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The post-disaster town hall meeting, is one of the first and most important opportunities for localities to update the community on the status of recovery, and set the tone for the entire recovery process.

During a post disaster town hall meeting, a top-level local official, such as the mayor, chief elected official, city or town manager, or county administrator, will be responsible for leading the meeting and ensuring the community receives consistent, accurate messages from all internal and state and federal representatives at the meeting.

Click here to download a post-disaster town hall meeting agenda template, and here for press releases and agendas used by other localities.

Show Compassion and Be Honest

• Build realistic expectations about when homeowners will get back into their homes. Use phrases like, “We’re attempting to build four houses per week, but we can’t guarantee that will happen.”
• Offer personal assistance and the opportunity to set up a one-on-one meeting.
• Don’t make specific promises to anyone during a town hall meeting. These can cause controversy if later rebutted by a councilman or other elected official.
• Ensure property owners have a firm understanding of what FEMA and HUD funding can and cannot be used for, and what funds they will need to repay.

Coordinate with FEMA, HUD and other State and Federal Representatives

• Identify the agencies and representatives that will be needed to answer questions and concerns voiced at the town hall meeting. You can provide expertise on questions directed to the city, but state and federal representatives should be on hand to answer questions in areas such as flood insurance or FEMA reimbursement.
• Hold a dry run of the town hall meeting with all representatives that will present at the meeting. Give feedback to state and federal representatives to ensure their message is aligned with the locality’s disaster recovery approach.
  • Other speakers at the meeting typically include: the local incident commander, a FEMA and/or HUD designated communications representative and a state regional emergency management agency representative.
• Property owners are more apt to follow the direction of their local leaders; you should assist in sending messages regarding FEMA and HUD, such as deadlines or documentation requirements.

Use Social Media and Live Streaming

• Work with your public information officer to notify the community about the time and location of the town hall meeting through local and social media.
• Use Facebook Live or other platforms to stream the town hall meeting to residents who are unable to attend the meeting. If needed, the entire meeting may be held virtually as a Facebook town hall meeting
  • Click here to watch a tutorial video on how to stream video using Facebook Live.
  • Check out the press release sent by the City of Fayetteville, N.C., to notify the community of a Facebook town hall meeting on damaged roadways after Hurricane Matthew.
• After the town hall meeting, summarize and discuss meeting highlights in a video posted on the community’s website and shared via social media.

Rely on Local Organizations

• Build relationships with leaders of local organizations, such as homeowner and neighborhood associations, prior to a disaster event and maintain an up-to-date list of phone numbers and email addresses for their leadership groups, boards officers and board of directors.
• They can use their communications networks to assist in notifying the community about the town hall meeting and sending important messages throughout disaster recovery.