Effects and Issues of the Disaster Information Tweeting and Mapping System for Residents

Using social media for information sharing during and after disasters has been gaining attention. To facilitate information sharing during disasters, we developed a web system called Disaster Information Tweeting and Mapping System (DITS/DIMS). We organized a disaster evacuation drill in July 2019 and participated in a disaster prevention fair in August 2019 using DITS/DIMS in Hiratsuka City, Kanagawa prefecture, Japan. In this paper, we describe the results from the questionnaire surveys at the two events. The results showed that participants recognized that DITS/DIMS could be useful during disasters. Therefore, the use of this system has the potential to make an important contribution to disaster prevention and mitigation. However, some issues exist with the system when it is actually used by individuals; therefore, future improvements are required.