results: Social media enabled victims to communicate their safety and location to relatives in real time, mainly through Telegram. It played a key role in organizing volunteers and healthcare personnel and supporting resource distribution. However, the large volume of unfiltered information posed challenges for relief organizations, requiring prioritization and verification. Additionally, the lack of coordinated communication between crisis managers and mass media led to the spread of inaccurate information. Limited internet connectivity in some areas further hindered the effective use of these platforms.
Conclusion: The Kermanshah earthquake demonstrated the dual role of social media in disaster management, acting both as a facilitator and a source of challenges. While it significantly enhanced communication and mobilization efforts, better strategies are needed for filtering information, ensuring authenticity, and integrating social media with official disaster response systems.
Keywords
Earthquakes
Disaster Planning
Social Media
Subjects

  1. Ahmed YA, Ahmad MN, Ahmad N, Zakaria NH. Social media for knowledge-sharing: A systematic literature review. Telematics and Informatics. 2019;37:72-112. doi: 10.1016/j.tele.2018.01.015.

  2. Fauzi MA. Social media in disaster management: Review of the literature and future trends through bibliometric analysis. Natural Hazards. 2023;118(2):953-75. doi: 10.1007/s11069-023-06079-7.

  3. Statista. Number of worldwide social network users. Available from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/278414/number-of-worldwide-social-network-users.

  4. Ramakrishnan T, Ngamassi L, Rahman S. Examining the factors that influence the use of social media for disaster management by underserved communities. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science. 2022;13(1):52-65. doi: 10.1007/s13753-022-00399-1.

  5. Kitazawa K, Hale SA. Social media and early warning systems for natural disasters: A case study of Typhoon Etau in Japan. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. 2021;52:101926. doi: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101926.

  6. Splendiani S, Capriello A. Crisis communication, social media and natural disasters-the use of Twitter by local governments during the 2016 Italian earthquake. Corporate Communications: An International Journal. 2022;27(3):509-26. doi: 10.1108/CCIJ-03-2021-0036.

  7. Malawani AD, Nurmandi A, Purmono EP, Rahman T. Social media in aid of post disaster management. Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy. 2020;14(2):237-60. doi: 10.1108/TG-09-2019-0088.

  8. Ogie RI, James S, Moore A, Dilworth T, Amirghasemi M, Whittaker J. Social media use in disaster recovery: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. 2022;70:102783. doi: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2022.102783.

  9. Ngamassi L, Ramakrishnan T, Rahman S. Use of social media for disaster management: A prescriptive framework. Emergency and disaster management: Concepts, methodologies, tools, and applications: IGI Global; 2019. p. 240-60. doi: 10.4018/978-1-5225-6195-8.ch011.

  10. Croitoru A, Crooks A, Radzikowski J, Stefanidis A. Geosocial gauge: a system prototype for knowledge discovery from social media. International Journal of Geographical Information Science. 2013;27(12):2483-508. doi: 10.1080/13658816.2013.825724.

  11. Ogie RI, Clarke RJ, Forehead H, Perez P. Crowdsourced social media data for disaster management: Lessons from the PetaJakarta.org project. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems. 2019;73:108-17. doi: 10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2018.09.002.

  12. De Albuquerque JP, Herfort B, Brenning A, Zipf A. A geographic approach for combining social media and authoritative data towards identifying useful information for disaster management. International Journal of Geographical Information Science. 2015;29(4):667-89. doi: 10.1080/13658816.2014.996567.

  13. Ahmadi A, Bazargan-Hejazi S. 2017 Kermanshah earthquake; lessons learned. Journal of Injury and Violence Research. 2018;10(1):1. doi: 10.5249/jivr.v10i1.1049.

  14. Erokhin D, Komendantova N. Social media data for disaster risk management and research. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. 2024;114:104980. doi: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2024.104980.

  15. Singla A, Agrawal R. Social media and disaster management: investigating challenges and enablers. Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication. 2022;73(1/2):100-22. doi: 10.1108/GKMC-12-2021-0206.

  16. Mavrodieva AV, Shaw R. Social media in disaster management. Media and Disaster Risk Reduction: Advances, Challenges and Potentials. 2021:55-73. doi: 10.1007/978-981-16-0285-6_4.

  17. Elsammi A. Social media applications in crisis management of natural disasters: Lessons for the Arab region. Arab Media & Society. 2018;25:1-10. doi: 10.70090/AE18TAPW.

  18. Luna S, Pennock MJ. Social media applications and emergency management: A literature review and research agenda. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. 2018;28:565-77. doi: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2018.01.006.

  19. Yan L, Pedraza-Martinez AJ. Social media for disaster management: Operational value of the social conversation. Production and Operations Management. 2019;28(10):2514-32. doi: 10.1111/poms.13064.

  20. Kusumasari B, Prabowo NPA. Scraping social media data for disaster communication: how the pattern of Twitter users affects disasters in Asia and the Pacific. Natural Hazards. 2020;103(3):3415-35. doi: 10.1007/s11069-020-04136-z.

Health Management & Information Science
Volume 11, Issue 4
Autumn 2024
Pages 179-184