ORCID

0000-0001-9094-2277 (Blake)

College

Strome College of Business

Department

School of Public Service

Program

Public Administration and Policy

Publication Date

4-2021

DOI

10.25883/g8be-1026

Abstract

The coronavirus pandemic [COVID-19] forged new roles, dynamics, and systems across the public administration and policy domain. The hurricane season approached just a few months after the COVID-19 outbreak and necessitated swift emergency management response. The usual planning for the hurricane season grappled with pandemic threats, clouds of fear, and the urgent need for reconfigured strategies. Policy practitioners, academicians, and non-government officials convened to construct and deconstruct cross-sector plans for navigating the hurricane-pandemic wave. These tweaked strategies were necessary for coastal communities like Hampton Roads that are prone to extreme weather events. Information communication technology (ICT) was at the forefront of resilience thrusts, especially for communicating and information sharing. There are growing studies on e-resilience that examine ICT infrastructural resilience in the face of emergencies and severe weather events. In this paper, the researchers explored ICT enablers for swift and consistent communication during a hurricane-pandemic wave. We also analyzed communication barriers and community needs during emergencies and discussed strategies for hurdling those barriers. We gathered data from the recently held CONVERGE Hurricane-Pandemic Workshops, led by Old Dominion University and the University of South Florida. We then grouped, coded, analyzed, and formed a qualitative sequential model for effective ‘hurricane-pandemic’ communication. This study is significant for informing emergency management policy and praxis in coastal communities globally.

Keywords

COVID-19, Emergency management, E-resilience, Information communication technology (ICT)

Disciplines

Emergency and Disaster Management | Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration

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Information Communication Technology and Emergency Management Communication: Lessons from the 2020 ‘Hurricane-Pandemic’ Wave


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