THE RESPONSE SOCIAL MEDIA ABOUT NATURAL DISASTER (Floods)

For response social media about natural disaster (flood) can we call as a trend among community now because they more active online and it is because today everything will post at social media. On social media it more up-to-date information. By Criris Communacation, 2012, for some information about the natural disaster like what happen in response by social media, such as, after the 2011 Japanese tsunami there were more than 5,500 tweets per second about the disaster, it before the news broadcast on television. Society more like to sharing the information their get from their acquaintance and their condition that are contacts in the following situations (natural disaster) in media social like share the news at Facebook, Twitter, Blogspot to their friends for examples the current issue it is what happen in Malaysia such as, at Kuantan, Kelantan, Perak almost drowning due to floods. It called many to many way.

Figure 1 : the example of social media tools

Social media during and after natural disaster (flood) and establishes a brief of the changes that have taken places in their use. It also can be a first employed by disaster respond as way means of communication to disseminate. Social media can call as a volunteers or replacement also because it can be replacement to respond to the involvement Government and NGO in natural disaster to give a information. Social media has emerged on a major player in disaster response with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram having all facilitated rescue and relief effort during multiple natural disaster.

Disaster Communication and Social Media. Disaster communication deals with disaster information disseminated to the public by governments, emergency management organizations, and disaster responders as well as disaster information created and shared by journalists and the public. Disaster communication increasingly occurs via social media in addition to more conventional communication modes such as traditional media for example, newspaper, TV, radio, and word-of-mouth such as, phone call, face-to-face, group. Timely, interactive communication and user-generated content are hallmarks of social media, which include a diverse array of web- and mobile-based tools. (Daisy, 2012)

Figure 2 : the way how government response about the natural disaster (flood) with show it in social electronic (TV channel)

“The rise of social media as a fast and effective means of information sharing has changed the way individuals and organizations communicate. Disaster communication is no exception; as individuals increasingly turn to the Internet for immediate information, disaster responder are adapting to the fast paced communication that takes place online. Both during and after natural disasters, social media have the potential to aid in the coordination of relief responses by connecting individuals to resources, and engaging a wider community beyond those directly affected. Social media have been praised as beneficial tools, and recent events, including Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the 2007 California wildfires, the 2010 Haiti earthquake and the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan provide evidence to this.” (Clark, 2009; Hjorth & Kim, 2011; Nachison,2005; Veil et al., 2011). (Wilson, 2008)

At the beginning of 2012, there were over 800 million active Facebook users, and over 100 million active Twitter users (Daniells, 2012). Current trends indicate that the reach of social media will continue to grow as more individuals become active online. Social media tools are often free or low cost, increasing their accessibility to the wider population (Veil et al., 2011). Organizations and governments are acknowledging the capacity of social media to reach a wide audience with relatively little effort (Lindsay, 2011), and social media are already playing a role in the response to natural disasters. Disaster responders are sharing information and coordinating relief efforts both as the natural disaster is taking place, as well as during the aftermath, as the emergency response unfolds. Not only do disaster responders need to be aware of social media, but they also need to be prepared to take advantage of these new sources of information. (Wilson, 2008)

In public or people were describing first hand accounts and sharing images and videos as the disaster unfolded. The all of information that spread through social media was publicly available, and constantly updated such as, they will share in Facebook and in few social media.

Additionally, forms of social media including blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are accessed in order to conduct content analysis. These primary sources provide examples of what types of messages were sent through social media; in some cases the information could be verified to determine whether or not it was accurate. The communication that took place through social media provides insight into what type of information was being shared such as, whether it was factual, a request for help, or an offer of assistance, who the information was directed at like, whether it was information intended solely for disaster responders, the affected population, or a wider audience, and what conversation it was contributing to for example, if there are requests for verification of information, or coordination of efforts. This provides an understanding of how social media were used during and after the natural disaster, and highlights the ways in which social media can be advantageous or disadvantageous for disaster response. (Wilson, 2008)

Social media has played a great part in disseminating information about these disasters by allowing people to ask for help and presenting volunteers and officials with the tools to provide this help. Social media has made a difference before, during and after these catastrophes by providing easy accessibility. the public is now seeing social media as an important medium to communicate with their friends, families and colleagues as well as to seek help before, during or after an emergency situation. However, as much good as social media provides, the public must also be aware of the bad. The authenticity of Twitter accounts, Facebook pages and other mediums must be verified in order to avoid those that use social media to prey on the emotions of the public for their own monetary gain. (Cylab, 2003-2012)