Some hazards have obvious early stages, where it is possible to issue messages that can help local residents and community members to prepare for future events. Hurricane, storm surge, and wildfire all have pre-event stages that can be accompanied by messages to alert people to the threat, the risk it poses, the timing of impact, and provide guidance on how to prepare. The same goes for FLOODS. As rain falls and rivers are predicted to rise and overflow their banks, its the perfect time to connect with people downstream and alert them to the potential that they will need to leave and to do so quickly.
In today's Warning Gallery, we have two examples of flood preparedness messages for the same flooding event. Both serve as an alert about the threat and both invite people to prepare with different degrees of specification.
The first message includes the source (Alert Dorchester AND Dorchester County), the threat (the Edisto River is forecast to reach major flood stage), the timing (over the next few days), and limited guidance. The location is implied (anyone who receives the message and/or is near the Edisto River).
While the sender tells people to "take necessary precautions" they also require the message receiver to figure out what those precautions are by visiting a website. Furthermore, there isn't a clear indication of what to expect if the river reaches flood stage (such as an impending evacuation order). As a message receiver, it would be useful to know if now is the time to put out sandbags, to move things from the lower floor of buildings, or to prepare to evacuate livestock and family members.
The second message includes the location (Colleton Residents along the Edisto River), the threat (the river could reach major flood stage), the timing (in the coming days), and, again, limited guidance. In this case, the message states "residents along the river should make preparations to seek higher ground" and they are directed to a website for more information. The source is implied in the name of the website (Colleton Fire). Additional information about how to make preparations, including protecting one's home/property or gathering important papers/supplies and preparing livestock or pets, are not included in this message. By including a link, the sender directs message receivers to additional credible information.
Both messages would be considered fairly complete based upon criteria included in the Warning Response Model. They provide the contents associated with reduced information seeking and alert people along the river to the potential for flood conditions. Given that these WEAs were sent before impact, there is time for a message receiver to search for additional information and confirm with friends and family members how to prepare and when to take action, a social process described by alert and warning researchers as "milling".
Another aspect of each message is the conversational tone. Researchers know that the style of a message should be complete, certain, accurate, specific, and consistent. There is little research on the effects of the tone of a message (such as politeness through the use of "please" and "thank you"), but given that every community differs in its relationship to their public safety professionals, these messages suggest that the persons sitting behind the keyboard know their population and how they prefer to be communicated with.
When there is plenty of time for a message receiver to mill about, to confirm the information they have received and to determine how they will prepare and respond, preparedness messages like these can serve to initiate awareness and decision-making in advance of a dangerous threat.
By following the workflow and contents found in the Warning Response Model, message senders can ensure a complete message regardless of the type of threat or the timing of impact.
If your organization is developing flood messages, be sure to take a look at the resources available to help you and your organization to write effective messages in a pinch. Bookmark and download The Warning Lexicon - it's free and offers step-by-step instructions on how to write a better warning messages for 48 hazards.
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