Why We Need a Conversation about Emergencies and Disaster
Under Pressure 30 May 2025
We Need a Conversation about Emergencies and Disaster
It is clear that in the UK there is something missing. Something that adds to the challenges when an emergency or disaster occurs. Something that stops us really making a difference. It is a conversation about emergencies and disasters.
What happens is there is an incident and suddenly there is a focus on what, when and how to communicate. There is a flurry of social media activity, videos or livestreams, commentary and then very quickly the rumour and speculation. Authorities spend time telling people not to speculate but it comes as a stock response now.
Why do we not have a conversation about responding to events and importantly what it means for people? There is a need to do this for more than to help with communication. We need it to ensure that people understand why they should have enough tins of food for 72 hours, and why they need to have a quick response bag at home.
Around the world where countries are more used to dealing with providing information about what to do in the event of emergency or disaster is expected. I found this from the City of Las Vegas about wildfires. Yet in the UK despite facing floods, extreme heat, terror incidents and many other events, we don’t have an ongoing conversation about dealing with the unexpected.
The lack of conversation has a huge impact when authorities are asking for support in the aftermath of an emergency. People have no reference as to why actions are being requested or why they should do them. This means they are disconnected and unlikely to cooperate. There is also a huge issue with trust. Where there is little or no trust in authorities the words they say will fail to have an impact.
There is now an urgent need to have an ongoing conversation with people about what happens when emergencies or disasters happen. This means sharing how authorities respond, what they do, and being transparent. You can’t just say it once you have to say it again and again. Rather like the Run, Tell, Hide or See it, Say it, Sorted that we have got used to. This conversation will also then pave the way to talk about the communication, what is done, why it is done, and what it means to people. If we don’t address this we are going to have the same issues every time a critical situation happens.
Come What May: Book Review
The long awaited second book from Professor Lucy Easthope has been published and Amanda has provided a review here. It is a book that bridges major disasters and emergencies and the personal traumas that we all experience. In short this is not just a book for emergency planners and those working in crisis management but there are helpful points at the end of each of the 10 lessons that can help everyone.
Emergency communication podcast
Amanda was interviewed for the Emergency Services Show podcast looking at emergency communication and the importance of trust, clarity and calm. Find out more and listen here.
10 Minutes With Dan Stoneking
In the latest short interview Amanda talks to emergency management and communication expert Dan Stoneking. Dan is the founder and Vice President of the Emergency Management External Affairs Association (EMEAA) and has extensive experience. Listen to the short discussion about emergency communication here.
Thanks to Homeland Security Today.US website for sharing the discussion with their readers. Find the website here.
*Training: Writing a Crisis Comms Strategy
There are a couple of spaces still available for anyone wanting a short training session on developing crisis communication strategies and plans. The training is online and is for two hours from 2pm on 19 June. The session will look at what to include, how to embed it and building it into the business. It is just £60 to book a space. Email office@amandacolemancomms.co.uk to book.
In Brief:
If you were listening to LBC on Thursday 29 May and thought you heard Amanda then you were right. At around 7.40am she talked to Nick Ferrari about the Heathrow boss who slept through the shutdown. Check out some points about it here.
Following the incident in Liverpool, Amanda wrote an article for PR Week about the challenges for police communication in an age of disinformation and social media. Read more here (subscription required).
The University of South Florida has been supporting government organisations to look at messaging and evacuation procedures and how they can be improve ahead of the hurricane season. Using a survey they are trying to unpick attitudes and behaviour and what that means for communication. Find out more here.
Social media crisis plans that connect with the public during the pandemic were considered in recent research published in Nature magazine. It considered public health posts and those from the media. Read more here.
The fallout from Dieselgate the VW emissions scandal is continuing 10 years on after a number of former employees were convicted and sentenced for their part in the emission testing fraud. Read more here.
Emergency communicators are urged to read the article detailing the stories of those affected by Hurricane Helene. Find out more here and thanks to Steven Kuhr for highlighting the article.
People visiting Greece have been urged to turn on phone notifications following an earthquake. They are being warned to be able to access the smartphone alerts after the quake hit Crete on 22 May. Find out more here.
The latest Ofcom research into Children’s media use and attitudes has been published. Rebecca Roberts highlighted with some thoughts on it. Find out more here.
The Emergency Planning Society Communications working group has started a short consultation on artificial intelligence use among communicators. It will be used to inform some further work later in the year. Please provide your thoughts here.
Campus Safety website considers what is needed to improve school safety and highlights the need for adequate funding. Read more here.
The Halifax municipality in Canada has developed its first emergency communication plan. It is learning from recent events. Find out more here.
An article in Newsweek puts crisis PR at the forefront of managing the challenges expected from AI and the increase in misinformation. Read more here.
Amanda blogged about the importance of focusing on those affected by crisis and the disaster recovery graph. Read more here.
Diary Dates:
On 5 June Amanda will be running her popular Developing a Communication Strategy as part of the PRCA training. Find out more here.
Amanda’s next short training session is on 19 June and will focus on developing crisis communication strategies and plans. If you are interested email office@amandacolemancomms.co.uk
On 30 June Amanda is running a morning session on being crisis ready for The Booksellers Marketing and Publicity 2025 conference in London. Find out more here.