Hazard information management during the autumn 2004 reawakening of Mount St. Helens volcano, Washington

The 2004 reawakening of Mount St. Helens quickly
caught the attention of government agencies as well as the
international news media and the public. Immediate concerns
focused on a repeat of the catastrophic landslide and blast
event of May 18, 1980, which remains a vivid memory for
many individuals. Within several days of the onset of accelerating seismicity, media inquiries increased exponentially.
Personnel at the U.S. Geological Survey, the Pacific Northwest
Seismic Network, and the Gifford Pinchot National Forest
soon handled hundreds of press inquiries and held several
press briefings per day. About one week into the event, a
Joint Information Center was established to help maintain a
consistent hazard message and to provide a centralized information source about volcanic activity, hazards, area closures,
and media briefings. Scientists, public-affairs specialists, and
personnel from emergency-management, health, public-safety,
and land-management agencies answered phones, helped in
press briefings and interviews, and managed media access to
colleagues working on science and safety issues. For scientists, in addition to managing the cycle of daily fieldwork,
challenges included (1) balancing accurate interpretations of
data under crisis conditions with the need to share information quickly, (2) articulating uncertainties for a variety of volcanic
scenarios, (3) minimizing scientific jargon, and (4) frequently
updating and effectively distributing talking points. Success
of hazard information management during a volcanic crisis
depends largely on scientists’ clarity of communication and
thorough preplanning among interagency partners. All parties
must commit to after-action evaluation and improvement of
communication plans, incorporating lessons learned during
each event.