Grounded Theory and Disaster Communications in the Wake of Hurricane Florence (COM 638)

Introduction:

            The 2017 hurricane season brought 17 storms and wrought over $335 billion dollars in damages to the United States’ shores (Klotzbach, 2018). Storms like Hurricane Irma and Harvey dominated the airwaves of news stations around the country as many stayed connected for updates online. Whether around the corner or across the country, social media was the first stop for many families and friends to keep up with the happenings before, during, and after the storms.

            With a dramatic increase in the number of natural disasters impacting millions across the globe, whether it be by hurricanes or tsunamis, global communication of these disasters has never been more important. Specifically with hurricanes, the ability to both communicate the path of the storm as well as the potential severity is imperative to not only protect communities, but save lives. In September of 2018, Hurricane Florence made landfall in the Carolinas, devastating the coastline and moving inward. After the storm settled, thousands were displaced with even more returning to their homes with more questions than answers.

            In an effort to better understand the importance of a cohesive strategy in approaching global disasters, we’ll be discussing social media’s role in the sharing of information by public media outlets surrounding Hurricane Florence. Throughout our research, we’ll be observing the media’s ability to establish a strategy and accurately disseminate information to the public about the storm. Then, using Charmaz’s grounded theory approach, we’ll be observing emerging trends and strategy highlights that could provide valuable insight to future communication strategies surrounding natural disasters.

Literature Review:

Six major named hurricanes directly impacted the United States’ shores during the 2017 hurricane season, including the other 319 natural disasters that impacted communities around the globe (Klotzbach, 2018). Since the advent of digital media and the internet, the ability to both predict and communicate these disasters has been more important than ever. In the event of a disaster, media organizations are first both on the scene and ready to disseminate information to their audiences that includes online. However, in an age of constant connection and misinformation, it’s more important than ever for media organizations to be providing both accurate information to a wide audience quickly.

Social media and the digital space is constantly shifting, leaving the strategy behind communicating natural disasters constantly in flux (Finau et al. 2018). The ability to accurately spread this information while ensuring that context and perception doesn’t deviate from platform to platform is increasingly difficult, with room for misinformation to be spread quickly and without opportunity for clarification. Social media has given media outlets and organizations power to control the narrative of the disaster as it happens. “In regard to natural disasters with widespread consequences, the mass media are important actors in crisis communication, not least during the first phase of crises and disasters, when different news media are crucial for communicating information to people at risk (Ohman et al. 2016).”

In cases like Hurricane Katrina and Harvey, the lack of communication and urgency regarding the storms left many communities feeling a distrust of the information that was being provided even when it became clear these were storms to be taken seriously (Davie et al. 2010) Even a simple post on Facebook can be the difference between a mass evacuation and sitting ducks. The media’s ability to accurately and coherently cover the disaster before during and after the event can drastically change the weight of the impact. “Amidst the advanced technology of modern meteorology, perhaps the most critical element of the hurricane warning system is the systemic ability to gather data, to monitor changes, and to issue alerts and response directives (Anthony et al. 2014).” We’ll observe specifically in this paper the importance of communications in the messaging of hurricanes and impending severe weather.

Hurricanes Impacts

We can look back on years of hurricanes on the coastlines of the U.S. and clearly see the impacts these storms have had on the coastal and inland communities they impact. Hurricanes like Hurricane Andrew, with winds as high as 175 miles per hour as a Category 5, washing up widespread devastation to hundreds of thousands. There’s a reason coastal communities keep close watch on storms based on various models and forms of classification with help inform their ability to gauge the size and impact of the storm. The most familiar scale is the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale (SSHS) in which storms are classified from tropical storm to Category 5. Demidov and Tarasov explain this Saffir-Simpson categorization as the following.

“Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale has been used extensively over the past four decades to   classify hurricanes in the Atlantic. It is based on the maximum wind velocity (or central pressure) in the hurricane and is used to diagnose the severity of the storm, as well as the storm surge to be expected, and inform the general public (p. 92).”

Although a storm can register as a relatively low category on the SSHS, doesn’t necessarily mean the storm would be a lighter impact storm. There are also factors like flood risk, loss of life, economic impact in the region, and the geographic size of the storm itself. For example, Katrina, a category 3 storm when it made landfall in 2005, still is one of the most significant storms in U.S. history in regards to storm surge and economic impact (Demidov and Tarasov, p. 93). Understanding the scope of the storm is a fundamental and important piece in understanding how these communities have grown to understand these storms and how the local and national media have structured their communication strategies.

The Communication Flow

            In any disaster scenario, the flow of communication is not without its complexities and requires an intricate design of collaboration.  Anthony et al. explain that the system in which these media outlets receive information from the National Weather Service (NWS) and other organizations.  The NWS, as well as the National Hurricane Center (NHC), are the first resource for federal, state, and local governments, while local forecasters/meteorologists are the go-to resource for the public (Anthony et al. p. 470). The communication between these parties are monitored closely to ensure that all parties are receiving the same pieces of information. “Once the National Hurricane Center releases information, broadcast meteorologists must translate and synthesize the products in a way that is accessible for the public (Anthony et al. p. 470).”

In addition to the choice of platform to share the information, language plays a key role in all outgoing communication with these parties, where not only the category of the storm and the potential impact but the recommendations of evacuation orders. This first step in framing helps give weight to the disaster to come as Miller and Goidel explain, “they [the media] play a critical role in framing the disaster as a news story, giving the story broader cultural resonance and political and social meaning (p. 266).”

With the introduction of social media and the internet, the information not only has to hold the weight of an emergency but also hold the attention of an audience. This brings up the central focus of our observations in how the media communicates these natural disasters and how the importance of framing can impact an audience’s response to these storms.

References:

Anthony, K. E., Cowden-Hodgson, K. R., Dan O’Hair, H., Heath, R. L., & Eosco, G. M. (2014). Complexities in Communication and Collaboration in the Hurricane Warning System.      Communication Studies, 65(5), 468–483.             https://ezproxy.queens.edu:6464/10.1080/10510974.2014.957785

Bacon, J. (2018, September 11). More than 1 million to flee as Hurricane Florence rips toward     East Coast. Retrieved from             https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/09/10/hurricane-florence-driving-       life-threatening-conditions-toward-east-coast/1253945002/

Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (Ed.). (2018, September 5). Natural           Disasters 2017 - World. Retrieved from https://reliefweb.int/report/world/natural-      disasters-2017

Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative             analysis. London: Sage Publications.

Davie, W. R., & Herath, A. (2010). SEIZING THE STORMS OF CHANGE: How Hurricanes     Katrina and Rita helped teach Communication Majors the use of Research Methods.            Louisiana Communication Journal, 12, 108–123. Retrieved from             https://ezproxy.queens.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct =true&db=ufh&AN=65100578&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Demidov, M., & Tarasov, A. (2013). Eddies and Hurricanes : Formation, Triggers, and Impact.    [Hauppauge], N.Y.]: Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Retrieved from     https://ezproxy.queens.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct            =true&db=nlebk&AN=540896&site=ehost-live&scope=site

FINAU, G., TARAI, J., VAREA, R., TITIFANUE, J., KANT, R., & COX, J. (2018). Social         media and disaster communication: A case study of Cyclone Winston. Pacific Journalism        Review, 24(1), 123–137. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.queens.edu:2048/login?url=

            http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=130903887&site=ehos t-live&scope=site

Hurricane Florence tests team at Brunswick Medical Center. (2018). American Journal of            Health-System Pharmacy, 75(22), 1766–1768.             https://ezproxy.queens.edu:6464/10.2146/news180069

Klotzbach, P. J., Schreck III, C. J., Collins, J. M., Bell, M. M., Blake, E. S., & Roache, D.            (2018). The Extremely Active 2017 North Atlantic Hurricane Season. Monthly Weather           Review, 146(10), 3425–3443. https://ezproxy.queens.edu:6464/10.1175/MWR-D-18-            0078.1

Miller, A., & Goidel, R. (2009). News Organizations and Information Gathering During a            Natural Disaster: Lessons from Hurricane Katrina. Journal of Contingencies & Crisis   Management, 17(4), 266–273. https://ezproxy.queens.edu:6464/10.1111/j.1468-    5973.2009.00586.x

Öhman, S., Giritli Nygren, K., & Olofsson, A. (2016). The (un)intended consequences of crisis    communication in news media: a critical analysis. Critical Discourse Studies, 13(5), 515–       530. https://ezproxy.queens.edu:6464/10.1080/17405904.2016.1174138

Taaffe, K., Garrett, S., Huang, Y.-H., & Nkwocha, I. (2013). Communication’s Role and Technology Preferences during Hurricane Evacuations. Natural Hazards Review, 14(3),         182–190. https://ezproxy.queens.edu:6464/10.1061/(ASCE)NH.1527-6996.0000104

Yan, H. (2018, September 14). Hurricane Florence starts flooding parts of the Carolinas. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/13/us/hurricane-florence-south-east-            coast-wxc/index.html