Communication during a crisis is important in rescue operations as well as advising victims on how to react in times of crisis. Communication during both natural and man-made disasters help in reducing loses in terms of property and lives. A crisis such as terrorist attack for instance, is about panic premised on the philosophy that the panic itself will cause more harm than the actual terrorist activities (Bullock, Coppola, & Haddow, 2016). The fact that terrorists capitalize on creating fear among the populace, hence making them easy targets, calls for education and partnership between government agencies and media so as to help enhance faster release of information that brings calm. Currently, terrorists have changed tact and can easily attack using modified equipment such as planes and trucks. This paper analyses hazards associated with terrorism and the need to educate the population as a way of reducing impacts related to terrorism attacks. It further explains how government and media agencies can work together to reduce impacts during a crisis and how social media has transformed communication duringa and after a disaster.
Hazards associated with terrorism
The modus operandi of terrorism has undergone an evolution into transforming ordinary machines such as planes into mass murder and panic creating weapons, and this had changed the nature of terrorism. Recently, in the city of Nice, a terrorist transformed an ordinary truck into a tool of terror, killing over 80 people and injuring scores of others. This new mode of terrorism has a potential for the creation of widespread panic. This is an indication that terrorists can now use any tool to cause major carnage and damage.
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The Centers for Disease Control, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as other federal security and crisis related organs, believe that a well-informed public is less susceptible to panic that creates fears relating to terrorist hazards (United States Department of Homeland Security, 2016). Sensitization of the populace by government agencies under the auspices of the Federal Emergency Management Agency is done through terrorism-related education where direct and certified education is being undertaken by law enforcement agencies as well as first responder teams (Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2013). Also, educative campaigns are being carried out on the general public with the main purpose of enabling proper reaction to any terrorist attack. It is worthy of notice that responders and law enforcement agencies who understand response procedures passes a sense of confidence to the populace.
Partnership between media and governmental emergency management agencies
Many people agree that the conduct of local and international press during the infamous 9/11 attacks was a colossal failure. Terrorism operates through fear and during that difficult moment, the press assistant in its perpetration, a fact that members of the press also admit. As indicated by the United States Department of Homeland Security (2016), the initial anti-terrorist move is to reverse the fear propagating message. Therefore, partnership between media and government agencies will boost safety since security agencies can advise the media on information they need to disseminate as a way of countering terrorists’ propaganda. A good example is the October 2002, Washington sniper attacks perpetrated by John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo. During that attack, the terrorists’ propaganda was that no one was safe, but the press successfully countered it by repeatedly showing moving pictures of residents going to work and taking their children to school. In this manner, the media and security agencies worked together and won a victory over terrorism.
Communications during a disaster
Many disasters especially those that occur naturally cause great disruption in the society. Communication infrastructure in most cases are destroyed and communication through telephone and mobile calls become difficult. The contemporary society has more often than not turned to social media in times of disaster as a way of asking for help or warning people who might be at risk. Hurricane Sandy, a natural disaster and the Boston Marathon bombing, a terrorist attack are two perfect varying examples of how social media has transformed communication during and after disasters. When Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012, most of the mainstream communication infrastructure were either destroyed or jammed as many callers tried to reach the rescuers. Desperate citizens took to Twitter to communicate with the rescue team, and they in return received guidance on how to remain safe as rescue operations continued. It was during this disaster that the power of social media was highly appreciated since many lives were saved and anxiety somehow abated.
Although the Boston bombings did not disable mainstream media, its setting had the capacity to create significant damage through panic in an open place where mainstream media would be of little effect. Security agencies took to social media to array fears, direct the populace on how to react and also disseminate updates including the arrest of the perpetrators. From these cases, it is evident that social media has provided a reliable, convenient, and uninterruptible means of communication in times of disasters, hence an effective tool during both terrorist attacks and natural disasters.
In conclusion, an educated populace and a proper working relationship between media and government agencies are essential to reducing the success of instilling fear on the populace by terrorist, hence reducing their efficiency in perpetrating their attacks. Use of social media in the current society has completely transformed communication during and after a disaster, hence more lives saved.
References
Bullock, J. A., Coppola, D.P., &Haddow, G. D.(2016). Introduction to Homeland SecurityPrinciples of all-hazards risk management (5th ed.). Waltham, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Centers for Disease Control.(2012). Emergency response resources . Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/emres/terrorresp.html/
Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2013). General info about terrorism are you ready? Retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1549-20490-0802/terrorism.pdf/
United States Department of Homeland Security. (2016). Preventing terrorism results . Retrieved from https://www.dhs.gov/topic/preventing-terrorism-results/
