A recent study analysing X posts revealed that 13 years after the devastating earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand, the psychological wounds suffered by the city’s residents are still severe. The study by Patricia Anthony, Jennifer Hoi Ki Wong, and Zita Joyce has revealed the emotional scars that survivors of the earthquakes on 4th September 2010 and 22nd February 2011 continue to bear. The findings were published in the journal AI & Society.

The study, which looked at tweets sent between 2010 and 2019, shows that the intense feelings of fear, worry, and other emotions sparked by the earthquakes have not subsided over time. Instead, these feelings have continued to surface whenever seismic activity is mentioned, reflecting the long-lasting impact of the events on the community.

Using advanced machine learning techniques, the researchers classified over 273,000 posts related to the earthquakes into six distinct emotional categories: anger, fear, gratitude, humour, sympathy, and worry. Their findings show that, while the initial response to the earthquakes included a significant amount of humour and gratitude, fear and worry have progressively dominated the discourse over the years.

The Canterbury earthquakes, particularly the February 2011 earthquake, which resulted in 185 deaths and extensive damage across Christchurch, were defining moments for the region. The research indicates that the initial outpouring of sympathy and support in the wake of these events has given way to a sustained atmosphere of anxiety. This shift is particularly evident in the tweets from 2016, when the Kaikoura earthquake once again rattled the region. Fear and worry were the most frequently expressed emotions, suggesting a community still on edge, even five years after the original disaster.

Interestingly, the study also found that humour, often used as a coping mechanism, has remained a significant part of the emotional landscape in the years following the earthquakes. This might indicate a form of resilience among the community members as they try to find levity in an otherwise dire situation. However, the steady rise in fear-related tweets paints a picture of a population that remains deeply unsettled.

The study highlights the utility of social media platforms like X in understanding the emotional responses to disasters. The short, real-time nature of tweets allows researchers to capture a wide range of emotional expressions and track how these evolve over time. In the case of the Christchurch earthquakes, X has served as both an outlet for individuals to express their fears and as a source of data for understanding the long-term psychological impact of such events.