Record-breaking Rainfall in 115 Years... 4.2 Million Disaster Information Tweets on Twitter Over 3 Days

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Twitter was recently used as a channel to share real-time damage information during the heavy rain situation.

According to Twitter on the 14th, over 4.2 million tweets in Korean related to real-time damage situations and breaking news caused by heavy rain were posted from the 8th to the 10th.

The first tweet related to heavy rain on Twitter appeared at 9 a.m. on the 8th, when rain began to fall heavily in the central region. As flooding damage rapidly occurred in the Incheon area on the morning of the 8th, the volume of conversations surged, and keywords such as ‘Incheon flooding’, ‘heavy rain warning’, and ‘water park’ trended in real time.

The highest number of tweets was recorded at 11 p.m. on the 8th. That evening, heavy rain concentrated in Gangnam and Seocho caused flooding around Gangnam Station, and people on site shared the situation in real time via Twitter. Approximately 340,000 tweets were posted within one hour at that time. In particular, images of a man clearing trash piled up in drainage pipes and a man standing on the hood of a flooded car waiting for the rain to stop, which were posted on Twitter, became widely known by the nicknames ‘Gangnam Station Superman’ and ‘Seocho-dong Sage’.

As damage was especially concentrated in Gangnam, it was reported that thousands of cars were flooded, and vivid eyewitness accounts of flooded underground parking lots were actively shared. Concerns about safety accidents also poured in as heavy rain caused water to backflow and roads to be damaged. In addition to Gangnam and Seocho, images, videos, and news of heavily damaged areas and flooded subway stations such as Dongjak-gu, Gwanak-gu, Yeongdeungpo Station, Isu Station, and Sindaebang Station were actively shared.

Government agencies are also providing disaster information to minimize damage caused by heavy rain. The Government of the Republic of Korea, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Korea Meteorological Administration, National Police Agency, and National Fire Agency provide citizens with real-time breaking news, heavy rain response methods, landslide evacuation guidelines, and safety rules through their official Twitter accounts. To check the latest information, follow the Twitter accounts of the respective agencies.

Meanwhile, due to continuous rain forecasts and early heat waves this year, weather-related tweets on Twitter are rapidly increasing. From June 23 to July 7, over 3.2 million weather-related tweets were posted on Twitter, a 63% increase compared to the previous year.