Emergency warning messages: how do community members comprehend them?
This is the first of three concurrent Hazard Notes for the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC project, Creating effective multi-channel communication during disaster response and recovery, as part of the Communication and Warnings cluster.
This research adopts a multi-hazards approach to examine the effectiveness of response and recovery communication in communities affected by natural hazards. It applies well-established risk communications and psychological theories of human behaviour to determine whether existing emergency messages could be revised to improve comprehension.
This Hazard Note outlines opportunities for emergency services agencies to improve their communication and messaging. Hazard Note 80 details which types of specific messages encourage community readiness. Hazard Note 81 explores whether icons and graphics help to encourage action during emergencies.
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