Significance of communication in emergency management

Article

Ryan, Barbara and Matheson, Amalia. 2010. "Significance of communication in emergency management." The Australian Journal of Emergency Management. 25 (1), pp. 54-57.
Article Title

Significance of communication in emergency management

ERA Journal ID36014
Article CategoryArticle
AuthorsRyan, Barbara (Author) and Matheson, Amalia (Author)
Journal TitleThe Australian Journal of Emergency Management
Journal Citation25 (1), pp. 54-57
Number of Pages4
Year2010
PublisherEmergency Management Australia
Place of PublicationMt Macedon, Australia
ISSN1324-1540
2204-2288
Web Address (URL)http://www.ema.gov.au/www/emaweb/rwpattach.nsf/VAP/%288AB0BDE05570AAD0EF9C283AA8F533E3%29~Ryan+&+Matheson.pdf/$file/Ryan+&+Matheson.pdf
Abstract

Operational success in responding to an emergency might easily be measured in terms the number of lives and properties saved. Media images of fire fighters or State Emergency Services rescue boats in action during flood are evidence to the community, emergency managers and politicians that emergency agency resources are hard at work. Unfortunately, the effect of communication around the same emergency is hard to measure and such measurement not resourced. This may result in communication teams being starved of resources that can not easily be justified by emergency managers in terms of outcomes. Despite this, debriefing sessions often seem to be dominated by issues surrounding communication with the media and community.

This study was commissioned by the Emergency Media and Public Affairs Research and Development committee and investigates suspicions of practitioners that, while communication teams are small, communication is a large component of emergency management that can easily turn into an issue (Rekers, Delaney & Wilson 2008). It attempts to quantify the significance of communication to emergency management. It will undertake a content analysis of a sample of documents that have been produced in Australia as a result of emergency incident and emergency exercise debriefing sessions and reviews from 2003 to 2008 and will measure the number of recommendations specific to or relating to communications against the total number of recommendations.

The term ‘communications’ in this paper includes agency-community communication, community-agency communication, intra- and inter-agency communication and deals with messaging, channels and technology.

Keywordsemergency; disaster; communication; community engagement; community education; warnings; content review; debrief
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020470108. Organisational, interpersonal and intercultural communication
Public Notes

File reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/author.

Byline AffiliationsSchool of Humanities and Communication
University of the Sunshine Coast
Permalink -

https://research.usq.edu.au/item/9z7w4/significance-of-communication-in-emergency-management

Log in to edit

Download files

Published Version
Ryan_Matheson_2010_PV.pdf
File access level: Anyone

  • 2175
    total views
  • 267
    total downloads
  • 0
    views this month
  • 1
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

Evaluation of community engagement for resilience outcomes: A pre-engagement approach
Johnston, Kim A., Taylor, Maureen and Ryan, Barbara. 2024. "Evaluation of community engagement for resilience outcomes: A pre-engagement approach." International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. 110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2024.104613
Learning from the experiences of residents: January to July 2022 floods
Taylor, Mel, Miller, Fiona, Johnston, Kim, Ryan, Barbara, Lane, Anne, King, Rachel, Narwal, Harriet, Miller, Madeleine, Simon, Helga and Dabas, Dipika. 2023. "Learning from the experiences of residents: January to July 2022 floods." The Australian Journal of Emergency Management. 38 (3), pp. 27-30.
A Community Engagement Approach to Natural Hazard Communication
Taylor, Maureen, Johnston, Kim A. and Ryan, Barbara. 2023. "A Community Engagement Approach to Natural Hazard Communication ." Coombs, W. Timothy and Holladay, Sherry J. (ed.) The Handbook of Crisis Communication. United States. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 327-342
Using an inventory cluster approach for assessing bushfire preparedness and information needs in vulnerable communities
Ryan, Barbara, King, Rachel, Lokuge, Weena, Karunasena, Warna and Anderson, Esther. 2023. "Using an inventory cluster approach for assessing bushfire preparedness and information needs in vulnerable communities." Natural Hazards. 115, p. 1697–1714. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-022-05614-2
Recognising and measuring competency in natural hazard preparation: A preparedness competency index
Ryan, Barbara, Johnston, Kim A. and Taylor, Maureen. 2022. "Recognising and measuring competency in natural hazard preparation: A preparedness competency index." International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. 73, pp. 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2022.102882
Evacuation versus shelter in place
McLennan, Jim, Bearman, Chris and Ryan, Barbara. 2022. "Evacuation versus shelter in place." McGee, Tara K. and Penning-Rowsell, Edmund (ed.) Routledge Handbook of Environmental Hazards and Society. Routledge. pp. 335-350
Engaging communities to prepare for natural hazards: a conceptual model
Johnston, Kim A., Taylor, Maureen and Ryan, Barbara. 2022. "Engaging communities to prepare for natural hazards: a conceptual model." Natural Hazards. 112, pp. 2831-2851. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-022-05290-2
Bushfire mitigation and preparation on the Toowoomba Region Escarpment: a research report for Toowoomba Regional Council
Ryan, Barbara, King, Rachel, Lokuge, Weena, Karunasena, Karu and Anderson, Esther. 2020. Bushfire mitigation and preparation on the Toowoomba Region Escarpment: a research report for Toowoomba Regional Council. Toowoomba, Australia. University of Southern Queensland.
Community engagement for disaster preparedness: a systematic literature review
Ryan, Barbara, Johnston, Kim A., Taylor, Maureen and McAndrew, Ryan. 2020. "Community engagement for disaster preparedness: a systematic literature review." International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. 49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101655
The missing link in emergency management: evaluating community engagement
Taylor, Maureen, Ryan, Barbara and Johnston, Kim. 2020. "The missing link in emergency management: evaluating community engagement." The Australian Journal of Emergency Management. 35 (1), pp. 45-52.
How ready is ready? Measuring physical preparedness for severe storms
Ryan, Barbara and King, Rachel. 2020. "How ready is ready? Measuring physical preparedness for severe storms." Natural Hazards. 104, pp. 171-199. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-020-04164-9
Emergency management communication: The paradox of the positive in public communication for preparedness
Johnston, Kim A., Taylor, Maureen and Ryan, Barbara. 2020. "Emergency management communication: The paradox of the positive in public communication for preparedness." Public Relations Review. 46 (2), pp. 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2020.101903
Mapping approaches to community engagement for preparedness in Australia
Johnston, Kim, Ryan, Barbara and Taylor, Maureen. 2019. Mapping approaches to community engagement for preparedness in Australia. East Melbourne, Australia. Bushfire and Natural Hazards Co-operative Research Centre.
Should we leave now? Behavioral factors in evacuation under wildfire threat
McLennan, Jim, Ryan, Barbara, Bearman, Chris and Toh, Keith. 2019. "Should we leave now? Behavioral factors in evacuation under wildfire threat." Fire Technology. 55 (2), pp. 487-516. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-018-0753-8
Toowoomba escarpment residents’ preparedness for storm and bushfire, and their understanding of bushfire preparedness engagement.
Ryan, Barbara and King, Rachel. 2017. Toowoomba escarpment residents’ preparedness for storm and bushfire, and their understanding of bushfire preparedness engagement. Toowoomba, Australia. University of Southern Queensland.
A model to explain information seeking behaviour by individuals in the response phase of a disaster
Ryan, Barbara. 2018. "A model to explain information seeking behaviour by individuals in the response phase of a disaster." Library and Information Science Research. 40 (2), pp. 73-85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2018.05.001
Establishing information seeking pathways in slow and flash floods
Ryan, Barbara. 2018. "Establishing information seeking pathways in slow and flash floods." International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. 31, pp. 9-19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2018.04.005
The significance of communication in emergency management: what’s changed since 2010?
Ryan, Barbara. 2017. "The significance of communication in emergency management: what’s changed since 2010?" The Australian Journal of Emergency Management. 32 (1), pp. 24-31.
Assessing regional digital competence: Digital futures and strategic planning implications
Alam, Khorshed, Erdiaw-Kwasie, Michael, Shahiduzzaman, Md and Ryan, Barbara. 2018. "Assessing regional digital competence: Digital futures and strategic planning implications." Journal of Rural Studies. 60, pp. 60-69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2018.02.009
Developing communicators will improve prevention, response and recovery
Ryan, Barbara. 2017. "Developing communicators will improve prevention, response and recovery." The Australian Journal of Emergency Management. 32 (3), pp. 24-24.
Does measurement of intentions allow us to assume behavior? A disaster information seeking perspective
Ryan, Barbara. 2013. "Does measurement of intentions allow us to assume behavior? A disaster information seeking perspective." International Research Committee on Disasters Annual Meeting (2013). Broomfield, United States 16 Jul 2013 Boulder CO USA.
Information seeking in a flood
Ryan, Barbara. 2013. "Information seeking in a flood." Disaster Prevention and Management: an international journal. 22 (3), pp. 229-242. https://doi.org/10.1108/DPM-05-2012-0059
Information seeking in a disaster
Ryan, Barbara. 2012. "Information seeking in a disaster." Sison, Mariane D. and Sheehan, Mark (ed.) 2012 World Public Relations Forum Research Colloquium. Melbourne, Australia 18 - 20 Nov 2012 Melbourne, Australia.
How people seek information when their community is in a disaster
Ryan, Barbara. 2011. "How people seek information when their community is in a disaster." Emergency Media and Public Affairs: Partnering with the Media (2011). Canberra, Australia 10 - 12 Apr 2011 Kelvin Grove, Brisbane, Australia.
Crisis preparedness in government departments in Australia
Ryan, Barbara. 2009. "Crisis preparedness in government departments in Australia." 2009 Emergency Media and Public Affairs Conference: Engaging in Emergencies. Melbourne, Australia 24 - 26 May 2009 Melbourne, Australia.
Just what is the significance of communication in emergency management? An attempt to find empirical evidence by content analysis of reviews and debriefs of Australian emergency incidents and exercises
Ryan, Barbara and Matheson, Amalia. 2009. "Just what is the significance of communication in emergency management? An attempt to find empirical evidence by content analysis of reviews and debriefs of Australian emergency incidents and exercises." 2009 Emergency Media and Public Affairs Conference: Engaging in Emergencies. Melbourne, Australia 24 - 26 May 2009 Melbourne, Australia.
How can the corporate sector concepts of 'reputation' and 'trust' be used by local government? A study to establish a model of reputation management for local government
Ryan, Barbara. 2007. "How can the corporate sector concepts of 'reputation' and 'trust' be used by local government? A study to establish a model of reputation management for local government." Asia Pacific Public Relations Journal. 8, pp. 37-75.