Developing Complex Disaster Response Scenarios Using Social Network Analysis

Abstract

Given the escalating frequency and severity of complex disasters, it is imperative to transition from isolated disaster-specific systems to integrated disaster response frameworks. The development of complex disaster scenarios represents a crucial initial step, facilitating an in-depth comprehension of extant vulnerabilities and the forecasting of prospective challenges. This study reinterprets individual disasters that occurred within the same spatiotemporal domain as complex disasters. Complex spatiotemporal disaster clusters were explored, a social network analysis on individual disasters within these identified clusters was performed, and a regional disaster response scenario was proposed. This approach, which integrates spatiotemporal disaster big data with social network analysis, enables statistical measurement of inter-disaster relationships. Visual representations of these relationships through network graphs offer a quantitative lens to analyze relationships that may be difficult to describe narratively. Developing such scenarios facilitates a clear and swift understanding of the relational dynamics among disasters, particularly in situations where there is an inadequate policy and institutional framework for responding to complex disasters.