Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
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Increase program transparency by creating a publicly accessible, digital database of
actions taken by TsunamiReady communities.
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Conduct baseline assessments of readiness for all at-risk communities.
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Rate communities on several levels of readiness rather than a simple ready-or-not
status.
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Have local points of contact who are trained in risk communication regarding public
warning messaging and public warning dissemination, emergency management, and
community preparedness.
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Develop guidelines as to what constitutes effective public outreach, make these
guidelines publicly available, and regularly evaluate public outreach efforts.
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Ensure that program criteria are evidence-based by including social scientists in the
development of the criteria.
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Provide guidance to states and local communities on state-of-the-art preparedness
plans that elicit appropriate public protective actions.
The committee believes that many of these recommendations can be accomplished if
the NOAA Tsunami Program folded the TsunamiReady Program into the all-hazard Emergency
Management Accreditation Program, instead of continuing to maintain its own, separate rec-
ognition program.
DEVELOPING AND DELIVERING EFFECTIVE WARNING MESSAGES
Long-term education and community preparedness efforts set the stage for changing the
behavior of at-risk individuals and, in the case of near-ield tsunamis, may be the only guidance
people receive to help them evacuate. However, the likelihood of individuals evacuating
tsunami-prone areas is also inluenced by the oficial warning message they receive from the
tsunami warning centers and from local and state emergency management agencies. To be
effective, these messages need to (1) contain the necessary information that leads individuals
to take appropriate protective action, and (2) reach at-risk people in a timely fashion. This sec-
tion reviews progress in developing and delivering effective warning messages that motivate
individuals to take protective action. Topics discussed below represent active ields of research
across all hazards, and the tsunami community can draw from lessons learned particularly in
the severe weather (e.g., Weather and Society*Integrated Studies (WAS*IS); http://www.sip.
ucar.edu/wasis/) or the earthquake community.
Developing Effective Messages
Because some people believe disasters will not happen in the near future and will happen
to someone else, warning messages need to irst overcome people's natural belief in their
own safety and then guide them to take protective actions that are inconsistent with their
perception of safety (Slovic et al. ,1980; Burningham et al., 2008). An effective warning message
