How Social Media Helped Hurricane Helene and Milton Victims: A Lifesaver in a Time of Crisis

When natural disasters strike, people are often left feeling scared and unsure of what to do next. That’s exactly what happened when Hurricane Helene and Milton hit, causing massive damage to homes, roads, and neighborhoods. However, one surprising hero in these difficult times was social media. It helped people find each other, ask for help, and get rescued. It even became a tool for communities to start rebuilding after the storm.

How Social Media Saved Lives

When Hurricane Helene came through, many people stayed in their homes, thinking they could ride out the storm. But they didn’t expect the water to rise so quickly. In some places, homes filled with as much as six feet of water, and people were trapped inside. That’s when social media stepped in as a lifesaver.

People turned to platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and local apps to call for help. Many posted their addresses in community chats or groups, hoping someone would come to rescue them. These posts spread quickly, allowing family members, neighbors, and even complete strangers to find out where help was needed most. In a few cases, rescue teams found people just in time thanks to these social media posts.

Unfortunately, some people weren’t rescued in time and lost their lives, which is heartbreaking. But social media did save thousands of others by allowing them to ask for help and connecting them with the right people. This shows how powerful social media can be during emergencies.

After the Storm: Social Media as a Tool for Cleanup

Once the hurricanes passed and the waters receded, the next big challenge was cleaning up the mess. People returned to their homes to find them destroyed or filled with debris. With so much work to do and not enough hands to help, people again turned to social media to ask for assistance.

On Facebook and other platforms, people posted requests for help with cleaning out their flooded homes or for basic supplies like food and water. Social media allowed neighbors to connect and work together. They formed groups to organize cleanup days, helping each other remove debris, dry out homes, and even deliver food and water to those who had lost everything.

One of the most touching parts of this story is how people used social media to help elderly or disabled neighbors who couldn’t leave their homes. Volunteers, organized through community chats, showed up to help clean out homes and make sure everyone had what they needed. It wasn’t just families helping each other—complete strangers stepped in too, offering shelter, food, and supplies to those who were suddenly homeless.

Some people who still had power and water cooked meals at home and drove through neighborhoods, handing out food to those in need. This was all coordinated through social media, where people could ask for help and get a quick response from others who were ready to pitch in.

Local Businesses Using Social Media to Help

It wasn’t just individuals coming together after the hurricanes—small businesses played a big role too. Local restaurants, shops, and clinics used social media to offer help. Many businesses posted that they were providing free meals for first responders, like firefighters and police officers, who were working nonstop to keep everyone safe. Some health clinics even gave out free B12 shots to keep first responders energized during the long days.

Businesses also used social media to organize donations of clothing, food, and hygiene products for people who had lost everything. Restaurants posted about giving away meals to those in need, and local stores donated percentages of their sales to help with recovery efforts. Social media made it possible for businesses to get the word out quickly and make sure their donations went directly to the people who needed them most.

One incredible part of this story is that most of the help came from small, local businesses. These businesses are part of the community, and they didn’t wait for big corporations to step in. Instead, they used social media to take action and help their neighbors right away. Without these platforms, organizing such large-scale relief efforts would have been much harder and slower.

The Good and Bad of Social Media

Social media isn’t perfect, and sometimes it spreads misinformation or gets overwhelming with too many posts. But during Hurricane Helene and Milton, the good outweighed the bad. Social media saved lives, connected communities, and made it possible for people to help each other in the aftermath of the storm.

For those of us who lived through this disaster, it was a difficult time, but also a time of hope. We saw people come together in ways that made us proud to be part of this community. Even in the toughest moments, social media helped us find the strength to rebuild and recover.

In part two of this blog, we’ll talk about how small businesses can continue to use social media to support their communities and grow, even after a disaster. Stay tuned to learn how businesses can use these platforms to not only survive but also help rebuild their neighborhoods after a crisis.

Social media can sometimes seem like it’s just for sharing fun photos or keeping up with trends, but as we’ve seen, it can be so much more. During the hurricanes, it connected people in life-or-death situations, brought communities together to help with cleanup, and allowed small businesses to offer crucial support. In a world where disasters can strike unexpectedly, social media proved to be a powerful tool for helping people survive and recover.

-Natalie McElwain

Owner- The Social Circle by Natalie