Addressing conflicting cues during natural hazards: lessons from emergency agencies

Emergency services agencies face the ongoing challenge of encouraging people to take protective action during a natural hazard. In addition to the inherent uncertainty of a natural hazard, emergency services agencies are not the only source of information the public uses when considering how to respond.

When the community perceives that social cues, such as what is being shared by the media, and environmental cues, such as the weather outside, are in conflict with the formal instruction agencies are issuing, it creates uncertainty about the right action to take and the perceived urgency of when to do it. Previous research found that conflicting cues have an impact on how the community might respond during a natural hazard (Dootson et al., 2019).

Hazard Note 72 provides evidence of conflicting cues in practice, and suggests proactive and reactive strategies that emergency services agencies could employ to minimise the effect of conflicting cues on the instigation of protective action.

Further reading

Australian Institute of Disaster Resilience (2020) Australian Disaster Resilience Handbook Collection. 

Dootson P, Greer D A, Tippett V & Miller S (2019) Conflicting cues with emergency warnings impacts protective action, Hazard Note 59, Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, Melbourne.

Silverman C (2014) The verification handbook: ultimate guideline on digital age sourcing for emergency coverage, Maastricht, The European Journalism Centre.