Communicating Risk in Enhancing Disaster Preparedness: A Pragmatic Example of Disaster Risk Communication Approach from the Case of Smong Story

Abstract

Communicating risk has been widely accepted as a key strategy in mitigating the the impact of disasters. The concepts and practices of risk communication have been evolving since the 1980s due to the complexity and diversity of risk, developments in the communication sciences, and the complex nature of stakeholders and media. Failure to communicate risk may lead to an increase in the number of fatalities in future events. In this study, disaster risk communication (DRC) is proposed based on Lasswell’s communication model and seen as an interactive process of exchanging information and opinions about risk among individuals, groups, and institutions to help them reduce uncertainty and undertake appropriate decisions and actions in the event of disaster. This study also describes the case study of the Smong story, which was successfully used to convey a simple tsunami risk message and help people make appropriate decisions, undertake appropriate actions, and save lives during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. It involves multiple factors, such as messages about the nature of risk and other messages, not strictly about risk, that express concerns, opinions, or reactions to risk or to legal or institutional arrangements for risk management in strengthening community preparedness before, during, and after disasters.

Models and components in disaster risk communication: A systematic literature review

“…In terms of the research method, among the selected studies, qualitative method was included in eight cases,[ 17 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 ] mixed methods in four,[ 27 28 29 30 ] model development in seven,[ 15 16 31 32 33 34 35 ] cross sectional in three,[ 36 37 38 ] experimental in two,[ 28 39 ] a case study in two,[ 40 41 ] a case report in two,[ 42 43 ] clinical trial in one,[ 44 ] and survey in three. [ 45 46 ] The most common type of disaster among the selected studies was related to floods with 13 cases,[ 15 16 22 23 28 29 30 31 36 38 46 47 48 ] earthquake with two cases,[ 21 24 ] tornadoes with one case,[ 27 ] epidemics with three cases,[ 26 42 43 ] tsunamis with one case,[ 17 ] and nuclear accidents with one case. [ 22 ] In other studies, the type of incident was not specified.…”

“…To better understand the factors affecting risk communication and explain the relationships among components, a number of these studies were designed as a conceptual framework or model. [ 15 16 17 27 31 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 42 ] The approach of most of these models is message based, in a way that they had taken into account the message transmission process from the sender to the receiver and its influential factors such as transparency of messages, communication among stakeholders, risk communication environment, the role of trust in communication channels, source of messages in risk communication, and the like, so that they could prepare people for disasters by raising awareness. In the meantime, one study takes a step forward and points to the participation of the community as a mediator in the process of disseminating information and preparing people for disasters.…”

“…[ 14 15 16 ] Some risk communication approaches are found based on the idea that providing the public more information makes preparation for the catastrophe easier. [ 17 ] However, although giving information to increase public awareness is important, other risk communication models place a greater focus on the role of motivating factors in translating risk awareness into disaster preparation. [ 14 ] Therefore, each of these models has its strengths and weaknesses, and the presence of different models in the field of risk communication shows that there is no consensus on the models and their essential elements.…”

The implementation of disaster education after the sixteen years of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami in Aceh-Indonesia: Progress or regress?

“…Strengthening disaster education for the community is an effort to provide awareness and knowledge of disasters and the actions that need to be taken before, during, and after disasters occur [1,2]. Communicating disaster risk plays an important role in disaster education as an effort to provide views about disasters to the community [3]. Increased attention to disasters is caused by the awareness of the dangers of disasters that can be communicated in people's lives, which often cannot be predicted when, where, and how big the impact will be [4,5].…”

Sustaining Community-Based Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Learning Platforms at Work in Freetown, Sierra Leone

“…This article contributes to filling that knowledge gap and highlight the strategic value of CoLPs in sustaining local responses to the pandemic, buttressing the debates of the value of community-mediated disaster risk communication which reduces uncertainty and supports appropriate decisions, actions and overall recovery in the event of disasters (Badri, 2021; Bradley et al, 2014; Osuteye et al, 2020b; Rahman & Munadi, 2019). It also explores how social protection measures were built into the local response and how this social capital helped tackle deeply entrenched inequalities in communities.…”