Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication: FEMA’s Twitter use during the 2017 hurricane season

Abstract

Applying content and semantic network analysis research methodologies, this study examined FEMA’s national and regional Twitter account posts during the historic 2017 hurricane season and argues for the expanded use of the Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) model in researching risk and crisis communication during natural disasters. Messaging content was compared across time between FEMA and its regional counterparts during Harvey, Maria, Irma, and Nate. Results showed FEMA provided information to affected publics and bolstered its work using various Twitter features. Differences were identified in FEMA’s national and regional accounts’ posts. From hashtags to visual elements, FEMA's tweet content changed as the season progressed: more tweets included information about the impact of the storms; more tweets shared factual information from hurricane to hurricane; and the tweets tended to use more hashtags and account tags, which should broaden their audience.