Summary

Building early warning systems (EWS) is a complex process, both technically and socially, and these differ significantly across continents, countries, and communities. However, they all have a similar vision and elements to build upon: risk knowledge, monitoring and warning, warning dissemination and communication, and response capability. Citizens must know, understand, and appreciate the risks. Program managers and public information professionals need help to accomplish that. They must unite with each other and the community to transition from a baseline to a level that promotes action. The monitoring and warning systems must function. Any misstep reduces trust. Lack of clarity results in a lack of action. The difference between system tests and real-world applications must be fully transparent. Warning dissemination and communication must occur before, during, and after any crisis event. All these areas are where operators and communicators need to link, and the response capability is integral to the content of the EWS.

The environment, geography, social characteristics, and previous disaster experiences also shape the EWS content. This can only be achieved through a people-centered approach. The media is vital in this operational phase for helping to implement and execute early warnings. In addition, the media play a related and equally critical role in strategic communications to educate and inform societies to respond appropriately. There are countless tools available to public affairs professionals, none mutually exclusive. The rote application of a news release followed by a tweet or two has been proven to be ineffective. EWS systems and strategic communications should be tailored to the needs of the individual communities. Community demographics, geographies, and cultural sensitivities determine optimum communication tools. Leveraging mediums that audiences prefer affords greater reach within vulnerable and disadvantaged communities. Their television, their radio, their print, and their social media are the bedrock for engagement. Mediums do not need to be high-tech. Messages can go into communities and schools, repeated by trusted messengers, through all means, including flyers, town halls, civic engagements, and other citizen-led initiatives. Social media has the capacity to be far-reaching, strategic, and audience-focused.

Case studies and best practices reveal what went wrong, what went right, and what can go right. They reveal the difference between effective and ineffective media and EWS. The landscape is changing; lessons elucidate that. Analysis, study, and reflection are foundational to more effective EWS in the future. For information to be actionable, it must be accessible.