The European emergency number 112: Exploring the potential of crowd-sourced information for emergency management

The rapid evolution of social media has transformed the landscape of emergency management by enhancing information sharing during critical events. However, the pervasive nature of social media also presents challenges related to the accuracy, reliability, and timeliness of the information it provides. In contrast, the European Emergency Number 112, designed to gather precise, standardized data, offers a potential data source to social media information, by managing emergency calls, in crisis situations. This study investigates the hypothesis that crowdsourced information from 112 emergency calls may provide superior situational awareness when compared to the content available on social media. Three primary research questions addressed: (1) What key information from social media supports emergency response, and how is it extracted? (2) What key information from 112 calls is essential for effective response, and how is it extracted? (3) How do 112 calls and social media content compare in terms of information accuracy and reliability? The case study to test such hypothesis was the October 2018 Vaia Storm which hit the Ligurian region in Italy. The results show that 112 emergency calls provided more accurate situational information, while the social media data required higher processing, and it was not always reliable. These findings highlight the potential of the 112 system to enhance emergency response.