Comparative study of networked communities, crisis communication, and technology: rhetoric of disaster in Nepal earthquake and hurricane Maria

Abstract

In April and May 2015, Nepal suffered two massive earthquakes of 7.5 and 6.5 magnitudes in the Richter scale, killing 8856 and injuring 22,309. Two years later in September 2017, Puerto Rico underwent category five hurricane Maria, killing an estimate of 800 to 8000 people and displacing hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans [1]. This poster presents preliminary results from a comparative study of Nepal's and Puerto Rico's networked communities who used crisis communication practices to address the havoc created by the disaster. This mixed methods research uses assemblage theory and comparative rhetorics to argue that disasters create situations where networked communities emerge with innovative digital composition practices.