LESSONS FROM SUCCESSFUL COMMUNICATION OF GEOLOGIC HAZARDS INSIGHTS

My ideas are based on 10 years as New York State Geologist and as California State Geologist for 25 years.

Successful risk communication is measured by the differences it makes in recipient's awareness and their response to their exposure.

Types: there are two end-member models of the scientist's hazards communication - scientists can sew the seed of their understanding directly to the public in the proverbial fashion; and the collaborative model which is an inverted pyramid that fills upwards from the apex as the scientist's hazard communications are considered by a growing number of diverse individuals responsible for public safety and also communicated by them to the public.

The Governor's Earthquake Task Force demonstrates the effectiveness of the collaborative model: 1 the CA State Geologist and other scientists communicated about risk with the governor; 2 who created the CA Earthquake Taskforce; 3 chaired by a retired general who recruited 400 leaders to participate in emergency services, law enforcement, medicine, engineering, media and local government committees to plan prepareness and post-earthquake recovery; 4 the State Geologist chaired the science committee that regularly briefed each of the other committees on the challenges with which they needed to cope; 5 a vigorous dispute arose over “who's in charge after a damaging earthquake? Locals? or the State?”; 6 scientists realized local governments could not autonomously deal with regional earthquake consequences; 7 the State Geologist and his committee resolved the debate by creating two planning scenarios displaying probable outcomes to modern buildings and lifelines from repeats of the 1906 and the 1857 Ft. Tejon events that demonstrated to everyone the need for state mutual aid coordination; 8 these were enthusiastically received and used in earthquake preparedness exercises involving the public.

Lessons: 1 it is important to convert a receptive leader regarding hazard damage reduction needs and build science communication into the follow on process; 2 momentum builds as other leaders are cooped into the effort; 3 media become interested; 4 the public learns about the risk from both the scientists and those responsible for coping with it.