Impact of Media Information on Social Response in Disasters: A Case Study of the Freezing-Rain and Snowstorm Disasters in Southern China in 2008

Abstract Disaster information content is an objective mapping of disaster situations, social response, and public opinions. Social response to emergency is an important mechanism for implementing and guaranteeing emergency management of major natural hazard-related disasters. Understanding how disaster information content affects social response to emergencies is helpful for managing risk communication and efficient disaster response. Based on the 2008 freezing-rain and snowstorm disasters in southern China, this study used Python to extract 7,857 case-related media reports and applied natural language processing for text analysis. It used three typical cases to identify and analyze disaster media report content and the relationship between these reports and the social response to the emergency. Eight categories of disaster response—such as prewarning and forecasting, announcements by the authorities, and social mobilization—appeared in the disaster information in the media, along with disaster impact information, that is, real-time disaster status. Disaster response information and an appropriate amount of disaster impact information played important roles in prewarning, disaster relief, public opinion guidance, and social stability maintenance and can serve important functions in communicating with all stakeholders of emergency management, assisting or influencing emergency departments or individuals in decision making, and eliminating “information islands.” Empathy caused the general public to become “disaster responders” through receiving information. Rumors and an excess of negative information may have a perverse amplification effect on public opinion and increase the unpredictability of the disaster situation and the risk of social crisis.