Objective: This research was carried out to report the activity of the headquarters for disaster control at our hospital, and investigate the usefulness of obtaining information from Twitter when Typhoon Hagibis hit Izu Peninsula.
Methods: First, we recounted the activity of the headquarters for disaster control. We then collected information from Twitter from October 12-14, 2019, using the keyword Izunokuni.' We took into consideration the contents of Twitter user posts as well as the number of reactions ('retweets' and 'likes'). Twitter information was classified into photo (+) and (-) groups, depending on whether or not the post had a photo or video included. The number of reactions between the two groups was then analyzed.
Results: We counted 122 Twitter posts containing Hagibis-related information for Izunokuni City. The average number of both 'retweets' and 'likes' in the photo (+) group were significantly greater than those in the photo (-) group. All photos and videos depicted specific places in Izunokuni City and included actual footage of disaster scenes or local warning signs.
Conclusion: Based on our experience at the headquarters for disaster control during Typhoon Hagibis, Twitter was considered to be a useful tool for obtaining local disaster information based on its timeliness, reality and specificity.
Keywords: closed road; flood; landslide; rain; social media service; typhoon.