Using Social Media for Economic Disaster Evaluation: A Systematic Literature Review and Real Case Application

Abstract

We propose the usage of social media as the primary way to collect and consolidate disaster data to provide a less costly and faster economic evaluation process. Through a systematic literature review (SLR) of over 406 peer-reviewed papers, this study first offers a taxonomy to show how social media can be applied to economic disaster assessments. Then we deliver an economic assessment to a flooding disaster in Brazil based on text mining of Twitter messages. Finally, we compare our findings with the Brazilian local government’s assessment and the literature. The results prove the feasibility of delivering a multisector disaster economic evaluation report based entirely on social media. The comparison analysis shows that social media is a valuable tool for the design and implementation of public policies, allowing the traceability of the collected information, the identification of unaccounted costs, and inquiries into the amounts and costs estimated by the local government.