Carl Botan

Risk communication and the willingness to follow evacuation instructions in a natural disaster

Experts have predicted that some time in the future, a rockslide in one of Norways narrow fjords will produce a tsunami that may run up above the sea level as high as 82 m (269 feet). This study explores the willingness of the public to follow evacuation instructions before a natural disaster with a high probability, but unknown timeframe. Parts of the studied area were involved in a similar disaster in 1934. For this study, all residents (875) 18 years or older in four threatened communities received a questionnaire; 382 (43.6%) responded. The aim was to determine to what extent socio-demographic variables, individual differences, and the relationships among experts and residents determine a willingness to follow recommended evacuation instructions during emergencies. The survey found that those who reported a willingness to follow instructions lived in areas with a disaster history. Often they had university graduate degrees, good relationships with experts, and found risk information useful. Gender and individual differences did not separately contribute significantly to willingness to evacuate.

Responding to Terrorism: Translating Communication Research into Practice

Effective communication is the crucial link to understanding how to adequately prevent, prepare, respond to and learn from risks and crises. In the post September 11 crisis and terrorism environment government officials, first responders, providers/ practitioners, community leaders, community members, and researchers*/confront an alarming range of communication obstacles that can limit the effectiveness of responses to risk and terrorist events. Terrorism, not surprisingly, has become a significant topic in crisis management, academe, industry, and in our communities. The issues surrounding terrorism have now become an integral part of our daily conversations in America and throughout the world. Simply put, we do not yet understand the unique nuances involved when communicating critical information during times of crisis. More than at any other time in history, communication scholars need to become involved in providing research-based expertise both theoretically and methodologically for constructing, tailoring, and evaluating messages in terrorism contexts. Indeed, it is time for communication scholars to begin operationalizing specific communication based strategies for prevention, response, promotion, education, and evaluation efforts. The origin of this special issue of Communication Research Reports (HC) grew in part from a provocative Town Hall meeting focusing on Homeland Security in the national capital region at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, February 24, 2004. The main idea was to bring together a university’s intellectual depth and diversity, WETA’s reputation for quality programming, and Washingtonpost.com’s reach. Frank Sesno, an Emmy-award winning journalist and George Mason University professor helped to bring local and federal officials, community members, students and educators from the Washington D.C. area together to discuss fresh ideas and differing perspectives. In essence, the goal was to begin the dialogue of how to handle crises before, during, and after they occur. Among the guests of honor were

Using Sense-Making and Coorientation to Rank Strategic Public Communication in State Emergency Operations Plans (EOPs)

This study employs sense-making and coorientation theories to evaluate public communication in current emergency response planning in the United States. It employs a two-stage content analysis to evaluate and rank all available state emergency operations plans [EOPs] from among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The study concludes that: (1) only D. C. and New Mexico achieved the top score of 8 on our 1–8 scale with Ohio scoring a 7; (2) 22 jurisdictions do not have a state EOP, withhold the plan on security grounds (two states) or make it difficult for even trained researchers to gain access; and, (3) all the 29 states with available EOPs make provision for public communication but only 16 make either explicit or implicit provisions for two-way public communication. Thus, while most Americans will have access to some important state level information during emergencies many may not, and most will have no channel designed to allow them to ask for the information they feel they need.

Risk communication and worried publics in an imminent rockslide and tsunami situation

In this paper determinants of adequate worry were studied in the case of an impending rockslide and tsunami in the fjords around Åknes on the west coast of Norway. Approximately 3000 people live in this danger zone. A rockslide may cause up to 54 million cubic metres (1.9 billion cubic feet) of rock to slide into the fjord below, causing a major tsunami. In relation to risk communication, the study sought insights into the determinants of adequate worry in this certain, but time-indeterminate, natural disaster. A questionnaire designed to measure the public’s ‘otte’, a parochial Norwegian expression translated as a nagging worry about the rockslide, was mailed to all 875 inhabitants aged 18 years and older in the four small communities along the fjord; 382 responded (43.6%). The results indicated that members of the public who had trust in the experts and engaged in dialogue with them tended to worry more than others. Those who reported concerns about issues unrelated to the disaster tended to worry less about a possible rockslide. Analyses also revealed that those who lived in a community with extraordinary assets worried the most. Compliance with the evacuation procedures and trust in the experts were positively correlated with the level of worry. In order to address the needs of the public, this study suggests that not only are facts and figures about risk important but also issues that address the worries of the public. Implications for risk communication are discussed.

Can Public Schools Serve as Communication Networks for Community Disaster Medical Preparedness and Recovery? A Review

Abstract Objective To assess the feasibility of using public schools as communication nodes in communitymedical disaster preparedness and recovery. Methods To identify prior work, literature searches were conducted, primarily focusing on disastermedical preparedness and public schools. The literature review focused on the preceding 17 yearsof English language publications (1995 to April 2011). Major medical electronic data bases,such as Medline (included PubMed), Cochrane Collaboration Library, Communication and MediaComplete, Wiley Online Library, CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied HealthLiterature) and U.S. states and federal government websites were queried, using MeSH terms.Relevant government and disaster response organizations websites were prescreened for theirapplicability to the research objectives. Based on established selection criteria, 33 publications andmaterials were selected and evaluated using a qualitative rating scale. Results Adequate experimental or empirical information describing the incorporation of schoolcommunication networks in the planning, recovery, and response for community medical disasterwas not found in the published literature. Information regarding individual school communicationand response plans were primarily located in websites, guidelines and documents published byvarious agencies, including states, federal government and individual national or internationaleducation agencies. This may suggest that, while many have found that their own programmaticneeds make it necessary for them to address the central question of this study, little systematicscholarly review or exchange between experts has taken place to date. Therefore, this article mayhelp fill a longstanding need in the emergency medical planning and response community and,by extension, even among state and federal EOP (Emergency Operations Plans) planners andmanagers.The crisis communications model, developed by the Centers for Disease Control andPrevention, was applied to address communication networks used by schools and communities