Risk Communications: Lessons Learned during Hurricane Matthew

Background:  On October 8, 2016, Hurricane Matthew struck South Carolina. The storm caused catastrophic flooding in the northeastern portion of the state, led to 25 dam failures, forced the evacuation of 114 health care facilities, and resulted in significant infrastructure damage and beach erosion along the coast. The hurricane presented a complex communications challenge for the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) and the state, which was still recovering from the aftermath of the 1,000-year floods of October 2015. Using lessons learned during the previous year’s disaster, SCDHEC implemented a multi-channel crisis and risk communications strategy to disseminate accurate, timely information to the public before, during and after the storm.

Program background:  The presentation will discuss South Carolina’s approach to educating the public about health and environmental risks associated with hurricanes and flooding events, focusing on the communications tactics and strategies that proved to be most effective during and after the landfall of Hurricane Matthew in October 2016. Discussion also will touch on the methods that proved less effective or efficient during the disaster, and how the agency is incorporating lessons learned into its preparedness planning and embracing innovation to further improve how it communicates in future disasters. 

Evaluation Methods and Results:  The presentation will highlight data from Oct. 6 - 20, 2016 on message reach through traditional (print, TV) and digital (social media, website) channels, as well as after action review feedback from internal and external stakeholders. On the digital front, results show traffic to the agency's website increased 698 percent during this time period compared to the month before and Twitter account (@SCDHEC) followers grew by 23 percent. The most popular Facebook and Twitter posts focused on boil water advisory guidance and flood water safety tips, with the top tweet reaching 55,000 impressions. 

Conclusions:  Data on message reach and after action review feedback shows that the agency’s digital efforts via social media channels and a dedicated website hub proved to be a highly effective means of quickly and accurately relaying messages to the general public during the first 72 hours after the hurricane made landfall. Coordinating key risk messages with federal and state partners helped amplify reach on social media channels and coverage by traditional media outlets. The use of a dedicated, mobile-friendly website to provide scheduled morning and evening updates on the agency's response activities and high-interest topics (e.g., dam failures, boil water advisories) allowed SCDHEC to reduce planned staffing levels in the state Joint Information Center, as reporters, elected officials and constituents could obtain the latest key numbers and information directly from the website without calling or emailing public information officers.

Implications for research and/or practice:  Discussions about the effectiveness of communication tactics and strategies implemented by state public health agencies during natural disasters is necessary to identify best practices in the field and assist practitioners in other states in preparing for and responding to similar events.