THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA IN SEISMIC RISK REDUCTION P ROGRAMS

One of the most important and pressing aspects in a seismic risk reduction program is that of communications: Knowing what to communicate, to whom, by whom, how, when and where are of utmost importance for a successful seismic risk reduction program by helping to overcome the worldwide barriers of ignorance, apathy, organizational and disciplinary boundaries, and lack of political will in every community and to build a global culture of community resilience to seismic hazard. The way the media report and comment on earthquakes and other natural disasters will, in a good measure, shape the way in which the community react in the face of a disaster, before, during and after its occurrence.These communicational problems are further aggravated by such factors as: • The absence of a frank and fluid communication among the responsible actors (disaster managers, elected officials, experts, the media) before the earthquake strikes will lead in most cases to surmounting problems during and after the earthquake. • The tendency in the disaster community to underestimate the population capacity to understand and realize fairly complex technical and scientific issues related to seismic risk reduction. Based on our experience both in Venezuela and abroad this paper will offer some considerations concerning the role of the media in seismic risk reduction programs and will offer some recommendations directed at minimizing the communicational shortcomings in seismic risk reduction programs.

Keywords:

risks , disasters , crises , communications , planning , media , experts