• Broken systems: Some local residents in Mashiki, a town affected by the recent earthquakes in Kumamoto, have reacted angrily to what they view as an exploitative approach traditional media outlets take when they cover disasters. | REUTERS
    Broken systems: Some local residents in Mashiki, a town affected by the recent earthquakes in Kumamoto, have reacted angrily to what they view as an exploitative approach traditional media outlets take when they cover disasters. | REUTERS
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The Great East Japan Earthquake was Japan’s first major natural disaster since the rise of social media, and emergency planning outfits have been studying the data from March 11, 2011, in order better use SNS to save lives and help survivors. Online activities related to the current seismic activity in Kyushu have provided more information.

The advantage social media has over traditional media is immediacy. In the case of the 2011 disaster, notifications about the coming tsunami might have saved more lives if they had specifically told people to seek higher ground immediately. As it happened, many people who fled the waves tried to do so in vehicles that got caught in traffic and were swept away.

In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
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