Sverige

kris och lärdom 11
ter professionals report dramatically increased contact
traffic as soon as the disaster is evident.
Earlier research shows that when the significance
of communication in crisis contexts increases, the information
function is upgraded. This has meant that
the head of communications has been placed in the
command group – and sometimes even assigned a
leading role in the response. This has also been observed
in the actual events in this study. In some municipalities,
however, the communicator has been assigned
a less prominent role with production tasks only; in
which case, communication responsibilities have been
assigned to an administrative manager. We can also
imagine that a staff-assigned communicator will have
problems maintaining contact with the rest of the information
function, and some of the interviewees emphasise
that this should actually be accounted for in
the disaster response organization.
Concerning the organization of the information
and communication unit, the lessons learned by several
municipalities is that this work should be localized
and take place in a facility that is directly connected
to the command/staff function. This leads to more rational
and coherent communications. A practical and
concrete illustration would be to mount a large notice
board that both staff and communicators can see and
use for making notes of incoming, handled and outgoing
facts and details.
One frequent division between the information and
command/staff functions is specifically that the latter,
and more precisely the staff commander (head of rescue
operations, for example) is responsible for media
contact, while the former handles relations with local
residents and other external groups, and internal information.
The staff commander handles media contacts
because the media to a major extent want direct
information from decision-makers.
Besides media contacts, the communication response
in the first instance takes the form of web information
both internally and externally, via websites and
the intranet. A special information service is usually
set up or expanded if this service already exists as a
normal function – contact with the general public requires
high telephone and switchboard capacity and
a strong information service in terms of scope and
competence. Traditional printed material such as flyers
and posters are also used to reach all residents in
certain situations. Information meetings and home
visits are organized in some types of disasters, when
the infrastructure has been damaged for example and
power and telecom networks break down. During the
January storm of 2005, traditional methods such as
communication meetings and door-to-door distribution
of messages were used because modern electronic
media did not function.
The reliance on web information should be discussed.
Information in this form has the advantage of being
accessible from both home and at work – for the
people who can access and use this technology. Website
information also has the advantage being up to
date. Compared with many other channels, people in
other parts of the country (and all around the world),
such as relatives who want information can access
websites. The disadvantage is that some parts of the
population do not have internet access, particularly
older people. The internet is also vulnerable to the power
outages caused by storms and snow storms. As
are mobile phone services if network operators lose
their electricity supply.
In situations where the population needs fasts information,
radio broadcasts (via VMA or traffic reports)
can be used. VMA (Important Message to the
Public) has been used in a number of the studied cases,
including gas accidents, and is considered limited to
urgent warnings and brief instructions that require
immediate attention. Information via the radio’s traffic
information service functioned badly, according to
several of the January storm’s disaster professionals,