{"title":"Evolution and spatiotemporal analysis of earthquake public opinion based on social media data","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.eqs.2024.06.002","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>As critical conduits for the dissemination of online public opinion, social media platforms offer a timely and effective means for managing emergencies during major disasters, such as earthquakes. This study focuses on the analysis of online public opinions following the Maduo <em>M</em>7.4 earthquake in Qinghai Province and the Yangbi <em>M</em>6.4 earthquake in Yunnan Province. By collecting, cleaning, and organizing post-earthquake Sina Weibo (short for Weibo) data, we employed the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) model to extract information pertinent to public opinion on these earthquakes. This analysis included a comparison of the nature and temporal evolution of online public opinions related to both events. An emotion analysis, utilizing an emotion dictionary, categorized the emotional content of post-earthquake Weibo posts, facilitating a comparative study of the characteristics and temporal trends of online public emotions following the earthquakes. The findings were visualized using Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques. The analysis revealed certain commonalities in online public opinion following both earthquakes. Notably, the peak of online engagement occurred within the first 24 hours post-earthquake, with a rapid decline observed between 24 to 48 hours thereafter. The variation in popularity of online public opinion was linked to aftershock occurrences. Adjusted for population factors, online engagement in areas surrounding the earthquake sites and in Sichuan Province was significantly high. Initially dominated by feelings of “fear” and “surprise”, the public sentiment shifted towards a more positive outlook with the onset of rescue operations. However, distinctions in the online public response to each earthquake were also noted. Following the Yangbi earthquake, Yunnan Province reported the highest number of Weibo posts nationwide; in contrast, Qinghai Province ranked third post-Maduo earthquake, attributable to its smaller population size and extensive damage to communication infrastructure. This research offers a methodological approach for the analysis of online public opinion related to earthquakes, providing insights for the enhancement of post-disaster emergency management and public mental health support.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":46333,"journal":{"name":"Earthquake Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-08-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674451924000624/pdfft?md5=586a60d4590cfce74bfcfe257d2fe5aa&pid=1-s2.0-S1674451924000624-main.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Earthquake Science","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674451924000624","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"Earth and Planetary Sciences","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
As critical conduits for the dissemination of online public opinion, social media platforms offer a timely and effective means for managing emergencies during major disasters, such as earthquakes. This study focuses on the analysis of online public opinions following the Maduo M7.4 earthquake in Qinghai Province and the Yangbi M6.4 earthquake in Yunnan Province. By collecting, cleaning, and organizing post-earthquake Sina Weibo (short for Weibo) data, we employed the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) model to extract information pertinent to public opinion on these earthquakes. This analysis included a comparison of the nature and temporal evolution of online public opinions related to both events. An emotion analysis, utilizing an emotion dictionary, categorized the emotional content of post-earthquake Weibo posts, facilitating a comparative study of the characteristics and temporal trends of online public emotions following the earthquakes. The findings were visualized using Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques. The analysis revealed certain commonalities in online public opinion following both earthquakes. Notably, the peak of online engagement occurred within the first 24 hours post-earthquake, with a rapid decline observed between 24 to 48 hours thereafter. The variation in popularity of online public opinion was linked to aftershock occurrences. Adjusted for population factors, online engagement in areas surrounding the earthquake sites and in Sichuan Province was significantly high. Initially dominated by feelings of “fear” and “surprise”, the public sentiment shifted towards a more positive outlook with the onset of rescue operations. However, distinctions in the online public response to each earthquake were also noted. Following the Yangbi earthquake, Yunnan Province reported the highest number of Weibo posts nationwide; in contrast, Qinghai Province ranked third post-Maduo earthquake, attributable to its smaller population size and extensive damage to communication infrastructure. This research offers a methodological approach for the analysis of online public opinion related to earthquakes, providing insights for the enhancement of post-disaster emergency management and public mental health support.
期刊介绍:
Earthquake Science (EQS) aims to publish high-quality, original, peer-reviewed articles on earthquake-related research subjects. It is an English international journal sponsored by the Seismological Society of China and the Institute of Geophysics, China Earthquake Administration.
The topics include, but not limited to, the following
● Seismic sources of all kinds.
● Earth structure at all scales.
● Seismotectonics.
● New methods and theoretical seismology.
● Strong ground motion.
● Seismic phenomena of all kinds.
● Seismic hazards, earthquake forecasting and prediction.
● Seismic instrumentation.
● Significant recent or past seismic events.
● Documentation of recent seismic events or important observations.
● Descriptions of field deployments, new methods, and available software tools.
The types of manuscripts include the following. There is no length requirement, except for the Short Notes.
【Articles】 Original contributions that have not been published elsewhere.
【Short Notes】 Short papers of recent events or topics that warrant rapid peer reviews and publications. Limited to 4 publication pages.
【Rapid Communications】 Significant contributions that warrant rapid peer reviews and publications.
【Review Articles】Review articles are by invitation only. Please contact the editorial office and editors for possible proposals.
【Toolboxes】 Descriptions of novel numerical methods and associated computer codes.
【Data Products】 Documentation of datasets of various kinds that are interested to the community and available for open access (field data, processed data, synthetic data, or models).
【Opinions】Views on important topics and future directions in earthquake science.
【Comments and Replies】Commentaries on a recently published EQS paper is welcome. The authors of the paper commented will be invited to reply. Both the Comment and the Reply are subject to peer review.