Abstract
The Modified Mercalli intensity scale (Mercalli scale for short) is a qualitative measure used to express the perceived intensity of an earthquake in terms of damages. Accurate intensity reports are vital to estimate the type of emergency response required for a particular earthquake. In addition, Mercalli scale reports are needed to estimate the possible consequences of strong earthquakes in the future, based on the effects of previous events. Emergency offices and seismological agencies worldwide are in charge of producing Mercalli scale reports for each affected location after an earthquake. However, this task relies heavily on human observers in the affected locations, who are not always available or accurate. Consequently, Mercalli scale reports may take up to hours or even days to be published after an earthquake. We address this problem by proposing a method for early prediction of spatial Mercalli scale reports based on people’s reactions to earthquakes in social networks. By tracking users’ comments about real-time earthquakes, we create a collection of Mercalli scale point estimates at municipality (i.e., state subdivisions) level granularity. We introduce the concept of reinforced Mercalli support, which combines Mercalli scale point estimates with locally supported data (named ‘local support’). We use this concept to provide Mercalli scale estimates for real-world events by providing smooth point estimates using a spatial smoother that incorporates the distribution of municipalities in each affected region. Our method is the first method based on social media that can provide spatial reports of damages in the Mercalli intensity scale. Experimental results show that our method is accurate and provides early spatial Mercalli reports 30 minutes after an earthquake. Furthermore, we show that our method performs well for earthquake spatial detection and maximum intensity prediction tasks. Our findings indicate that social media is a valuable source of spatial information for quickly estimating earthquake damages.
Highlights
The Modified Mercalli intensity scale (“Mercalli scale” for short) is an important measurement scale that summarizes the effects of an earthquake on public infrastructure, as well as in human damages
Our findings show that our approach can automatically provide spatial Mercalli reports in a timely and accurate manner
The novel, previously unpublished, contributions of this current article are: 1. We present the first approach that addresses the problem of spatial Mercalli intensity inference based entirely on social media data
Summary
The Modified Mercalli intensity scale (“Mercalli scale” for short) is an important measurement scale that summarizes the effects of an earthquake on public infrastructure, as well as in human damages. Energy and damages do not always go hand-in-hand; an earthquake with the same magnitude in different regions may produce very different Mercalli scale measurements. This discrepancy is due to a number of physical variables, (2019) 8:3. The 2005 Tarapacá earthquake occurred on June 13 with an epicenter located near locality of Mamiña, in the north of Chile, achieved 7.8 Mw in Richter (moment magnitude) producing 6 deaths. The 2010 Haití earthquake occurred on January 24 with an epicenter located near Port-auPrince achieved 7.0 Mw producing 316,000 deaths.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
