Are you ready and alert?

Anyone working in emergency management and crisis communication will be aware of the impending UK-wide test of the new emergency alert system. It happens on 23 April at 3pm and will lead to a siren noise and message being sent to all mobile phones. Such systems exist in many other countries and have been used effectively to share information quickly helping people to evacuate, move or take some form of action.

This week I have come face-to-face with the real challenge to this test being successful, and to people remaining subscribed to the service. People in the UK just don’t see the need for the system in the first place. In conversation people have said, ‘we don’t get crises’, ‘things like that (referring to natural disasters) don’t happen here’, ‘I am not sure why we need it’. When I have had the opportunity, I have tried to explain the reasons why it is needed and the benefits it can bring. But there is an obvious problem here.

People need to have more understanding of resilience and how they can protect themselves, their families and their property. Unless they have been confronted by a disaster it is not something that is at the forefront of their minds. There needs to be some time invested in explaining the reasons why the alert is needed and putting it in context for people. Before the alert is launched there should have been work to explain more than just what is happening on 23 April.

Trust and confidence in authorities is in short supply. The conversations about resilience and preparing for problems, issues and disasters need to be taking place now, and should have been happening over the months and years since the Covid-19 pandemic. Now is not the time to just put information on social media or rely on the media to share it, the Government needed to go where people are. In many cases this may need to be face-to-face communication using strong community networks. This means people hear from people they trust, they can ask questions, and see the bigger picture.

All communicators know there is never one simple way of communicating that will get the results needed. There needs to be a comprehensive plan that goes over months, and in this case even years. We must have an ongoing conversation with people about being prepared for emergencies, and to tackle the complacency that many have in a country that has seen few significant disasters. I will be watching what happens on 23 April with interest and particularly whether there will be anything that follows.

Amanda Coleman is a crisis communication expert and consultant, Founder of Amanda Coleman Communication and the author of Crisis Communication Strategies.

This post was originally published on her Amandacomms blog. Read the original post.