Disaster Preparedness and Risk Communication: A Dynamic Social Vulnerability Perspective
In this paper, we build upon recent dynamic and intersectional conceptualisations of social vulnerability to disasters to put forward a novel and more nuanced approach to the functions of communication in disaster preparedness.
First, we highlight how preparedness communication may have three different foci: it may be aimed at alleviating either (1) the direct impact of hazards, such as injuries, poisoning, or infection, (2) hazards caused by the disruptions of vital services, such as power outages, or (3) threats to human lives arising from various barriers to risk communication, such as the breakdown of early warning systems or people’s exposure to harmful misinformation.
Second, we explain how the processes and outcomes of preparedness communication are shaped by three types of factors: (1) individual factors, such as people’s habits of information consumption, (2) situational factors, such as barriers to communication that emerge in particular disaster types and scenarios, and (3) social-structural factors that encompass the various (gaps in) communication capacities of the disaster management system. Each of these factors presents specific challenges to disaster managers, requiring them to carry out systematic audience research, run scenario-based exercises and vulnerability assessments, and develop various risk-related communication skills and protocols within their organisations.
Third, we clarify how the functions of communication in the preparedness phase of disaster risk management are related to those in the other three phases: mitigation, response, and recovery.
We conclude by suggesting a set of new criteria for evaluating what kind of activities may count as ‘good practices’ in disaster preparedness communication.