New York University
             Enabling institutions to manage
             storm surge risks



             Often, vital information never reaches those that need it most, despite recent advances in methods
             to collect and analyze hazard data. In addition to accurately assessing risk, governments and
             other stakeholders are increasingly focused on better communicating risk to communities and
             development practioners to increase disaster preparedness and resilience.
CONTEXT




             In November 2013, Tacloban City was struck by a record magnitude storm surge dealt by Typhoon
             Haiyan. Despite the weather agency’s accurate storm surge prediction, thousands lost their lives.
             In response, a team from New York University set out to improve communication practices linking
             national agencies to local governments and the public. The goal of the project was to identify
             improved strategies for crafting and communicating risk messages, to develop this into new
             practices, and to ensure that communities are able to respond quickly to vital risk communication
             to better protect lives and livelihoods. LINK TO PROJECT PAGE
HIGHLIGHTS




                  An evaluation of the             A targeted survey found                 A toolkit for risk
                 experience of Typhoon             that more narrative-like,             communication was
                  Haiyan revealed that             as opposed to technical,            constructed, assembling
             improved risk communication           messages would be more           insights from various studies
               practices may have saved             effective in emergency           into improved practices for
                         lives.                            situations.                message construction and
                                                                                            dissemination.
             Field Interviews with Community Leaders, July 2016.                   The Coast of Eastern Samar, site of focused interviews.


             The project team combined insights learned from evaluating the experience of Typhoon Haiyan, lessons from the
             literature on risk and hazard communication, and field surveys to construct guidelines for constructing hazard warning
             messages. The team at New York University worked alongside the University of the Philippines, as well as two
             Philippine NGOs, the Center for Disaster Preparedness and the Climate Change Adaptation Advocacy Cooperative, to
APPROACH




             integrate lessons from research and the field.

             In the first half of 2016, the research teams studied different bodies of knowledge related to communicating storm-
             related hazards and constructed a trial approach involving narrative-like messages. This was tested and validated in
             the field from May to June, 2016. Expert and community workshops were then held in July and August, 2016, to test
             the team’s evolving guidelines against the experience of different stakeholders. The project also provided insights into
             agency processes, the use of maps, and community engagement.




        “What is needed is a curriculum (formal learning modules) for (provincial officers) on communicating
         and creating messages. And for local government units on interpreting and adding to messages.”
                                           - Participant in expert workshop, August, 2016



             Preparation of the toolkit was the foremost outcome of Phase I of the two-year project. Phase II, which has now been
NEXT STEPS




             initiated, will involve translating the communication guidelines into workshops that will be tested and implemented in the
             Philippines and Bangladesh. The workshops will be fashioned into learning modules that different groups and agencies
             can access through an upcoming online portal, currently in development. The module will be translated into a lesson plan
             at the primary or secondary school levels. The long-term vision is to use the online portal to develop a virtual community
             of practice for exchanging knowledge and program designs. Through the NGOs partnering in the project, the workshops
             will be scaled up and, ideally, institutionalized in Bangladesh and the Philippines, as well as other countries.




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