Hurricane Ian Social Media Crisis Communication Response

About the Program

Category: Civic Education and Public Information

Year: 2023

On Sept. 28, Hurricane Ian made landfall near Cayo Costa in southwestern Florida as a Category 4 storm plowing a path of destruction. Charlotte County suffered widespread damage from Hurricane Ian. Days leading up to the storm, moments after the hurricane made landfall, and months after the storm had passed, residents needed to receive information about food, water, safety and financial resources to build back stronger. Our social media response highlighted emergency and safety messages, live Q&As, response efforts and offered customer service to our community. Charlotte County’s social media response proved successful as we quickly gained more than 27,000 new followers while boasting over 11.6 million impressions and one million engagements across our six platforms. Using social media during this response cemented our social media platforms as the go-to source for information. Our ability to use social media allowed for us to be in direct contact with our impacted community and provide them pertinent information.