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Best practices in risk and crisis communication: Implications for natural hazards management

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  • Toddi Steelman
  • Sarah McCaffrey

Abstract

As societies evolve, often the most appropriate response to the hazard must also evolve. However, such shifts in appropriate response to a hazard, whether at the individual or at the societal level, are rarely straightforward: Closing the gap between desired practice and current practice requires effective communication. Although there is a significant literature on how to encourage adaptation before an event and how to communicate during an event, there is less work tying the two together or on how to communicate shifts in larger scale societal response to a natural hazard. In this article, we bring together the best practices and theoretical literature from risk communication and crisis communication and empirical literature on wildfire communication to derive the key characteristics associated with best communication practices. We then use this framework on three case studies of wildfires in California, Montana, and Wyoming, each of which used a different strategy for managing the fire, to understand whether approaching communication more holistically can lead to more desired natural hazard management outcomes. Our working hypothesis was as follows: effective communication before and during a fire would be associated with acceptance of more flexible fire management strategies. The findings indicate how a type of desired management change (more flexible fire management) is associated with more effective communication practices before and during the event. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Toddi Steelman & Sarah McCaffrey, 2013. "Best practices in risk and crisis communication: Implications for natural hazards management," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 65(1), pages 683-705, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:nathaz:v:65:y:2013:i:1:p:683-705
    DOI: 10.1007/s11069-012-0386-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Baruch Fischhoff, 1995. "Risk Perception and Communication Unplugged: Twenty Years of Process," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(2), pages 137-145, April.
    2. Caron Chess, 2001. "Organizational Theory and the Stages of Risk Communication," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 21(1), pages 179-188, February.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Mark R. Kreider & Philip E. Higuera & Sean A. Parks & William L. Rice & Nadia White & Andrew J. Larson, 2024. "Fire suppression makes wildfires more severe and accentuates impacts of climate change and fuel accumulation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.
    3. Toddi Steelman & Sarah McCaffrey & Anne-Lise Velez & Jason Briefel, 2015. "What information do people use, trust, and find useful during a disaster? Evidence from five large wildfires," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 76(1), pages 615-634, March.
    4. Emily Heaney & Laura Hunter & Angus Clulow & Devin Bowles & Sotiris Vardoulakis, 2021. "Efficacy of Communication Techniques and Health Outcomes of Bushfire Smoke Exposure: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-14, October.
    5. Fengwan Zhang & Xueling Bao & Xin Deng & Wei Wang & Jiahao Song & Dingde Xu, 2022. "Does Trust Help to Improve Residents’ Perceptions of the Efficacy of Disaster Preparedness? Evidence from Wenchuan and Lushan Earthquakes in Sichuan Province, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-15, April.
    6. Robert L. Heath & Jaesub Lee & Michael J. Palenchar & Laura L. Lemon, 2018. "Risk Communication Emergency Response Preparedness: Contextual Assessment of the Protective Action Decision Model," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(2), pages 333-344, February.
    7. Eleni G. Kleovoulou & Corina Konstantinou & Andria Constantinou & Eelco Kuijpers & Miranda Loh & Karen S. Galea & Rob Stierum & Anjoeka Pronk & Konstantinos C. Makris, 2021. "Stakeholders′ Perceptions of Environmental and Public Health Risks Associated with Hydrocarbon Activities in and around the Vasilikos Energy Center, Cyprus," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-15, December.
    8. Scira Menoni & Reimund Schwarze, 2020. "Recovery during a crisis: facing the challenges of risk assessment and resilience management of COVID-19," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 189-198, June.
    9. Travis Paveglio & Catrin Edgeley, 2017. "Community diversity and hazard events: understanding the evolution of local approaches to wildfire," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 87(2), pages 1083-1108, June.
    10. Tianzhuo Liu & Huifang Jiao, 2018. "How does information affect fire risk reduction behaviors? Mediating effects of cognitive processes and subjective knowledge," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 90(3), pages 1461-1483, February.
    11. Olivier Boiral & Marie-Christine Brotherton & Léo Rivaud & Laurence Guillaumie, 2021. "Organizations’ Management of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Scoping Review of Business Articles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-20, April.
    12. Amoako, Frimpong & Asuamah Yeboah, Samuel, 2023. ""Community Voices in Control: A Systematic Review of Local Representation's Influence on RCB Governance Structure’’," MPRA Paper 118629, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 10 Sep 2023.

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