Utilizing Social Media for Information Dispersal during Local Disasters: The Communication Hub Framework for Local Emergency Management

Abstract

In today’s society, the use of social media has increased the public’s desire to receive information quickly and to be able to interact with communicators. During a disaster, the trend to turn to social media for information has risen in popularity. Society’s reliance on social media and quick access to information has led the field of emergency management and the role of a Public Information Officer to adapt to include social media as a crisis communication channel for information dispersal. Existing frameworks for the use of social media as a channel for crisis communications provide guidance for emergency management agencies across all levels of government but fail to account for the varying access to communication resources at the local level. Due to the differing access to communication resources and unique relationships with stakeholders at the local level, there is a need for guidance on how local emergency management agencies can use social media to disperse essential information. The proposed Communication Hub Framework utilizes local emergency management professionals’ relationships with key community stakeholders to aid in the distribution of essential information to community members via social media during a disaster.

Process and components of disaster risk communication in health systems: A thematic analysis

“…Communication processes: Establishing proper communication with the media before the disaster and maintaining it during the disaster management cycle and effective use of their operational abilities, because of the influence, importance and acceptance of the media in society, is one of the communication process dimensions which needs the necessary planning (Dickmann et al 2015 ; Hobbs et al 2004 ; Mitcham, Taylor & Harris 2021 ; Savoia, Lin & Gamhewage 2017 ; Venkatraman & Manoharan 2021 ; White et al 2015). As another layer of the communication process, communication should be established with nonprofit organisations, partners and stakeholders, as well as local health liaisons, and must even establish effective communication between experts and managers (Hobbs et al 2004 ; Savoia et al 2017 ).…”

“…Communication features: Communication with the public, media and organisations must have certain characteristics to be sustainable. Creating interactive and continuous communication (Dickmann et al 2015 ; Venkatraman & Manoharan 2021 ); flexible and adaptive communication (Mitcham, Taylor & Harris 2021 ; Wray et al 2008 ); active communication based on public perception; and audience-oriented (Papwijitsil et al 2021 ; Vanderford et al 2007 ), direct and indirect multidimensional communication (Holmes et al 2009 ) have led to the institutionalisation of communications (Dickmann et al 2015 ) and should always be considered by risk communication experts in organisations.…”

“…For the establishment of a proper risk communication process, communication and coordination at the local, national and international levels must be planned and implemented before the crisis occurs (May 2005 ; Zhang et al 2020 ). It is also necessary to provide a platform for cooperation and interaction with stakeholders, social and nonprofit organisations and researchers (Mitcham et al 2021 ; Zhang et al 2021 ).…”

Exploring time evolution characteristics of the collaborative mode in emergency information release of public health emergencies: A network analysis of response to COVID-19 from the central government of China

“…Emergency information can be divided into data information about emergencies, emergency response measures taken by the government and relevant departments, emergency protection measures taken by the public, and public service information related to emergencies ( 20 ). The emergency information release runs through the whole life cycle of emergency management ( 21 ). This includes the release of early warning information in the stage of emergency prevention, the release of disaster information as well as prevention and control measures in the stage of emergency response and disposal, and the report of accident investigation and experience summary in the stage of emergency recovery.…”

Environmental Conservation in Malaysian Local Government: Issues and Recommendation

“…Several proposals are made to ensure effective community participation in conservation initiatives regarding sustainability based on outcomes of the study. The introduction of social media has improved the community's need to associate with communicators and acquire information quickly (Mitcham et al (2021). Consequently, social media may be exploited by local governments to circulate valuable knowledge.…”