PA23D:
Communicating Science During a Natural Hazard Crisis I

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Session ID#: 30607

Session Description:
A natural hazard crisis requires the communication of scientific information rapidly, clearly, usefully, and to diverse audiences. How can scientists, who typically work and communicate at a more deliberate pace, convey information when time is short and lives are on the line? What can be done for communities or a country anxiously seeking more information, forecasts, and, perhaps, a bit of comfort? This session explores what happens when scientists and communicators must convey their limited knowledge on emerging phenomena to the public, policy makers, and an array of stakeholders. Session themes include: (1) Scientists as media and public spokespeople; (2) Communication strategies for joint responses by scientists and communication practitioners; (3) The psychological function of scientific information in times of crises; (4) Communication research that focuses on these problems. Our focus is on geological hazards, such as earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunami and landslides, but papers on meteorological hazards are also welcome.
Primary Convener:  Michael L Blanpied, USGS Headquarters, Reston, United States
Conveners:  Sara McBride, USGS, Menlo Park, CA, United States, Lucile Jones, California Institute of Technology, Seismological Laboratory, Pasadena, United States and Kelvin R Berryman, GNS Science-Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences Ltd, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Chairs:  Michael L Blanpied, USGS Headquarters, Reston, United States and Lucile Jones, California Institute of Technology, Seismological Laboratory, Pasadena, United States
OSPA Liaison:  Lucile Jones, California Institute of Technology, Seismological Laboratory, Pasadena, United States

Cross-Listed:
  • NH - Natural Hazards
  • S - Seismology
  • V - Volcanology, Geochemistry and Petrology
Index Terms:

6309 Decision making under uncertainty [POLICY SCIENCES]
6699 General or miscellaneous [PUBLIC ISSUES]
7223 Earthquake interaction, forecasting, and prediction [SEISMOLOGY]
8488 Volcanic hazards and risks [VOLCANOLOGY]

Abstracts Submitted to this Session:

Lessons Learned about Best Practices for Communicating Earthquake Forecasting and Early Warning to Non-Scientific Publics (Invited) (250364)
Deanna D Sellnow, University of Central Florida, Nicholson School of Communication, Orlando, FL, United States and Timothy L Sellnow, Professor, Orlando, FL, United States
Warnings and Human Response in the Oroville Dam Crisis, February 2017 (233827)
John Howard Sorensen, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Retired, Oak Ridge, TN, United States, Dennis S. Mileti, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, United States and Jason T Needham, US Army Corps of Engineers, Risk Management Center, Davis, CA, United States
Should We Stay Or Should We Go Now? Hazard Warnings, Risk Perception, and Evacuation Decisions at Pacaya Volcano, Guatemala During the 2010 Eruption. (261119)
Hans N Lechner, Michigan Technological University, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences, Houghton, MI, United States and Mark Rouleau, Michigan Technological University, Social Sciences, Houghton, MI, United States
Building a Communication, Education, an Outreach Program for the ShakeAlert National Earthquake Early Warning Program – Recommendations for Public Alerts Via Cell Phones (258509)
Robert M DeGroot, USGS Pasadena Field Office, Pasadena, CA, United States, Kate Long, California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, Earthquake & Tsunami Program, Pasadena, CA, United States and Jennifer Ann Strauss, UC Berkeley Seismological Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States
Crisis Communication during Natural Disasters: Meeting Real and Perceived Needs (298306)
Lucile Jones, California Institute of Technology, Seismological Laboratory, Pasadena, United States
Do I Really Sound Like That? Communicating Earthquake Science Following Significant Earthquakes at the NEIC (Invited) (278487)
Paul S Earle, USGS, Baltimore, United States, Gavin P Hayes, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO, United States, Harley Benz, USGS Central Region Offices Denver, Denver, CO, United States, David J Wald, Geologic Hazards Science Center Denver, Denver, CO, United States and William L Yeck, USGS National Earthquake Information Center, Golden, United States
Expanding the Delivery of Rapid Earthquake Information and Warnings for Response and Recovery (288623)
Michael L Blanpied1, Sara McBride2, Jeanne Hardebeck3, Andrew Jay Michael3 and Nicholas van der Elst4, (1)USGS Headquarters, Reston, United States, (2)USGS, Menlo Park, CA, United States, (3)U.S. Geological Survey, Earthquake Science Center, Moffett Field, United States, (4)U.S. Geological Survey, Earthquake Science Center, Pasadena, United States
CALIFORNIA EARTHQUAKE CLEARINGHOUSE CRISIS INFORMATION-SHARING STRATEGY IN SUPPORT OF SITUATIONAL AWARENESS, UNDERSTANDING INTERDEPENDENCIES OF CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE, REGIONAL RESILIENCE, PREPAREDNESS, RISK ASSESSMENT/MITIGATION, DECISION-MAKING, AND EVERYDAY OPERATIONAL NEEDS (275271)
Anne Rosinski, California Geological Survey Menlo Park, Menlo Park, CA, United States, James Morentz, JWMorentz LLC, Bethesda, MD, United States and Phil Beilin, City of Walnut Creek, Walnut Creek, CA, United States

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