One of the most challenging aspects of communicating natural hazards to the public is quantifying the reach and effectiveness of efforts and activities aimed at raising awareness and mitigating risks.
Project funders, decision-makers, stakeholders, scientists, and reviewers often seek accountability and evidence of progress in public awareness and proactive measures. Unfortunately, there is no objective metric available to determine whether and how the public has understood the natural phenomenon, assessed the risks they face, reduced or mitigated the effects, and contemplated resilience. Relying on the occurrence of the next disaster to compare positive behavioral changes with those seen after previous events is neither feasible nor responsible.
This session aims to gather and share experiences in the field of risk communication primarily in terms of outcome evaluation, to quantify their effects in lessening the impact of disasters on families, homes, communities, and the economy, with the goal of proposing a framework or protocol to assess the success of outreach and educational initiatives.