Best Practices for Disaster Communication: A Community-Engaged Approach

• In Event: 50620 - Section on Environmental Sociology Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 2: Disasters, Communication, and Preparedness

Abstract

This research project aims to address the issue of disaster communication, particularly in underserved communities. In this community-engaged research project, we interviewed key participants in the disaster/food security arena in five counties in Southeastern North Carolina that are impacted by disasters, especially from hurricanes and floods. From these interviews, we created a list of prioritized interventions for communities to help them become more resilient to disaster-induced food security. We also created a tool kit that can be used for preparedness. A main focus of this research was best practices in communication, which will be the focus of this paper. Underserved areas, especially rural areas, have unique communication challenges not faced by urban areas. Some of these challenges include lack of broadband internet in certain parts of the county, an older population that may not be technologically savvy, frequently changing phone numbers so it is difficult to call or text with information, and the geographic nature of these counties with a lack of one centralized area. Some effective communication strategies included utilizing churches to share information, flyers in food boxes that are distributed, word of mouth, amateur radio, and reaching out to residents where they are, such as in senior centers. While the focus of this research was on Southeastern North Carolina, these best practices can be applied to other rural and underserved areas. Most notably, these might be useful in Western North Carolina which was devastated by Hurricane Helene in the fall of 2024. Many of the participants we interviewed pointed to ways that what they were doing could have helped Western North Carolina as well as things that were effective in Western North Carolina that they would like to apply in their Southeastern Region.

Authors

• Julia Ferrara Waity, University of North Carolina-Wilmington

• Ian Weaver, University of North Carolina Wilmington

• Jacqueline J Crowell, University of North Carolina-Wilmington