Public Communication: New Technologies, Early Warning Systems and Larger Audience Coverage - Essay Sample

Introduction

According to Reynolds and Seeger (2012), the public is perceived as a means of the early warning system and way of disseminating information. The invention of technology and technological advancements has contributed to the emergence of smart ways of communication through new and sophisticated communication gadgets. Therefore, the dissemination of information to a larger population is promoted by communication gadgets, which provide relatively larger audience coverage. The use of communication gadgets presents an essential aspect of disaster preparedness and management by offering a warning platform for the public. The youth are technologically savvy and can engage in the sharing of information through media and other social platforms. In some cases, youth also initiate family preparedness measures through the adoption of family risk plans, in addition, taking part in education and training in disaster preparedness (FEMA, 2004).

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On the other hand, the public is expected to receive training and education programs implemented in various learning initiatives. Moreover, the audience is expected to draft emergency plans such as family emergency plans that can be used in case of an emergency. The public is seen as a concerned community that goes' the extra mile to research more on factors affecting them as a result of the preparedness training and education. This results in a well-informed public that can make appropriate choices.

The role of the public is to ensure an efficient and cost-effective disaster preparedness through the provision of free services to society. Volunteers allow for an economical and comprehensive timely response in times of financial constraints. The services offered by volunteers are significant as they tend to do more work compared to the organizations' staff. As cited by Abbott (2005), volunteers are ready to go beyond the expectations of the responding organization and doing activities that the other people are not able to undertake. Meanwhile, the public has a role of building resilience towards the community (FEMA, 2004). When the public becomes knowledgeable about all the relevant response plans and economic risks, they become enlightened on how they can be help of in case of a crisis. A trained public develops a resilient community as they can be able to respond effectively during an emergency.

Roles of Federal Programs in Disaster Response and the Potential Advantage the Partner Programs Present for Preparedness

USA Freedom Corps/Citizen Corps

Citizen Corps is a component of the former USA freedom Corps designated to coordinate volunteer quests across the country. It supports education and training of volunteers at all levels and organizes volunteer opportunities for those who wish to engage themselves in the event of a disaster. Furthermore, it aims to produce a network of volunteers and to develop collaborative endeavors between community leaders and government officials. Citizen Corps partners with medical reserve corps, volunteers in the public watch, USA on watch, and community emergency response team in ensuring disaster preparedness. These programs focus on engaging the community in supporting preparedness in every phase of emergency management (Reynolds & Seeger, 2012). They provide participating communities with training courses and educational information that are population-specific. Additionally, the programs cooperate with local businesses and organizations to plan for volunteers and first responders, increasing the preparedness capacity.

FEMA

It is a federal agency responsible for overseeing and organizing the federal response to an emergency or disaster. FEMA personnel also manage several programs to aid in training volunteers so that they can engage in disaster preparation or in assisting in times of disaster. One FEMA program is the National Day of Action that was intended to get communities and citizens involved in preparedness training. The goal of the programs is to boost alertness for all emergencies through group discussions, hazard-specific drills, and other exercises. The overall goal of FEMA programs aims at providing the type of damages to expect and the actions needed after the disasters hit. In such a way, the communities would be more prepared in case an event occurs. Another initiative promoted by FEMA for training volunteers reflects on preparing the youth because the youth are mostly the ones who help organize and collect family's preparedness material and who encourage families to pursue activities such as family disaster plan. This is the youth preparedness and training (Reynolds & Seeger, 2012). FEMA also prepares volunteers through the national preparedness community. In this initiative, FEMA partners with federal departments and nonprofit organizations in providing communities with different materials for training and educating the public.

Advantages and Disadvantages in Relying Upon Citizen Volunteers in Disaster Response

Advantages

Firstly, they can be a source of additional help to first responders. This can speed up the rate at which tasks are undertaken in a crisis. Volunteers are usually motivated to help organizations cause and are willing to devote their time to response efforts. They typically exhibit fresh ideas, passion, and willingness to go beyond and above for the organization than regular employees. This can be advantageous, especially when there is an inadequate number of responders from federal organizations, for example, during Hurricane Katrina. Volunteers can, therefore, bridge the gap and provide necessary assistance without incurring extra costs as they work freely. Secondly, citizen volunteers can arrive at an emergency site before the first responders; thus, citizen volunteers can act as spontaneous rescuers (Abbott, 2012). Federal organizations on the ground can be disorganized, making them unreliable to reach the disaster site promptly. For this reason, citizen volunteers can be able to provide essential services such as medical aid, housing, and food to victims before the federal organizations arrive, and this can help save lives. For example, during Hurricane Maria, routes became inaccessible, and the federal organizations were unable to reach the disaster site on time.

Disadvantages

Citizen volunteers can be quickly overwhelmed, and this may lead to communications breakdowns due to time pressures, emotions, information overload, and the complexity of some tasks assigned. Overwhelmed citizens may be a setback to the response process, reducing the primary sources of power in an emergency (Abbott, 2012). Untrained volunteers might become risk accelerators to the victims, trained personnel, and also their colleagues, thus slowing the response process. Injury to the citizen volunteers increase the burden and need for more rescuers; therefore, delaying the response process. Furthermore, the commotion caused by the citizens and a high number of citizen volunteers may reduce accessibility and the efficiency of the response process. Lack of understanding of the basic response guideline may make the citizen volunteers ineffective in averting the disaster smoothly.

References

Abbott, E. (2005). Representing Local Governments in Catastrophic Events: DHS/FEMA Response and Recovery Issues. The Urban Lawyer, 37(3), 467-488. Retrieved April 27, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/27895551

FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency). (2004). Are You Ready? An Indepth Guide to Citizen Preparedness.

Reynolds, B., & Seeger, M. W. (2012). Crisis+ emergency risk communication.