Towards quantifying the communication aspect of resilience in disaster-prone communities

Abstract In this study, we investigate the communication networks of urban, suburban, and rural communities from three US Midwest counties through a stochastic model that simulates the diffusion of information over time in disaster and in normal situations. To understand information diffusion in com...

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Main Authors: Adaeze Okeukwu-Ogbonnaya, George Amariucai, Balasubramaniam Natarajan, Hyung Jin Kim
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2024-04-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-59192-3
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author Adaeze Okeukwu-Ogbonnaya
George Amariucai
Balasubramaniam Natarajan
Hyung Jin Kim
author_facet Adaeze Okeukwu-Ogbonnaya
George Amariucai
Balasubramaniam Natarajan
Hyung Jin Kim
author_sort Adaeze Okeukwu-Ogbonnaya
collection DOAJ
description Abstract In this study, we investigate the communication networks of urban, suburban, and rural communities from three US Midwest counties through a stochastic model that simulates the diffusion of information over time in disaster and in normal situations. To understand information diffusion in communities, we investigate the interplay of information that individuals get from online social networks, local news, government sources, mainstream media, and print media. We utilize survey data collected from target communities and create graphs of each community to quantify node-to-node and source-to-node interactions, as well as trust patterns. Monte Carlo simulation results show the average time it takes for information to propagate to 90% of the population for each community. We conclude that rural, suburban, and urban communities have different inherent properties promoting the varied flow of information. Also, information sources affect information spread differently, causing degradation of information speed if any source becomes unavailable. Finally, we provide insights on the optimal investments to improve disaster communication based on community features and contexts.
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spelling doaj.art-733afb56ed5b4e03a844929c32fa7d6e2024-04-21T11:16:31ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222024-04-0114111410.1038/s41598-024-59192-3Towards quantifying the communication aspect of resilience in disaster-prone communitiesAdaeze Okeukwu-Ogbonnaya0George Amariucai1Balasubramaniam Natarajan2Hyung Jin Kim3Department of Computer Science, Kansas State UniversityDepartment of Computer Science, Kansas State UniversityDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Kansas State UniversityLandscape Architecture and Regional & Community Planning, Kansas State UniversityAbstract In this study, we investigate the communication networks of urban, suburban, and rural communities from three US Midwest counties through a stochastic model that simulates the diffusion of information over time in disaster and in normal situations. To understand information diffusion in communities, we investigate the interplay of information that individuals get from online social networks, local news, government sources, mainstream media, and print media. We utilize survey data collected from target communities and create graphs of each community to quantify node-to-node and source-to-node interactions, as well as trust patterns. Monte Carlo simulation results show the average time it takes for information to propagate to 90% of the population for each community. We conclude that rural, suburban, and urban communities have different inherent properties promoting the varied flow of information. Also, information sources affect information spread differently, causing degradation of information speed if any source becomes unavailable. Finally, we provide insights on the optimal investments to improve disaster communication based on community features and contexts.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-59192-3
spellingShingle Adaeze Okeukwu-Ogbonnaya
George Amariucai
Balasubramaniam Natarajan
Hyung Jin Kim
Towards quantifying the communication aspect of resilience in disaster-prone communities
Scientific Reports
title Towards quantifying the communication aspect of resilience in disaster-prone communities
title_full Towards quantifying the communication aspect of resilience in disaster-prone communities
title_fullStr Towards quantifying the communication aspect of resilience in disaster-prone communities
title_full_unstemmed Towards quantifying the communication aspect of resilience in disaster-prone communities
title_short Towards quantifying the communication aspect of resilience in disaster-prone communities
title_sort towards quantifying the communication aspect of resilience in disaster prone communities
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-59192-3
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