Disaster management is conducted in multilevel and different stages; however, these different stages are tied together by key infrastructural components of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) such as social media which are central to the effectiveness of disaster management through citizen’s participation. In spite of this, there have been limited accesses to information technologies that enhance quick recovery services, timely response and effective dissemination of disaster-related information response and disaster recovery. However, the role of social media has created interest. In Nigeria, the available communication technology for communicating emergency and disaster information are obsolete and face serious pitfalls and setbacks
in delivering disaster information among researchers, agencies and victims of flood. Therefore, this study examined the influence of social media information dissemination and participation i.e. planning and training, gathering, dissemination and collaborative problem solving) on flood disaster management in Ibadan, Nigeria. The study used a survey questionnaire and stratified random sampling technique to collect 384 primary data from flood disaster management agencies (OYSEMA, NiMET & Red-Cross Society) in Ibadan, Nigeria. The collected data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23 and Partial Least Square - Structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) Smart PLS 3.2.1 software. Specifically, descriptive statistics
including frequency, mean, standard deviation and multiple regression statistics were done for hypotheses testing. The result of the hypotheses testing through the pathcoefficient, beta (β), t-value and p-values indicated that five (5) out of the twelve (12) hypothesized relationships were supported. Specifically, the study found that social media information dissemination (SMID) has a significant effect on flood disaster recovery (DREC) and shows a significant effect of social media collaborative problem solving (SMCPS) on flood disaster preparedness (DPRE). The finding also shows that social media disaster planning and training (SMDPT) has significant effect on flood disaster preparedness (DPRE), disaster response (DRES) and disaster recovery (DREC). Thus, the study concludes that social media has become an important tool especially during emergency situation and disaster management. Hence, important implication of this study to the environmental regulatory policy makers and emergency response agencies is to create more awareness on the usability and organizational applicability of social media in providing credible information regarding disaster/ disaster management to the populace at large.
