Information Technologies and Social Media: New Scientific Methods for the Anthropocene

The development of technology during the Anthropocene has affected science and the ways of “doing science”. Nowadays, new technologies help scientists of several disciplines by facilitating knowledge and how to manage it, but also allow for collaborative science, the so-called “Social Science”, where everyone can be a scientist and be involved in providing data and knowledge by using a computer or a smartphone without being a specialist. But is it really that simple? Actually, the daily and integrated use of different digital technologies and sharing platforms, such as social media, requires important reflections. Such reflections can lead to a rethinking of epistemologies and scientific paradigms, both in human geography and social sciences. This volume titled “Information Technologies and Social Media: New Scientific Methods for the Anthropocene” includes 10 chapters exploring some changes related to the way to do science with a multidisciplinary approach. From classroom experiences to the use of Citizen Science, from Artificial Intelligence use to how Social Media can help researchers, the book reflects on the ICT influence during the last few decades, exploring different cases, complementary perspectives and point of views

Developing a large-scale dataset of flood fatalities for territories in the Euro-Mediterranean region, FFEM-DB

This data paper describes the multinational Database of Flood Fatalities from the Euro-Mediterranean region FFEM-DB that hosts data of 2,875 flood fatalities from 12 territories (nine of which represent entire countries) in Europe and the broader Mediterranean region from 1980 to 2020. The FFEM-DB database provides data on fatalities' profiles, location, and contributing circumstances, allowing researchers and flood risk managers to explore demographic, behavioral, and situational factors, as well as environmental features of flood-related mortality. The standardized data collection and classification methodology enable comparison between regions beyond administrative boundaries. The FFEM-DB is expandable, regularly updated, publicly available, and with anonymized data. The key advantages of the FFEM-DB compared to existing datasets containing flood fatalities are its high level of detail, data accuracy, record completeness, and the large sample size from an extended area

Developing a large-scale dataset of flood fatalities for territories in the Euro-Mediterranean region, FFEM-DB

[eng] This data paper describes the multinational Database of Flood Fatalities from the Euro-Mediterranean region FFEM-DB that hosts data of 2,875 flood fatalities from 12 territories (nine of which represent entire countries) in Europe and the broader Mediterranean region from 1980 to 2020. The FFEM-DB database provides data on fatalities' profiles, location, and contributing circumstances, allowing researchers and flood risk managers to explore demographic, behavioral, and situational factors, as well as environmental features of flood-related mortality. The standardized data collection and classification methodology enable comparison between regions beyond administrative boundaries. The FFEM-DB is expandable, regularly updated, publicly available, and with anonymized data. The key advantages of the FFEM-DB compared to existing datasets containing flood fatalities are its high level of detail, data accuracy, record completeness, and the large sample size from an extended area

EUropean Flood Fatalities (EUFF) database 1980-2018 (updated)

The first version of EUFF (EUropean Flood Fatalities) contained 2466 FFs which occurred during a 39-year period (1980–2018) in 8 Euro-Mediterranean countries that are further divided into 9 study areas (Czech Republic, Israel, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Portugal, South France, Catalonia and Balearic Islands). This database is an updated version of EUFF, improved throughout the introduction of new data and details of flood fatalities emerged from ongoing historical research in the Czech Republic and South France study areas. EUFF contains 2483 flood fatalities, which occurred during the same period (1980–2018) in the above-mentioned study areas. The methodological approach is based on the systematic collection of data about floods that killed any people, which are named here as flood events. All cases of flood events triggered by rainfall were included, without severity thresholds: EUFF contains all the cases of flood events, independently of the number of fatalities per flood event. The methodological approach was based on the systematic collection of fatal events descriptions from documentary sources as newspapers, websites, and technical reports. Narratives of flood events were disaggregated in database fields describing victim’s profile and the circumstances of the deaths. Each record contains data related to a single flood fatality, organized in fields with information about event (place, date, and hour), fatality (age, gender, conditions, residency, and activity), and victim-event interactions (accident place, accident dynamic, death causes, protective and/or hazardous behaviours). EUFF database represents a source of data contributing to a better understanding of the population exposure to floods. The EUFF database, with its great potential to be extended spatially and temporally, represents a unique European database with high scientific and practical potential. One aspect of the database is its vitality, as we strive to improve it by extending the study period, and enlarging the domain. The EUFF database and its potential will hopefully motivate and encourage further researchers to join this database with data on flood fatalities available in their countries

EUropean Flood Fatalities (EUFF) database 1980-2018

This dataset, named EUFF (EUropean Flood Fatalities) collects data about flood mortality (2466 cases) occurred during a 39-year period (1980-2018) in 8 countries divided into 9 study areas (Czech Republic, Israel, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Portugal, South France, Catalonia and Balearic Islands). The methodological approach to gather data was based on the systematic collection of fatal events descriptions from documentary sources and the disaggregation and systematization of all the available information into the database. Narratives of fatal events gathered from documentary sources were disaggregated in database fields describing victim’s profile and the circumstances of the deaths; each row contains data related to a single fatality, organized in fields with informations about event (place, date, hour), victim (age, gender, conditions, residency, activity), and victim-event interactions (accident place, accident dynamic, death causes, protective and/or hazardous behaviours). EUFF database represents a unique source of data for the study of flood victims with a broad potential for further spatial and temporal extension for different use