title: Facebook and Twitter, communication and shelter, and the 2011 Tuscaloosa tornado.
abstract: This paper represents one of the first attempts to analyse the many ways in which Facebook and Twitter were used during a tornado disaster. Comparisons between five randomly selected campus samples and a city of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, sample revealed that campus samples used Facebook and Twitter significantly more both before and after the tornado, but Facebook usage was not significantly different after the event. Furthermore, differences in social media usage and other forms of communication before the tornado were found for age, education, and years lived in Tuscaloosa. Generally, age and education were inversely proportionate to social media usage. Influences on shelter-seeking actions varied between social media users and three random samples of non-social media users; however, it appears that social media respondents were likely to be using a smartphone simultaneously to access warning polygon information, to receive text message alerts, and to listen or respond to environmental cues.
authors.affiliation: Research Project Coordinator, Department of Geography, Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility, University of Alabama, United States.
authors.forename: Courtney
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stokes
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Department of Geography, University of Alabama, United States.
authors.forename: Jason C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Senkbeil
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000407:Alabama; D004190:Disasters; D005260:Female; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000068997:Smartphone / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D061108:Social Media / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055869:Tornadoes; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: communication; shelter; social media; tornado