HURRICANESWhen Hurricanes Strike, Social Media Can Save Lives

Everyone knows that while disinformation is a problem, social media is a powerful tool for communicating fast in an emergency.

In 2011 only about 10% of the U.S. population turned to social media for information during a crisis, according to several studies. Today that number is closer to 70%. A new study from the University of Central Florida found that social media isn’t just good for communicating. It can be a critical tool for collecting intelligence in real time to better deploy resources before and after hurricanes hit.

Associate Professor of Public Administration Claire Connolly Knox looked at 23 Florida counties and their use of social media during Hurricane Irma. Results of the U.S. National Science Foundation study were recently published in Disasters.

For many Florida counties, Hurricane Irma in 2017 was the first time using social media during a disaster. Some counties were creative in using the latest social media tools, some didn’t use any social media during a disaster, and most were somewhere in the middle, Knox says.

Knox analyzed After Action Reports (AARs) from every county that completed them in Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) Regions 4 through 7, which represents Central and southern Florida. These reports are not required by law but are considered a best practice to capture lessons learning during the response phase of an incident. The research team also held focus groups sessions to gather more detailed information. The in-person sessions included emergency managers from three counties (two coastal, one inland), one major city (population greater than 250,000), FDEM, the Florida Department of Transportation, a regional planning council, and two private sector organizations.

“While 95% of the counties who used social media discussed it in positive terms in the AARs and focus group discussions, less than half of the counties engaged in two-way communication, or pulled information for situational awareness or rumor management,” Knox says. “There is progress in using social media, but we certainly have a way to go.”

The findings can be grouped in two categories.

Challenges

·  Funding for enough staff to keep up with information during crisis. Some counties were creative and used mutual aid or emergency management assistance compacts for needed staffing, while others relied on digital volunteers.

·  No broad use of monitoring software to track social media information, which the public assumes local government is engaging in throughout the disaster.

·  Misinformation