Integrating Risk, Crisis, and Emergency Communication as Disaster Communication

Disaster communication as an interdisciplinary pursuit requires integration of risk communication, crisis communication, and emergency communication. Groups from private and public organizations that have varied levels of experience in working with one another must cooperate and collaborate in these efforts to increase their effectiveness. Table 2 includes some overarching aims relating to different audiences and these three components of disaster communication.

Risk Communication

Risk communication broadly defined focuses on risk estimates and consequences. At no time in the history of this nation has the public health mission of promoting the public's safety resonated more clearly with the public, government, and those whose professional duties will be aligned with the charge. While public health professionals have often performed their tasks in obscurity, the events of 9-11 brought public health glaringly into the limelight. Public safety has always included emergency preparedness as one component of public health, with tornadoes, floods, toxic spills, and gas emissions falling within this rubric. The addition of bioterrorism and other terrorist threats as a priority in emergency preparedness points squarely to the role for risk communication as a critical framework within which to conduct the business of public health. Risk communication addresses a negative event or hazard that threatens the public's safety, with communication about that hazard focusing on the probability of its occurrence multiplied by its magnitude, weighed together with consideration of less quantifiable factors such as social values (Covello, 1992). The likelihood of a tornado hitting some geographic regions, for example, is greater than in others, and the public health effort put toward that possible emergency is greater in areas with higher risk, given that the magnitude of harm associated with a tornado can be death or extreme injury. Predicting the likelihood of a toxic spill is far less precise, although the magnitude of harm associated with the risk contributes to public health professionals' consideration of the issue and, often, the preparation of a plan to address the possibility. Prior to 9-11, the probability of such an event appeared to be very small, although the magnitude of harm predicted should it occur was expected to be great, again encompassing death and disability. The ranking of the threat and the way public health professionals planned for and communicated about it, therefore, placed the issue squarely within a planning category rather than an action item. Following 9-11 , the public has been told that the probability of another terrorist attack is 100 percent. The magnitude of harm associated with such an attack will depend partly upon the preparedness of public health professionals.

Crisis Communication

Crisis communication, as summarized in Seeger et al. (2003), addresses threats to an organization's ability to achieve its goals. These events range from obvious threats to core functions of an organization to less obvious threats. Chemical or nuclear disasters associated with chemical or nuclear power plants arise as a result of the organization's primary activity which poses a known threat and for which specific action may be planned in advance. First responders, for example, need to be aware of what chemicals a plant produces, what hazards they pose in isolation or combination, as liquids or air borne, and the strategies in place to address potential problems. These types of organizations should communicate within and outside the organization about these threats and plans to avoid, detect, and address them. On the other hand, an example of a less predictable threat to the core function of an organization is illustrated by the events of 9-11 in 2001 for commercial airlines. While airlines take many precautions for the safety of passengers, 9-11 created a crisis for the airline industry that would have been difficult to address with a prior plan.

Emergency Communication

Emergency communication alerts emergency personnel, those affected, and media about the existence of an actual threat and actions to alleviate or reduce harm. The three primary components of the United States' emergency communication system include the 911 telephone Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP) and call dispatch system, the Emergency Alert System, and radio and/or broadcast or cable television station news and updates. Emergency personnel often find out about emergencies through 911 calls. The dispatcher receiving a call has been trained to route the call to local emergency personnel, including medical, fire, and law enforcement. The Enhanced 911, or E911, system automatically reports both the telephone number and location of calls. While a vital component for communicating an emergency, the system may become overloaded during an emergency, an event that may be addressed in advance with a plan for communicating if this occurs. Mobile phones make the identification of a user's location more difficult, causing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to require wireless telephone carriers to provide E911. In the event that a carrier does not yet use technology that meets the FCC rules, consumers must: tell the emergency operator the location of an emergency right away and give the wireless phone number so that if the call is disconnected, an operator can call back. These guidelines should become public service announcements in all areas to increase the effectiveness of emergency communication.

Table 2. Overarching Aims Relating to Risk Communication,
Crisis Communication, and Emergency Communication

Audience - Role	Risk Communication	Crisis Communication	Emergency Communication
Media - To inform the public and emergency personnel by being there, being first, and being accurate in a highly competitive marketplace of messages	To inform the public about what poses a threat to whom at what time, in what location, and with what consequence	To communicate links to organizations as sites that pose threats, sites that may provide shelter from threats, and/or sites that are threatened	To alert the public about an ongoing threat and activate emergency personnel; to communicate evacuation guidelines, shelter locations, and sites for aid
Public - To seek information about ways to protect self, family, home, and job from trusted sources	Seek and use information to understand risk situations and take action to achieve protection	Seek information to understand possible crisis situations and take action as needed	Listen and act to minimize potential harm by following emergency directives (evacuation orders, etc.)
First Responders - To gain information about who needs what type of assistance in what location	Establish response plans for specific risks and communicate the plans within and outside the responder group as appropriate	Communicate what is required to address emergency and what is needed to respond within and outside the responder group as appropriate	Establish emergency services and training protocols. Include plans and training for the responsibility of providing "Real Time" information to others.
Businesses - To seek information about threats to business and employees, safeguard information about organization's deficits	Communicate to their employees and the surrounding community about potential risks related to the business functions	Communicate what is known, what actions are being taken, and what the public should do to minimize their risk	Seek necessary information to protect employees, the public and business infrastructure; act to limit an emergency's effects for the organization
Hospitals - To gain information about who needs services and triage based on needs; alert staff	Assess risk situations and develop response plans and capabilities to provide medical services for relevant scenarios for their community	If the crisis involves the hospital directly, include everything a business would do in response	Communicate to perform emergency medical services in response to the needs of those impacted by the emergency
Public Health Practitioners - to obtain information about threats to population health and strategies to limit threats	Assess risk situations and develop communication plans about risk for their community insuring that there are adequate response plans for relevant scenarios	Assess the crisis situation to determine impacts to public health; communicate to the public what steps can be taken to reduce their risk	Assess the emergency to determine impacts to public health and take action to communicate to the public what steps can be taken to reduce their risk
Volunteers/Volunteer Organizations	Assess risk situations and develop response plans for communicating to mobilize volunteers in relevant scenarios	Assess the crisis situation and communicate what services can be provided to support a community in need	Assess the emergency situation and communicate what support the volunteers have to offer