US 89 Landslide February 20, 2013

1. US 89 LandslideFebruary 20, 2013 Arizona Department of Transportation Category: 7a) Issues/Crisis Management Communication

2. Day One: Situation In the early morning of Feb. 20, a landslide ripped through the mountain slope along US 89 in northern Arizona, destroying a 500-foot stretch of roadway and essentially eliminating the only direct route between two adjoining communities and cutting off direct travel to popular tourist destinations. • Initial Communication Challenges • Six hours from Phoenix, very limited media access • Coincided with large snow storm • Limited cell phone access, difficult to get immediate information • Slide located on the Navajo Nation: language barriers, environmental and cultural sensitivities • Immediate Communication Efforts • Relied heavily on social media to reach traditional media • Three ADOT Communications staff members and Deputy State Engineer flown to site • Began immediate coordination with state, tribal and local officials and neighboring states. Click photo to begin slideshow (slides will advance automatically)

3. Day One: Social and Traditional Media • Initial travel advisory and photo shared over 3,500 times, retweeted 140 times • Updates, photos and aerial video top 10,000 shares in one day • 1,700 new Facebook Likes in first 24 hours Rush hour snow report (unrelated to landslide). This and other snow reports shared 564 times, retweeted 200+ times

4. Day Two: Communications Response • Communications incident command established • First video posted to YouTube; shared in news release, on ADOT Blog, Facebook, Twitter • Responded to 12 media outlets • Fliers and posters created, sent to printer • Dedicated website created and posted • Email update subscription list established Click photo to play video on YouTube

5. Stakeholder Engagement The actual landslide occurred on a stretch of highway on the Navajo Nation, and -- in an area with little redundancy of travel routes -- effectively cut off travel between two neighboring communities. Substantial and sustained efforts were taken to communicate with local communities. • Established an office in City of Page city hall that is staffed twice a week to provide a convenient resource for the local community • ADOT representative continues to spend one day a week in the Navajo Nation's Bodaway Gap Community to be available to answer. • Coordination meetings routinely held with the Page City Council, Coconino County Board of Supervisors, Navajo Division of Transportation, Navajo Nation agencies and tribal chapters. Coordination and outreach activities also extend into Utah. • Personal visits are made regularly to surrounding communities, tourist attractions and businesses spread over several miles on either side of the landslide.

6. Tourism and Travel Lake Powell • Grand Canyon • Marble Canyon • Horseshoe Bend • Utah National Parks The detour around the US 89 closure extends the trip to Lake Powell by approximately 45 miles. However, the route to the Grand Canyon and the popular Marble Canyon, which are accessed by US 89A, were not impacted. Succinctly communicating that all businesses were accessible, but that some required additional travel time, was a challenge. • Maximized partnerships with Arizona Highways magazine, Arizona Department of Tourism and AAA Arizona to spread the word that these major tourist destinations remained accessible. • Long-term closure notification and detour information provided to Google Maps, Garmin, Telenav and Nokia. Click photo to play video on YouTube

7. Maximizing the ADOT Blog • ADOT Blog series “Transportation Defined” utilized to more fully explain many of the complicated terms and processes associated with the geological assessment and the project process. • From day of event to May 31, 18 US 89-related blog posts have received over 36,000 pageviews. • Regularly receive blog comments asking for route information specific to upcoming travel. All comments responded to (usually including a link back to azdot.gov/US89). • All blog posts posted to Facebook and Twitter and included in news releases. Read all US 89 blog posts

8. Sustained social media ADOT has sustained social engagement since the event, creating videos and blogs to provide updates and responding to travel-related inquiries.

9. The importance of video Video has continued to play an integral role in the communicating information about the closure and the efforts to restore the travel route. • ADOT’s in-house production team among first on scene • Initial video viewed on YouTube almost 50,000 times. • To date, 10 US 89 informational videos and PSAs produced and posted to YouTube, disseminated to municipal stations statewide, embed codes provided to media for posting to websites. • B-Roll and sound bites provided to media (through secure ftp server) on near-weekly basis.

10. By the Numbers 7,051 564 $370,400 18 30,000 83 85,903 Facebook shares of US 89 photos in one day (2/20) Facebook shares of snow in Scottsdale photo (2/20) Estimated earned media value of US 89 reports Navajo Nation chapter meetings attended Fliers distributed to area businesses, tribal chapter houses Media interviews conducted (2/21-5/31) YouTube views of US 89 videos (2/21-5/31)