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Risk and Crisis Communications

Inclusive verbal and written communications are not only important during community engagement, but also when providing information on risks before a disaster or actions to take during a disaster. Emergency managers often find themselves sharing information amid risks or during a crisis. Disaster messaging can include:

  • Risk communications, which bridges the gap between threat awareness and action by identifying and resolving barriers to understanding risk before a crisis. Developing messaging relevant to a community will build trust with the community, ensure they understand their disaster risks and support preparedness action.
  • Crisis communications, which raises awareness of imminent threats and shares safety instructions with the public in times of crisis. Disseminating timely, clear and culturally competent communication during a disaster protects lives, mitigates disaster impacts and supports efficient recovery efforts.

Risk Communications, Crisis Communications and Community Engagement Summit

FEMA held the inaugural Summit on Risk Communications, Crisis Communications and Community Engagement on June 10, 2024, at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC. The summit brought together communicators and community leaders to address emerging challenges, share best practices and strengthen networks of problem-solvers to build community resilience. FEMA created a report to highlight key event takeaways and serve as a resource to further the impact and reach of communications.

As a response to participation and interest among cross-sector communicators who attended the summit, FEMA created the FEMA National Communicators Collective mailing list to serve as a platform to maintain connection between FEMA and our nation’s growing network of communicators.