Social media use in disaster response: empowering community resilience

[en] This article contributes to ongoing discussions on the role of grassroots mobilizations on social media in building community resilience and tackling specific challenges during disaster events. It investigates the use of two social media platforms, Facebook and Twitter, now referred to as X, during the 2021 flood in Belgium, both in the immediate aftermath of the crisis and in the short-term. First, it analyzes the activities of Facebook community groups established post-crisis over a six-month period. Then, it examines tweets related to the 2021 flood in Belgium. Finally, it complements the social media data with online interviews conducted with Facebook groups administrators. The analytical framework employs (1) a social media data-driven quantitative and qualitative text analysis using topic modeling and sentiment analysis, and (2) an inductive thematic analysis of interviews. The findings highlight the different roles played by the two social media platforms. Facebook served as an effective platform to mobilize and organize local communities for immediate and practical support, while Twitter served as a platform for broader global engagement and advocacy. The convergence of results from diverse data sources provides comprehensive insights into the effectiveness and challenges of leveraging social media for community resilience in the aftermath of disaster events.

Disciplines :

Arts & humanities: Multidisciplinary, general & others

Author, co-author :

Ginzarly, Manal ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Urban and Environmental Engineering ; ArGEnCo

Teller, Jacques ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département ArGEnCo > LEMA (Local environment management and analysis) ; ArGEnCo

Dujardin, Sébastien ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Centres attachés à la Faculté (Sciences) > Lepur (Centre de recherche sur la Ville, le Territoire et le Milieu rural) ; University of Namur

Language :

English

Title :

Social media use in disaster response: empowering community resilience

Publication date :

27 June 2025

Journal title :

International Journal of Digital Earth

ISSN :

1753-8947

eISSN :

1753-8955

Publisher :

Informa UK Limited

Volume :

Issue :

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Development Goals :

11. Sustainable cities and communities

Additional URL :

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/17538947.2025.2521791

Funders :

EC - European Commission

Funding number :

101106194

Data Set :

https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/78h67jgfrt/1

Available on ORBi :

since 04 July 2025

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76 (2 by ULiège)

Number of downloads

53 (1 by ULiège)

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Scopus citations^®
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