Emergency communications differ from routine communications in several ways:

Barriers

It is more difficult for people to hear messages during an emergency. Stress, change of routine, and lack of sleep all can be hurdles to overcome when communicating during emergencies.

Timeliness

If official answers are not available, rumor and speculation quickly fill the information vacuum. Then, not only must you disseminate correct information, but you also need to counter any misinformation that circulated. To use media in a timely fashion, learn local media news cycles and deadlines. For example, if news occurs at 4:00 p.m., you can most likely get it on the radio immediately, on television in time for the evening report, and into the next morning’s edition of the local paper. Online news outlets can be updated at any time.

Required Response

Emergency warnings differ from other kinds of messages because their purpose is to elicit a specific response from the public, rather than merely raise awareness or provide knowledge.