Health Messaging before, during and after the Storm: South Carolina's Strategic Communications Approach to the 1,000-Year Flood

Background: During 24 hours in October 2015, 15-20 inches of rain drenched South Carolina. The heavy rainfall caused catastrophic flooding and what many referred to as a “1,000-year” event. The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) implemented a multi-channel crisis communications strategy to disseminate clear, timely and consistent messages before, during and after the storm.

Program background: The 2015 flood presented a complex communications challenge for DHEC. What started as a severe weather situation quickly evolved into a public safety emergency due to more than 36 dam failures—then to a public health matter as residents and businesses began storm cleanup and recovery. As the state’s health and environmental protection agency—serving as regulator, service provider and public educator—DHEC played a critical role developing and disseminating messages across multiple channels at all stages of the event.

Evaluation Methods and Results: The team’s crisis communications strategy was based on previous emergency response experience, training and standard operating procedures. However, the need to maximize social, digital and targeted channels to deliver messages was evident early on. The rapidly changing impact of the flood and high interest from the international and national media and public created the need for a hub of easily accessible information. DHEC implemented a streamlined approval process to ensure messages were vetted by scientific and communications experts while meeting the public’s demand for timely information. A dedicated flood website included real-time updates on:

• Status of dams statewide and previous inspection reports
• Mobile T-dap vaccination clinics
• Locations for well water testing
• Information in multiple languages on flood recovery, clean up, health and safety

DHEC’s website logged more than 228,000 visitors in October 2015, up approximately 9% percent from October 2014. The majority of visitors (56.8% percent) were new.  The S.C. State Library recognized DHEC’s flood website with the 2015 Notable State Document Award for “outstanding merit and usefulness to citizens.” DHEC’s social media channels broke records in October 2015 including:

• A 24% increase in followers, reaching more than 954,000 people.
• The top three blog posts of all time: Avoiding Mosquitoes After a Flood (3,838 views), Communicable Diseases and Floods (2,986) and Have a Septic Tank and Not Sure What to Do After Flooding? (2,176).
• Highest reach on a single Facebook post about what businesses should do during a Boiled Water Advisory (15,705 people reached).

Thanks in part to quick and clear communications, by December 2015, DHEC had given 6,614 T-dap vaccinations to flood-affected citizens, distributed 5,470 well water testing kits and tested 2,939 samples in 43 of the state’s 46 counties. 

Conclusions: DHEC’s flood communications were coordinated across a highly matrixed agency, delivered via multiple channels and targeted to audiences throughout the crisis. Successes and knowledge gained can provide examples for public health and emergency response practitioners.

Implications for research and/or practice: The public’s demand for immediate information and transparency from health and government organizations during and after disasters will continue. The desire for individualized information necessitates continuous improvement in crisis communications. This includes exploring ways to maximize social media channels while honing overall communications planning and implementation.