Implementing a real-time Twitter-based system for resource dispatch in disaster management

Abstract

This study investigates the possibility of utilizing VGI in disaster management. Effective cross-jurisdictional disaster management requires real-time information, which is not available from official sources. This paper identifies tweets from Twitter as a potential VGI data source and shows how to discover and utilize relevant tweets. The paper proposes research methods for real-time (or near real-time) tweets harvesting, live tweets saving in a distributed geodatabase, and real-time VGI data redistribution. The study implements a Web GIS application as a platform for geo-tagged tweets operation. The implemented Web GIS application includes a tweet discovery component, a geo-tagged tweets mapping component, as well as an online geo-tagged tweets operation and analysis component. The major tasks include how to record the harvested geo-tagged tweets in a geodatabase so that it can be redistributed in real-time. Based on tweets from Hurricane Joaquin in 2015 and a hypothetical mass evacuation, the case study evaluates the pros and cons of VGI for response in emergency management. Spatial–temporal analysis components are also demonstrated.