A Study on the Online Attention of Emergency Events of Torrential Rain in Shanxi and Henan

Abstract

To analyze the differences in the spatial and temporal distribution patterns of online attention to sudden torrential rain public events in Shanxi and Henan provinces in China, and their influencing factors, the Baidu index search platform was used to obtain the online attention of 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government) nationwide for the 20 July 2021 to 9 August 2021 Henan torrential rain and the 5 October 2021 to 25 October 2021 Shanxi torrential rain. The geographical concentration index, the coefficient of variation, the Moran index, and the Pearson correlation were used to analyse the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of the online attention of the floods in Shanxi and Henan and their influencing factors. The study shows that: (1) from a temporal perspective, the daily internet attention of both the Shanxi and Henan torrential rain reached its highest value on the third day, showing a sharp rise followed by a sharp fall in an inverted “V” pattern, and compared to the prolonged and continuous torrential rain in Shanxi, the short-lived precipitation and broken ring of the Henan torrential rain were seriously urgent, showing a higher internet attention. For example, the highest daily attention in Shanxi was only 73,643, while the highest daily attention in Henan was 56,054, which is 7.6 times higher than the former. The Geographical Concentration (G) index of internet attention for torrential rain in Shanxi increased from 1.55 to 8.25 within three weeks, with attention shifting from scattered to concentrated, while the G-index for torrential rain in Henan showed an inverted “V” shape; the Coefficient of Variation (CV) index for torrential rain in both provinces showed a downward trend within three weeks. (2) In terms of spatial distribution, the regional distribution of the network concern about the torrential rain in Shanxi and Henan is uneven. The provinces and cities with a higher concern about the torrential rain in Shanxi are mainly some eastern provinces and cities, such as Jiangsu, Beijing, Zhejiang, Fujian, Hainan, etc., who have signed coal protection agreements with Shanxi. The provinces and cities with a higher concern about the torrential rain in Henan are mainly the economically developed coastal provinces or provinces adjacent to Henan, such as Beijing, Zhejiang, Shandong, and Shaanxi, etc. The concern of each city for the torrential rain in the two provinces is in line with the law of distance decay. (3) In terms of influencing factors, the level of regional economic development, demographic factors, and Internet penetration and distance all have a certain influence on the level of attention to sudden torrential rain, and the study found that the level of economic development and demographic factors have the most significant influence on the level of internet attention.