July Hazardous Webinar - Disaster through a social media lens | Natural Hazards Research Australia

July Hazardous Webinar - Disaster through a social media lens

How did communities use social media during Tropical Cyclone Alfred and what can we learn from it to improve preparedness, communications and recovery? 

Join our July Hazardous Webinar – Disaster through a social media lensto hear the latest research findings from the research team. 

11.00am – 12.00pm AEST, 22 July 2025   

Panel: 

  • Dr Julian Marx (University of Melbourne and Natural Hazards Research Australia) 

  • Dr Rowena Morris (Natural Hazards Research Australia) - host 

The disaster response project Social media in community experiences of Tropical Cyclone Alfred explored community experiences of March 2025’s Tropical Cyclone Alfred through a social media lens. The analysis of posts and discussions on X, Facebook and Instagram provide insight into the way communities experience and respond to natural hazards and subsequent emergencies, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of current community-focused emergency preparedness and response systems. 

Areas covered include emergency warnings; household and business preparedness; trusted information sources; insurance and financial preparedness; extent of damage; and early recovery and clean up. 

A special panel discussion will follow the research findings, including various levels of public information and communications within Queensland.