Unveiling Twitter's Take: Researching #TurkeyQuake Response & Rehabilitation

Abstract

Approximately 45000 global deaths are caused by natural disasters annually, though the human impact in terms of injuries, homelessness, economic losses, and psychological impact is much larger. In the disaster aftermath, social media platforms such as Twitter, and Facebook, are often used by communities to stay connected, share experiences, and access vital information and resources as needed to support disaster response and recovery. Twitter with a user base of more than 350 million daily active users, has emerged as an excellent resource for communication under such circumstances. However, published evidence regarding the role of Twitter in the post-disaster scenario, especially in relief, recovery, and rehabilitation is very limited but promising.

The current study is an attempt to study the role of Twitter in the 2023 Turkey earthquake.  using prominent hashtags. The positive, neutral, and negative frames of reference have been identified by using sentiment analysis. The techniques of discourse analysis and sentimental analysis were utilized for the study. The study reflected that Twitter has played an excellent role in disseminating information, advocacy, and coordinating relief and recovery operations, but it promotes negative discourse.