Disaster Communications in a Changing Media World

By George Haddow and Kim S Haddow

Communications are key to the success of disaster mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Accurate information disseminated to the general public, to elected officials and community leaders, as well as to the media, reduces risk, saves lives and property, and speeds recovery. Disaster Communications in a Changing Media World, Second Edition, provides valuable information for navigating these priorities in the age of evolving media. The emergence of new media like the Internet, email, blogs, text messaging, cell phone photos, and the increasing influence of first informers are redefining the roles of government and media.

The tools and rules of communications are evolving, and disaster communications must also evolve to accommodate these changes and exploit the opportunities they provide. Disaster Communications in a Changing Media World, Second Edition, illuminates the path to effective disaster communication, including the need for transparency, increased accessibility, trustworthiness and reliability, and partnerships with the media.

• Includes case studies from recent disasters including Hurricane Sandy, the 2011 tsunami in Japan, and the Boston Marathon bombings
• Demonstrates how to use blogs, text messages, and cell phone cameras, as well as government channels and traditional media, to communicate during a crisis
• Examines current social media programs conducted by FEMA, the American Red Cross, state and local emergency managers, and the private sector
• Updated information in each chapter, especially on how social media has emerged as a force in disaster communications

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Release date: Dec 14, 2013
• ISBN: 9780124079250

George Haddow

George Haddow currently serves as Senior Fellow at the Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy (DRLA) at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA and previously served as an Adjunct Faculty and Research Scientist, Institute for Crisis, Disaster and Risk Management, George Washington University in Washington, DC. at Prior to joining academia, Mr. Haddow worked for eight years in the Office of the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as the White House Liaison and the deputy Chief of Staff. He is a founding partner of Bullock & Haddow LLC, a disaster management consulting firm.

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One

Communications

The Critical Function

Communications: The Critical Function notes that communications is now universally accepted as a critical function in emergency management. The dissemination of timely and accurate information to the general public, elected and community officials, and the media plays a major role in the effective management of disaster response and recovery activities. This chapter defines the mission of an effective disaster communications strategy and outlines five critical assumptions that serve as the foundation for such a strategy. These assumptions include focusing on the customer; commitment from leadership to communicate; inclusion of communications specialists in all planning and operations; ongoing situational awareness; and, building an effective partnership with traditional and new media outlets. Examples of effective communications in disaster events and promoting disaster reduction efforts are examined in this chapter, as are examples of ineffective communications and the effect these failures had on disaster response operations.

Keywords

Communications; customer focus; leadership; planning; operations; media partnership; partners; community officials; mission

Communications is now universally accepted as a critical function in emergency management. The dissemination of timely and accurate information to the general public, elected and community officials, and the media plays a major role in the effective management of disaster response and recovery activities. Communicating preparedness and mitigation information promotes actions that reduce the risk of future disasters. Communicating policies, goals, and priorities to staff, partners, and participants enhances support and promotes a more efficient disaster management operation. In communicating with the public, establishing a partnership with the media and actively participating in social media are keys to implementing a successful strategy.

Communicating with the Public

FEMA’s success in fulfilling its mission is highly dependent upon our ability to communicate with the individuals, families and communities we serve.

Shayne Adamski, Senior Manager of Digital Engagement, FEMA.

Information sharing and its corollaries—collaboration and coordination—are key to effective, sustainable, timely, and participatory postdisaster recovery. Unimpeded communication and the free flow of information are cornerstones of any post-disaster relief framework… (Gillmor, 2006).

When that coordination doesn’t occur, it hinders response and recovery efforts. …[O]ne of the central facts documented in the aftermath of Katrina: the importance of maintaining a timely and accurate flow of information in a disaster zone. When information was neither timely nor accurate, people suffered (May, 2006).

Communication failures by government responders in response to Hurricane Katrina were noted in the report prepared by the U.S. House of Representatives that stated, The lack of a government public communications strategy and media hype of violence exacerbated public concerns and further delayed relief. The House report also asked, Why coordination and information sharing between local, state, and federal governments was so dismal…. Why situational awareness was so foggy, for so long…. Why unsubstantiated rumors and uncritically repeated press reports—at times fueled by top officials—were able to delay, disrupt, and diminish the response (Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina, 2006).

Many of these issues appear to have been addressed since 2005. FEMA, state and local emergency management agencies, and the voluntary agencies across the country have begun to recognize the importance of social media in their disaster communications. FEMA and the American Red Cross have invested heavily in social media and state and local emergency management agencies are starting to catch up. See the box highlighting Representative Susan Brooks’ comments on communications in Hurricane Sandy below.

Emergency MGMT 2.0: How #SocialMedia & New Tech Are Transforming Preparedness, Response, & Recovery #Disasters #Part2 #Govt/NGOs

Statement of Chairman Susan Brooks’ (R-IN) Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications, July 9, 2013

There is no doubt that social media and new technologies are playing an increasing role in the way we prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. As we have seen through recent events, such as Hurricane Sandy and the Boston bombings, individuals and organizations, more than ever, are turning to social media and the Internet to obtain public safety information, to connect with friends and family, and to request assistance from emergency response organizations. In fact, in a 2012 survey conducted by the Red Cross, 70 percent of respondents suggested that emergency response agencies should regularly monitor their social media sites so they can promptly respond to any requests for help. In addition, an Infographic created by the University of San Francisco showed that during a disaster, one out of three citizens expects help to arrive within 60 minutes of posting a request on social media.¹

Social media also enables response organizations to quickly push information to the public—something that has not been possible on such a wide scale until recently. A great example of this was after the Boston bombings when the first official announcement that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev had been captured came not at a traditional press conference, but through a tweet by the Boston Police Department. Also, during the search for the Tsarnaev brothers, individual citizens were able to tweet and post videos, photos, and other information to law enforcement officials, which served as a force multiplier and assisted in the hunt.

We have also seen similar examples in which response officials have leveraged information from social media to enhance response efforts during recent natural disasters, such as Hurricane Sandy and the Oklahoma tornadoes.

Two of the most prominent emergency management organizations are with us today, the American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to visit both of their headquarters to learn more about their roles in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters. I was impressed to see how they have incorporated 21st-century technology into their operations.

During my visit to the Red Cross, I learned how they partnered with Dell to develop a Digital Operations Center, which is the first social-media monitoring platform dedicated to humanitarian relief.² This center allows the Red Cross to crowdsource information from affected areas during a disaster; spot trends and better anticipate the public’s needs; and connect people with the resources they need, such as food, water, shelter, or even emotional support.

In conjunction with the Digital Operations Center, the Red Cross has also developed a Digital Volunteer Program, which trains digital volunteers from across the country in how to use online applications to respond to questions from the public, distribute critical public safety information, and provide comfort and reassurance during emergencies.

During Hurricane Sandy, the digital volunteers played a critical role in enabling the Red Cross to actively monitor and verify social media posts around the clock and provide information to create situational awareness.

FEMA’s Administrator, Craig Fugate, has been a big supporter of social media as well, and FEMA has been an active user of Facebook and Twitter to communicate with the public. I’ve also heard that FEMA is engaging with private sector companies, including Google³ and Twitter,⁴ to determine how best to take advantage of open data, social media, and two-way interaction to enhance their emergency management capabilities.

We are also seeing a rise in the use of social media by state and local emergency management organizations. In a recent survey conducted by the National Emergency Management Association and CNA on the use of social media in the emergency management field, the majority of state, county, and local agencies reported using social media in their disaster preparedness and response efforts, but to varying degrees.

I think a good example of the use of social media at the local level is how the cities of Moore and Oklahoma City used their Twitter accounts during the devastating tornadoes last month. Both cities used Twitter to relay real-time updates on open shelters, road closures, lost and found pets, and personal items. They also actively monitored their accounts and responded to requests for assistance posted by disaster survivors.

In my home state of Indiana, MESH Coalition, a public health, non-profit, public-private partnership is using social media for, what they call, infodemiology. They have dedicated staff monitoring social media as a disease surveillance tool and push information to hospitals and public health departments through Twitter. I had the opportunity to see this operation first hand last week. I am hopeful that this innovative use of social media and new technology will be replicated beyond the Hoosier state.

While I have highlighted some positive developments in the use of social media and new technology, I do realize that there are some challenges as well. For example, we must be mindful of how misleading, faulty, or malicious information or pictures can escalate quickly on social media sites and potentially negatively affect response efforts. In addition, as we learned from our private sector partners in the last hearing, there is a need to establish common standards and procedures to help make the sharing of data more efficient. Our private sector witnesses also agreed that there could be more done in the way of public/private sector partnerships to help maximize the use of social media for disaster purposes, and to leverage big data so response and recovery efforts can be focused on those areas most in need.

Source: Statement of Chairman Susan Brooks (R-IN) Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications, Emergency MGMT 2.0: How #SocialMedia & New Tech Are Transforming Preparedness, Response, & Recovery #Disasters #Part2 #Govt/NGOs, July 9, 2013 Remarks as Prepared. http://homeland.house.gov/sites/homeland.house.gov/files/07-09-13-Brooks-Open_0.pdf.

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¹University of San Francisco website. Accessed on June 20, 2013, http://onlinempa.usfca.edu/social-media/.

²American Red Cross website. Accessed on June 20, 2013. http://www.redcross.org/news/press-release/The-American-Red-Cross-and-Dell-Launch-First-Of-Its-Kind-Social-Media-Digital-Operations-Center-for-Humanitarian-Relief.

³FEMA website. Accessed on June 21, 2013, http://www.fema.gov/medialibrary/media_records/1081.

⁴FEMA website. Accessed on June 21, 2013, http://www.fema.gov/medialibrary/media_records/3581.

This chapter defines the mission of an effective disaster communications strategy and outlines five critical assumptions that serve as the foundation for such a strategy. Examples of effective communications in disaster events and promoting disaster reduction efforts are included in this chapter; examples of ineffective communications and the effect these failures had on disaster response operations are also included.

Mission

The mission of an effective disaster communications strategy is to provide timely and accurate information to the public in all four phases of emergency management:

• Mitigation—to promote implementation of strategies, technologies, and actions that will reduce the loss of lives and property in future disasters.

• Preparedness—to communicate preparedness messages that encourage and educate the public in anticipation of disaster events.

• Response—to provide the public with notification, warning, evacuation, and situation reports on an ongoing disaster.

• Recovery—to provide individuals and communities affected by a disaster with information on how to register for and receive disaster relief.

Assumptions

The foundation of an effective disaster communications strategy is built on the following five critical assumptions:

1. Customer focus

2. Leadership commitment

3. Inclusion of communications in planning and operations

4. Situational awareness

5. Media partnership

Five Critical Assumptions for a Successful Communications Strategy

1. Customer focus—Understand what information your customers and your partners need and build communication mechanisms that deliver this information in a timely and accurate fashion.

2. Leadership commitment—The leader of the emergency operations must be committed to effective communications and must participate fully in the communications process.

3. Inclusion of communications in planning and operations—Communications specialists must be involved in all emergency planning and operations to ensure that communicating timely and accurate information is considered when action decisions are being considered.

4. Situational awareness—Effective communication is based on the timely collection, analysis, and dissemination of information from the disaster area in accordance with basic principles of effective communications, such as transparency and truthfulness (to be discussed in greater detail in Chapter 3).

5. Media partnership—Traditional media outlets (i.e., television, radio, Internet, newspapers, etc.) and social media outlets (i.e., Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and others) are the most effective means for communicating timely and accurate information to the largest number of people. A partnership with the media involves understanding the needs of the media and employing trained staff who work directly with the media to get information to the public. Both traditional and social media may also serve as information sources for emergency managers, especially during the response and recovery