WNC Health Network

Innovating Disaster Response: A Regional Model for the Future

WNC Health Network is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on connecting and supporting community health stakeholders to improve health and equity across western North Carolina. Big Sea collaborated with WNC Health Network (WNCHN) on the WNC Ready disaster response campaign following Hurricane Helene. This campaign delivered crucial public health information, emergency aid resources, and safety guidelines through Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and other digital channels. Given Facebook’s broad demographic reach, it became the campaign’s central platform.

Our goals were to

Create One Regional Voice: Foster a unified communications strategy across 22 counties to ensure timely and accurate dispersal of information.

Bolster Recovery Efforts: Provide regionally-accessible safety guidelines, emergency aid resources, and mental health support through widely used digital platforms, with Facebook as the cornerstone.

Enhance Agility in Disaster Response: Create an adaptive framework informed by community feedback and best practices to improve the speed and effectiveness of emergency communications.

Western NC Faces Crisis After Hurricane Helene

Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina in September 2024, leaving many residents without homes, resources, and employment. Disrupted communication infrastructure further exacerbated the crisis, as many cell towers remained offline for weeks or months. These challenges triggered cascading mental health and financial crises. The disaster underscored the urgent need for a unified emergency communications strategy. WNCHN and its partners, including 22 county health departments, faced the unprecedented challenge of creating a cohesive disaster response plan.

Strengthening Emergency Response through Unified Regional Communications

The WNC Ready campaign united 22 western North Carolina counties to address widespread challenges in the weeks and months that followed the disaster. Our approach prioritized flexibility, speed, and cultural relevance to ensure critical information reached affected communities. The strategy was implemented in four key stages:

Research: Reviewing guidelines from FEMA, CDC, and NC DHHS to ensure accurate and timely messaging

Messaging and Creation: Developing tailored public health messages in English and Spanish with input from local partners

Ad Selection and Circulation: Deploying ads on platforms like Meta and YouTube to maximize reach

Evaluation: Monitoring ad performance in real-time, using data to refine strategies and provide update

This iterative framework ensured a coordinated and impactful regional response.

Setting a New Standard for Regional Disaster Response

WNC Ready pioneered a new national standard for emergency communications as the first unified regional disaster response initiative in the United States. By replacing fragmented efforts with seamless collaboration, this campaign delivered agile and responsive support to affected communities across western North Carolina. Engaging nearly 1 million people through YouTube and Meta, WNC Ready’s data-driven approach demonstrates the power of regional collaboration in disaster response.

Innovating Disaster Response: A Regional Model for the Future

Our goals were to

Western NC Faces Crisis After Hurricane Helene

Strengthening Emergency Response through Unified Regional Communications

Setting a New Standard for Regional Disaster Response

Related Work

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