A longitudinal study of emerging networks during natural disaster

TL;DR

This study longitudinally analyzes how inter-organizational networks evolve during natural disasters, emphasizing the role of network metrics in understanding coordination and communication dynamics to improve disaster response effectiveness.

Contribution

It introduces a quantitative framework for assessing the evolution of disaster coordination networks, integrating social network analysis with disaster response studies.

Findings

Communication rates increase during disasters.

Organizational structures must adapt quickly to information flow.

Network metrics are crucial for evaluating coordination effectiveness.

Abstract

We present longitudinal analysis of the evolution of inter-organizational disaster coordination networks during natural disasters. We suggest that social networks are a useful paradigm for exploring this complex phenomenon from both theoretical and methodological perspective aiming to develop a quantitative assessment framework which could aid in developing a better understanding of the optimal functioning of these emerging inter-organizational networks during natural disasters. We highlight the importance of network metrics in order to investigate disaster response coordination networks. Results suggest that in disasters, rate of communication increases and creates the conditions where organizational structures need to move at that same pace to exchange new information.