Keeping the Public Informed During a Crisis
Communication Lessons from Hurricane Katrina
Aug 18, 2009
Civil rights leaders and other public figures, during Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath charged that African Americans were left stranded, leading to harmful news headlines across the world.
Contrary to this, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (LDHH), on Feb. 16, 2006, released an update of deceased victims. Of 693 storm related deaths, 365 (52%) were African American and 304 (44%) were Caucasian. It is therefore undeniable that the individuals who did not evacuate were primarily poor people and not necessarily African Americans.
The media’s loyalty lies on the public’s right to know. Equally vital is a media communication plan identifying key spokespersons to act as the official voice to the media during and in the aftermath of a crisis.
Communication Plan
An effective communication strategy should contain and address the following:
1. Immediately after the crisis, a press statement containing only confirmed facts must be released.
2. Manage information flowing to the media by tasking key spokespersons as the only official “voice” of leadership.
3. Ensure that the media is provided with timely, concise and precise updates of the crisis. The media will pursue other information outlets in the absence of timely crisis updates. Information obtained from unofficial sources increases the risk of incorrect, emotive and sensationalized images being created in the (mass) media, ultimately weakening the public’s confidence in leadership.
4. The public, during a crisis, rely on the media as a primary source of information. It is therefore important for leadership to utilize the media for responsible, accurate and factual dissemination of information.
5. The internet is a medium for globally instantaneous public service announcements and press releases thus serving the media and public. The communication plan should anticipate power outages and or internet connectivity loss, therefore website updates should be managed from a satellite office setup outside the disaster area.
6. Emergency management staff must be trained to immediately seek factual answers to any questions unanswered during a press briefing. Failure to do so will provide fertile breeding ground for misinformation.
7. An effective communication plan should ensure that local and federal law enforcement agencies collaborate on information updates. Doing so not only curtails the mill of rumors such as “babies were raped,” as reported during Katrina's aftermath, but it also will avoid social networks’ inadvertently “glorifying perpetrators.”
8. Any inaccurate coverage must be immediately countered with factual, constructive, healing, information because the affected population's anxious family members and friends who are outside the disaster area may become sources of unreliable and unofficial information.
The National Education Association (NEA)
The NEA provides a detailed guideline for being responsive during and after a crisis. Below are some key points:
- Avoid presenting simplistic explanations by acknowledging the multiple factors contributing to the disaster or crisis.
- Focus on gaining a fuller understanding of the factors that contribute to the disaster or crisis and relay the events in context.
- Avoid engaging in repetitive, ongoing or excessive reporting of looting or people dying as witnessed during Katrina's aftermath.
- Focus on a solution and strive for context.
- Avoid providing sensational coverage; this can be minimized by eliminating morbid details.
- Focus on reality of time passage, for example, leadership should shift focus from the tragedy and provide media with growth, rebuilding and a healing strategy, a week or so after the disaster.
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