Supporter driven Risk Communication: From Thunderstorms to Earthquakes

Based in Japan, Weathernews Inc. collects information on local conditions through reports and images correlated with GPS location data sent to us by a network of over 10 million Supporters (users). Exploiting the two-way personal media capabilities of mobile phones and the internet, Weathernews creates user-generated content optimized for the user's location and lifestyle. We receive over 6000 reports per day that are integrated into our forecast models, supplementing data from network of CASA radar and other traditional sources, and improving the accuracy of our models by verifying predicted conditions, filling in gaps, or providing nowcasts for inevitable weather events outside the model predictions. With this grassroots observer network, Weathernews has been able to detect phenomenon like tornadoes and highly localized rapidly developing thunderstorms. These phenomenon are traditionally very difficult to detect using conventional radar installations. Last summer, we were able to successfully provide nowcasts for volatile local thunderstorms that can lead to flooding. Currently, we are studying how that data can be used for thunderstorm prediction. Our Supporter network can also be applied to non-meteorological applications. In response to the great earthquake and tsunami that struck the northeast coast of Japan in March, Weathernews began collecting reports on local disaster conditions from Supporters. The results were displayed in real-time on a map of Japan, showing areas suffering from loss of power, water, communication, transportation and other basic necessities and infrastructure. Extending our information sharing network to disaster information was our way of contributing to the relief efforts during the crisis to help mitigate loss of life and property damage. Following these events, we conducted a survey on Supporter reactions to the emergency to help learn from this unprecedented disaster. We will share the results of this survey at the conference.