Every emergency crisis presents an opportunity for emergency managers, and the crisis communication response of the Queensland government to Cyclone Yasi will form an excellent case study for students at Charles Sturt University (CSU).

 

Dr Val Ingham, lecturer in emergency management at the CSU Australian Graduate School of Policing in Bathurst, said undergraduate and postgraduate students in emergency management learn by examining previous disaster events and critically reflecting on what worked well and what could have been improved.

 

“Queensland Premier Bligh and Emergency Management Queensland are to be congratulated on their management of emergency communications during Cyclone Yasi,” Dr Ingham said.

 

“Their well coordinated approach has demonstrated that it is possible to communicate effectively, at an inter-agency level and with the general public. Their trust in the community, evidenced by Premier Bligh’s well-timed updates of potential consequences, has generated a reciprocal trust from the people of Queensland, which has been immediately visible in the media footage of people in affected communities.

 

“A consistent recommendation echoing throughout recent Australian Royal Commissions and inquiries into various natural disasters has been the call to improve emergency communications in many aspects.

 

“The Queensland government’s transparent approach in the delivery of information about possible consequences in terms of power failure, expected loss of life, and coastal storm surges indicate a commitment to keeping the public and specific communities current with the same up-to-date information that the emergency management teams have had.

 

“This sharing of information has engendered a visible sense of trust by members of the public in the affected communities, which is observable in media coverage.

 

“The approach of sharing factual information, rather than shielding the public from it, could have had the unintended consequence of causing panic and helplessness, had it not been expertly tied-in to each communication directive for affected communities as to what they needed to do.

 

“This shows that it is possible to trust the public with relevant up-to-date information about appropriate courses of action to avoid and minimise potentially devastating consequences,” Dr Ingham said.