Abstract
In this case study, we examine disaster recovery in Galena, a small village in Interior Alaska. In May 2013, a massive ice jam on the Yukon River caused flooding that destroyed much of the community’s infrastructure and forced the long-term evacuation of over 66 % of residents. In this work, we analyze the virtual relief networks that developed on the social media site Facebook immediately after the flooding in relation to more traditional media and agency press release activity. By contrasting communication channels, we establish the importance of a connection to outside populations during disaster recovery.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Alaska prepares for more spring breakup flooding (2013) http://www.redcross.org/news/article/Alaska-Prepares-for-More-Spring-Breakup-Flooding. Accessed 2 Mar 2015
Andrews L (2013a) Hard lessons for FEMA: Galena rebuilds with federal help, in spite of federal help, Alaska Dispatch News, 20 Sept 2013. http://www.adn.com/article/20130920/hard-lessons-fema-galena-rebuilds-federal-help-spite-federal-help. Accessed 2 Mar 2015
Andrews L (2013b) 2013: a year of Alaska weather extremes, from Barrow to Juneau, Alaska Dispatch News, 31 Dec 2013. http://www.adn.com/article/20131231/2013-year-alaska-weather-extremes-barrow-juneau. Accessed 2 Mar 2015
Andrews L, DeMarban A (2013) Rescue aircraft evacuating more Galena residents as flooding worsens, Alaska Dispatch News, 28 May 2013. http://www.adn.com/article/20130528/rescue-aircraft-evacuating-more-galena-residents-flooding-worsens. Accessed 2 Mar 2015
APWire (2013) Floodwaters drop after Alaska Yukon River ice jam breaks, Associate Press Wire. Retrieved 2 Mar 2015 from http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/floodwaters-drop-after-alaska-yukon-river-ice-jam-breaks/article_7014ea94-c944-11e2-9ddf-001a4bcf6878.html
Beltaos S (2008) Progress in the study and management of river ice jams. Cold Reg Sci Technol 51(1):2–19. doi:10.1016/j.coldregions.2007.09.001
Doerfel ML, Lai C-H, Chewning LV (2010) The evolutionary role of interorganizational communication: modeling social capital in disaster contexts. Hum Commun Res 36(2):125–162. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958.2010.01371.x
Friedman S (2013) Galena won’t receive federal funds for rebuilding in flood-prone area. Newsminer, 18 Sept 2013. http://m.newsminer.com/news/local_news/galena-won-t-receive-federal-funds-for-rebuilding-in-flood/article_40c73f36-1f6f-11e3-af14-001a4bcf6878.html?mode=jqm. Accessed 2 Mar 2015
Friedman S (2014) Galena making progress in flood recovery. Newsminer, 13 Jun 20014. http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/galena-making-progress-in-flood-recovery/article_e6a7aa46-f2d0-11e3-9f6f-001a4bcf6878.html. Accessed 2 Mar 2015
Galena City (2014) http://www.ci.galena.ak.us. Accessed 2 Mar 2015
Griffin RJ, Zheng Y, ter Huurne E, Boerner F, Ortiz S, Dunwoody S (2008) After the flood: anger, attribution, and the seeking of information. Sci Commun 29(3):285–315. doi:10.1177/1075547007312309
Groscurth CR (2011) Paradoxes of privilege and participation: the case of the American Red Cross. Commun Q 59(3):296–314. doi:10.1080/01463373.2011.583498
Hopkins K (2013) With Galena a ghost town, Koyukuk braces for ‘flash flood’. Alaska Dispatch News, 29 May 2013. http://www.adn.com/article/20130529/galena-ghost-town-koyukuk-braces-flash-flood. Accessed 2 Mar 2015
KTVF (2013) Flooding in Galena, Alaska, KTVF News. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY1mhxF_3xA. Accessed on 2 Mar 2015
Major AM (1998) The utility of situational theory of publics for assessing public response to a disaster prediction. Public Relat Rev 24(4):489–508. doi:10.1016/S0363-8111(99)80113-1
McCosker A (2013) De-framing disaster: affective encounters with raw and autonomous media. Continuum J Media Cult Stud 27(3):382–396. doi:10.1080/10304312.2013.772109
Moore M, Westley F (2011) Surmountable chasms: networks and social innovation for resilient systems. Ecol Soc 16(1):1–13
NASA (2013) Ice jam on the Yukon River floods Galena, Alaska: image of the day, 28 May 2013. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=81227. Accessed 2 Mar 2015
National Weather Service (NWS) Alaska Flood Information (2014) http://www.floodsafety.noaa.gov/states/ak-flood.shtml. Accessed 2 Mar 2015
Nenana Ice Classic (2014) http://www.nenanaakiceclassic.com/. Accessed 2 Mar 2015
NodeXL: Network overview: discovery and exploration for excel (4 Dec 2014). http://nodexl.codeplex.com/. Accessed 23 Mar 2015
Perrow C (1999) Organizing to reduce the vulnerabilities of complexity. J Conting Crisis Manag 7(3):150–155. doi:10.1111/1468-5973.00108
Renn O, Burns WJ, Kasperson JX, Kasperson RE, Slovic P (1992) The social amplification of risk: theoretical foundations and empirical applications. J Soc Issues 48(4):137–160. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1992.tb01949.x
Salvation Army Alaska Division – Alaska’s EDS director recognized nationally for Galena work (31 May 2014). http://www.salvationarmyalaska.org/alaska/news/VOAD_Recognition. Accessed 2 Mar 2015
Schwing E, Alaska Public Media (19 May 2013) Second largest flood on record hits Eagle as Yukon breaks up. http://www.alaskapublic.org/2013/05/19/second-largest-flood-on-record-hits-eagle-as-yukon-breaks-up/. Accessed 2 Mar 2015
Social Network Importer for NodeXL (4 Dec 2014). http://socialnetimporter.codeplex.com/. Accessed 23 Mar 2015
Soliz J, Giles H (2014) Relational and identity processes in communication: a contextual and meta-analytical review of communication accommodation theory. In: Cohen E (ed) Comm yearbook, vol 38. Taylor & Francis, Hoboken, pp 107–143
Utz S, Schultz F, Glocka S (2013) Crisis communication online: how medium, crisis type and emotions affected public reactions in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Public Relat Rev 39(1):40–46. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2012.09.010
Veil SR, Sellnow TL (2008) Organizational learning in a high-risk environment: responding to an anthrax outbreak. J Appl Commun 92(1&2):75–93
Weick K, Sutcliffe K (2007) Managing the unexpected: resilient performance in an age of uncertainty, 2nd edn. John Wiley & Sons, New York
Wordle – Beautiful Word Clouds (n.d.) http://www.wordle.net/. Accessed 23 Mar 2015
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Taylor, K.M., Hum, R., Kontar, Y.Y. (2016). Comparative Analysis of Virtual Relief Networks and Communication Channels During Disaster Recovery After a Major Flood in Galena, Alaska, Spring 2013. In: Drake, J., Kontar, Y., Eichelberger, J., Rupp, T., Taylor, K. (eds) Communicating Climate-Change and Natural Hazard Risk and Cultivating Resilience. Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research, vol 45. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20161-0_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20161-0_10
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-20160-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-20161-0
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)