Alerts, alarms and communicating an early warning

The terrible devastation in Maui has shocked the world. It will take some time to manage the impact of what has happened but there has already been an agreement to review what warnings were given. Hawaii’s Emergency Management Agency has confirmed that warning sirens were not used and instead alerts were sent to mobile phones, television and radio stations. What is unclear is whether those warnings got through before there was a power outage. 

In any emergency situation the ability to warn people so that they can take action is critical. It is essential to move quickly to preserve and protect lives. But in this chaotic world where there are many different channels of communication finding the right way to alert people is not as simple as in years gone by. This is not just a problem for the emergency services dealing with disasters, but it is a situation that matters in all crisis response. Imagine you have to put out a product recall, will you just put out social media posts and potentially add to the aged posters in a shop window? Is that going to be enough if the product is hazardous or dangerous?

Social media in a crisis

The arrival of social media gave emergency planners and those developing communication plans a quick way of getting information out and getting it to journalists on those platforms. As it developed, we saw Twitter alerts arrive and quickly Twitter became the default warning system for many. In 2023, Twitter, now known as X, has lost some of its position, there are questions about how effective using it is.

In July there was a storm in North Holland which was one of the most intense on record for the summer months. A national emergency alert was sent to mobile phones and people were urged to stay indoors and follow the fire department’s Twitter account for more updates. Politicians criticised the move highlighting Twitter is a private business, would not reach large sections of the population and had imposed limits on the number of tweets that could be sent. 

Earlier this year the Turkish authorities blocked Twitter on many networks after the devastating earthquakes. Opposition politicians criticised the move at a time when sharing information was critical. So in the world of X, rather than Twitter, and with concerns about the future of X under Elon Musk’s leadership how do we create effective early warning systems? What should crisis communication plans have in place to respond quickly and reach people with vital information?

The simple answer is that we have to do more. We have to be clear that one channel, or even a couple of channels, will not provide what we need when a crisis happens. The plans still need to have those pre-prepared statements that can be used quickly, but they also need to have a list of ways that message will be shared. This has to include organisational alert systems if they exist, media, social media channels, website and any direct forms of communication that exist such as customer databases.

Your crisis comms plan

Many crisis communication plans and strategies that I see are weighty documents including lots of vital information about how the response will be structured, what roles are needed and how updates will be shared. It can make it challenging to use when a crisis happens. Consider having a one-page aide memoire or guide that can list those channels that should be used. The simpler it is the better as it will provide support when people are under pressure. 

Of course in the past year there have started to be concerns about power outages and blackouts that may challenge how information is shared during a crisis. It may have been one of the problems that affected the response in Maui, and the review will help to identify what happened at what point and what more could be done. In the meantime, our crisis communication plans have to include plans to share information in a power outage. This is not as simple as it sounds in the hi-tech world we live in. The approach brings communication and emergency response very closely together. In a non-tech world we will rely on people being one of the key ways vital information is shared. 

There are now more communication channels available than ever before, but this doesn’t make the emergency response easier. In fact it has given us more challenges. This is a challenge that we can’t wait to meet. We have to act now and make sure our crisis communication plans are fit for 2023 and beyond.

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