SAFRR Partners with Hawaiian Civil Defense to Assist Tsunami Messaging Efforts

Over the next several months, the State of Hawaii will decide changes to its tsunami messaging and - to ensure that the new messages strengthen existing education - Hawaiian Civil Defense has sought advice outside traditional tsunami messaging circles by requesting assistance from SAFRR to connect with researchers in risk communication and risk perception. Thus Sue Perry assembled a group of partners to serve as advisors to State of Hawaii. The group's expertise comprises socio-linguistics, psychology, anthropology, marketing, design, public health, and health policy, and includes Columbia's Center for Research on Environmental Decisions, Art Center College of Design, School of Public Health at Hunter College, UC Los Angeles Center for Public Health and Disasters, and the Rand Corporation. The group has participated in phone and email discussions to draft an informal set of best practices and recommendations which Hawaiian Civil Defense has requested that SAFRR co-author as a white paper. The results will also help to inform future outreach within SAFRR. This is a pilot effort in SAFRR to explore new ways to share expertise with partners inside and outside the USGS. For more information contact: Sue Perry, scperry@usgs.gov.