Introduction
“What average citizens and officials expect about disasters, what they come to know of ongoing disasters, and what they learn from disasters that have occurred, are primarily although not exclusively learned from mass media accounts.”
Enrico L. Quarantelli. Disaster Research Center.
When I proposed my project on emergency plans for covering natural disasters to the Knight Wallace Fellowship, my initial goal was to create an operational guide for small newsrooms. However, after spending the first few months in Ann Arbor researching, interviewing colleagues, experts, professors, and emergency managers, and reviewing academic papers, I realized that an editorial guide was much needed, too.
Small newsrooms often attract recently graduated journalism students or less experienced reporters. Additionally, smaller newsrooms tend to experience higher employee turnover. Strong leadership and clear direction are vital, but young reporters do not always receive the guidance they need while covering the aftermath of a natural disaster.
Gretchen Dworznik-Hoak, an associate professor at Kent State University’s School of Media and Journalism, conducted a study on journalists covering Hurricane Harvey in 2017 in Texas. Many participants reported that they were deployed to cover the disaster with minimal guidance from their managers.
None of the participants of Professor Dworznik-Hoak’s study “had ever covered a disaster of this magnitude (referring to Hurricane Harvey) before and only mentioned having covered a hurricane during their career.”
“It was just like, to some extent, we had some guidance from editors as far as what we should be doing, but they kind of expected a lot of self-sufficiency and fending for ourselves, which I didn’t necessarily agree with.” An anonymous reporter who covered Hurricane Harvey.1
Other reporters I interviewed during my fellowship confirmed that even in mid- to large-sized newsrooms, the experience is often similar. In the chaos of an emergency, editors may neglect or simply lack the time to provide detailed instructions to their staff. Many reporters received only one directive: find victims. That was it.
The increasing frequency of natural disasters due to climate change means that newsrooms with no prior experience will inevitably find themselves reporting on them. This realization convinced me that consistent editorial guidelines were even more necessary.
“When the news media covers disasters, the coverage focuses on death, injury, and destruction related to humans, the built environment, and the natural environment in the state or the region. This is essentially a descriptive frame, providing information about who and what was hurt and damaged in the disaster zone.”2
According to an analysis of media agenda-setting during and after Hurricane Katrina , “the media tends to emphasize different priorities according to the type of disaster or individuals affected.”
National media coverage of a disaster typically lasts around 12 months, with the majority of stories appearing immediately after the event, followed by a steep decline. For all disasters analyzed, the vast majority of news stories occurred within the immediate aftermath of the event, followed by a rapid decline. 62.8% of stories of all disaster news stories appeared within 30 days after the event.
However, for local reporters who live in the affected areas, coverage can continue for years. As of 2024, news outlets in Puerto Rico, for example, are still covering the impact of Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island in 2017. A short, medium, and long-term plan for covering the aftermath of a disaster can help reporters and newsroom leaders stay focused, ensuring no topic is overlooked or underreported.
Tips on Organizing an Editorial Plan
There is no single script for covering natural disasters. However, one thing is clear: newsrooms need to be prepared yet flexible. If things don’t go according to plan, don’t panic. Having a plan allows for adaptation rather than improvisation, and the results will be far better.
Be Mindful: Disasters are chaotic. Although you can plan your coverage, there will be situations where reporters in the field must make independent decisions with limited information. Be comfortable with it and do not try to micromanage them. Give them the space and confidence to make their own decisions. At the end, they are the ones on the frontlines. Remember that disasters rarely unfold as expected, so think of your plan as a guideline to follow as closely as possible and not as instructions written in stone.
Plan by Department
Each department within your newsroom will have specific needs. For instance, the graphics desk will require different resources compared to video or photo teams. Plan your editorial coverage keeping these needs in mind.
Deployment Maps
Create a deployment map or log, noting the names, locations, phone numbers, emergency contacts, and topics assigned to each reporter. Color-code if needed. Include an appendix detailing the equipment each reporter or team member requires, along with the instructions to follow. Make the map available to every person in the newsroom. Print it at a large scale and place it in a visible area. If possible, deploy them in pairs. While covering Hurricane María in Puerto Rico, I paired every reporter with a videographer or a photographer to support each other. The result was a collaborative effort that ended up producing the most ambitious multimedia coverage ever done in Puerto Rican history.
Tip: Consider partnering your team with volunteer ham radio operators in case cell service, internet, or power is lost. Also, consider obtaining a GMRS license for your reporters to facilitate radio communication with your newsroom. Additional information about how integrate the resilience of amateur radio can be found in my ARENA’s toolkit.
Newsroom Maps
For newsrooms operating in an office (not remotely), create a seating map, avoiding assigning people to stations near windows and exits to reduce exposure to potential external hazards . Staff will be familiar with safer areas of the office and alternative work locations, reducing chaos and confusion. It can also facilitate faster evacuations and smoother coordination and collaboration on a daily basis. Plan for contingencies if your newsroom becomes inoperable to ensure that your team can keep safely working with minimal downtime during emergencies.. Where will your team work from if the office floods, and for how long?
Remote Team Maps
If part or all of your team works remotely, create a map with names, addresses, phone numbers, and emergency contacts. Some reporters may need to relocate to stay safe and they might work from a different location. It’s key to the operation to know where they will be located at all times.
Stories Log
Track who is covering what. Even if you already have a list of stories that are being covered, it is important to record their progress. Assign a team member to maintain an up-to-date log showing which stories are in progress, delivered or put to rest, who is editing what and what remains pending. Also, ask them to identify potential story blockers and think of solutions. A Coverage Status Board with this track ,including updates on recovery, the name of the manager on watch, upcoming meetings related to the story, crew locations, and key contacts, can provide a valuable overview during an emergency coverage.
Multimedia Log
Maintain a similar log for multimedia production, including videos, audio, and photos, also accessible via the Coverage Status Board.
Graphics Log
Track graphic assignments and their progress, similar to the Stories and Multimedia Logs.
“Four or five (victims’) stories for me and multiply that by X number of reporters that we had. I can see doing one of those stories a night, but there were nights we did two or three of those. And I feel like there were other things that maybe could have been reported.” An anonymous reporter who covered Hurricane Harvey
Rotation Coverage Plan
To prevent “topic burnout” or “topic fatigue” within your reporters, implement a rotation plan that allows journalists to cover a variety of stories. It’s essential to give them a break from trauma-heavy assignments by alternating the focus of their work. Do not assign all the victims’ stories to the same reporters, as they can be traumatizing and overwhelming.
Editorial Meetings
In order to give your staff different tasks and help them rotate from disaster coverage, change who runs your daily editorial meetings. It will not only help them focus on others’ work, but it will also give agency to them. Keep meetings short—15 minutes for small teams, no longer than 45 minutes for larger groups. Long meetings can reduce productivity, especially in emergency situations where maintaining focus is critical. As FEMA’s Communicating in an Emergency training highlights, the stress of natural disasters “affect the way people process information”.
Communicate with Your Audience
When a natural disaster is likely to occur as it happens with hurricanes, let your audience know what to expect from your newsroom. You can publish a detailed article outlining your coverage plan, including deployment details and frequency of updating your website, apps, social media accounts, and other platforms. You can also share this information in a newsletter special edition or on social media. Remember to explain if you are lifting your paywall (you can include a disclaimer in your articles, too), if some platform or publication won’t be updated, and for how long. Many teams need to reassign reporters from other sections to the emergency coverage, and it’s important for your audience to have clear expectations.
Publishing Considerations
Consider deploying part of your team outside the disaster zone -even to other towns- to secure your publishing process. Outsourcing some tasks to partner or affiliate newsrooms may also be extremely beneficial. During our coverage of Hurricane Maria in 2017, we established a team of five individuals stationed outside the U.S. They were prepared to take control of the website if the on-site team lost communication with them for more than an hour.
Be MindfullDo your best to publish the longest stories possible. Instead of publishing dozens of short articles with just a couple of paragraphs which can give a sense of unfinished work and can be seen as trivializing the disaster, update main stories and repurpose them when possible .
Tip: Think of evergreen explainers, especially if you live in a zone affected by seasonal disasters like hurricanes. “How a power plant works,” “What’s the cost of a power plant,” “Things to bear in mind when using a power plant for the first time,” and other examples will help your audience and your platform. Use the platform Answer the Public to see what are the questions people are searching online about potential topics for articles.
Visual Cues
Consider creating visual cues to organize your coverage along your platforms. You can use weather, emergency, and topic icons. Graphs or Google maps with emergency phone numbers for different departments and agencies, shelters, including pet-friendly ones, oases to secure water, food banks, hospitals, and clinics can be placed at the end of each story.
Tip: Remember to use the right hurricane symbol for your area. Hurricanes move counterclockwise in the Northern hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern hemisphere.
Southern hemisphere
Northern hemisphere
Sources Plan
Meet with local Fire Stations, Police, and EMS services in advance and make sure you will be able to contact them to get updates. Plan and coordinate in advance interviews with experts in disasters after the emergency occurs. Agree on where to meet in person if their phones are not working at a specific time or how to reach them after the disaster hits. Consider asking them to go to your newsroom or meeting them at their homes or offices at a specific time and date. In some cases, you can even conduct the interviews before the event and add their testimonies later, depending on the topic. Think of retirees. Most active people might be extremely busy giving interviews, but retired experts might be willing to help your reporters easily. They can be part of your production process and write op-eds or articles for you. Make alliances with experts, researchers, professors on long-term effect topics. You can ask them to visit your newsroom, especially if you have a power generator, and you can also offer them connectivity to reach their loved ones. While covering Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, the newsroom I was working for became a beacon where experts, colleagues from other newsrooms and even government officials found a place to work and help others.
Integrate Scholars in your Coverage
Look for local knowledge in advance. No one knows your town better than local scholars and professors. Don’t underestimate local universities and colleges. There are tons of centers and researchers in your community. Look for them and ask them to be your allies when a natural disaster happens. The study field of emergency response is getting bigger every day: there will be a lot of professors willing to assist you. It might sound outdated, but also consider asking a librarian in your community about the topics you will be covering. Many librarians have advanced research degrees and could be very helpful during the planning phase. Even if they are not experts in the field of your report, they can definitely help you find where to start and where to look. Once the emergency is controlled and life is back to normal, consider making alliances with universities to give classes on how you covered the aftermath of a natural disaster.
Conducting Interviews
When you are looking for possible interviewee prospects in the field, people affected by the emergency and survivors, many -if not most- tend to shut down entirely during a disaster. People’s memories and senses might switch off and on, making it more difficult to remember certain moments. Be mindful when you fact-check survivors. They seem to lose all awareness in some cases. You can also try to contact people in advance and plan the interviews after the initial impact has passed. You can set a time and date to try to meet with them. Have options in case someone is affected and can’t meet with you.
Mentoring
Consider providing a tailored coaching program focused on addressing individuals who have experienced trauma. You will find extensive resources at the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma at the University of Columbia. Additionally, consider providing specialized mentoring in handling extreme weather situations. I strongly recommend the book Extreme Weather & Climate by C. Donald Ahrens and Perry Samson. Another insightful resource is Natural Disasters by Patrick L. Abbott. Its 12th Edition was published in 2023.
Documents, Numbers, and Data
Newsrooms and officials quickly quantify the damage after an emergency or a natural disaster because it helps us understand the extent of it and the resources that a community will need to survive and rebuild. Keep in mind that statistics are often underestimations, and that during disasters, there’s a limited amount of data, and that data changes significantly. Be transparent with your audience and let them know about potential discrepancies in data. Also, remember that disasters occur in very different contexts, which limits the transferability and comparison from one disaster to another. Making comparisons between disasters can be tricky.
Tip: Remember, quantifying the damage is not the same as understanding the needs of survivors.
Fact-checking
Keep in mind that early coverage can be inaccurate, and fact-checking information can be extremely difficult. Remind your audience that you are covering an evolving situation.
Language
During disasters, people need information in the same way they need water, food, and shelter. If it’s the first time they experience a natural disaster, their brains lack the patterns needed to decide, so they search for information to help them make the best decision. “Do I need to evacuate home?” they might ask themselves. If they get an alert saying that they SHOULD evacuate, they might stay due to the lack of previous information and the dangerous situation. But if they get an alert saying that they MUST evacuate their home, there are bigger chances that they will leave. So, be aware of the language you use during natural disaster coverage.
Tip: It is crucial to recognize that media coverage can influence and shape our linguistic framework. Using terms like "monster storms" or comparable superlatives can help you with clicks and ratings but it also has the potential to induce panic among your audience. Exercise caution and be careful not to go overboard and make things sound worse than they really are. Keep it real, but don't blow it out of proportion.
Social Media
To avoid disseminating misinformation and causing any unintended issues with your coverage, it’s important to get the facts straight when you’re talking to your audience. This can be achieved by prominently featuring the time and date of your publications, not solely on your main platform but also by including time slots in blurbs, photo and video captions, and graphics to avoid confusion. You can also invert social media threads to defeat the feed’s chronology. Consider pinning key information in your channels to ensure access.
Document your Coverage
One might think that documenting your coverage is the last thing you need to plan, potentially seen as an exercise in egocentrism. However, the experience taught me the profound significance of recording our work amid challenging circumstances. You are not only reporting on a natural disaster. You might be chronicling a historical memoir encompassing an entire township, city, or even a nation. This was a big lesson learned after the impact of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Once we returned to normalcy, our newsroom received many petitions from universities, colleges, and researchers to address how we covered the most devastating hurricane the archipelago had experienced. Our focus on filing stories and fast publication left barely no room for recording behind-the-scenes and visual documentation. To the best of your ability, try to document the process. Capture moments, take pictures of meetings and your staff working or the equipment your newsroom uses. If circumstances allow it, delegate team members to register colleagues operating in the field.
The Importance of Drills.
Mere planning, while crucial, remains insufficient. A key phase within your emergency editorial planning, it is to execute a comprehensive drill well before any potential disaster or emergency. Just like engineers test their designs under tough conditions, these drills help you see if your plans actually work when it matters most. Pretending to conduct a drill with your entire newsroom may sound very ambitious, if not impossible. Start small. Structure the drill to test individual parts of the plan or by departments and progressively escalate its complexity until the whole plan can be tested. Following the drills, a post-mortem evaluation process becomes paramount. Dissect phases that failed or face significant challenges during the drill. Ask yourself: What worked and what didn’t during the drill? What are the big lessons for you? What do you need to change immediately? What else would you do differently? Also consider when was the last time the plan was used or updated. How many times has it been evaluated? Who reviewed it? Has your newsroom changed what your previous experiences recommended?
Topics and Pressing Issues to Keep in Mind when Covering Natural Disasters
In the research, “Disaster News: Framing and Frame Changing in Coverage of Major U.S. Natural Disasters 2000-2010,” Houston et al. analyzed how the 11 most severe disasters in the country were depicted in the media. They concluded that one of the most significant frames media outlets use is a descriptive one that focuses on death, injury, and destruction related to humans, on average, for shorter periods of time (the study does not focus on local media).
According to the study, media outlets focus on dramatic descriptive qualities of the events rather than upon causal explanations and leave behind individual and community preparedness, recovery, and resilience, missing out on the opportunity to help communities identify potential threats, advocate for changes, and spread post-disaster services.
The study identified three stages in disaster coverage: “Normalcy tragically disrupted, people escaping and helping, and officials working to restore order and find the cause.”
Based on the study’s findings, media outlets featured up to seven variables related to disasters in their coverage. The data below illustrates the frequency of these variables (topics) represented within the analyzed news stories:
- Individuals 85.76%
- Business/economy 50.27%
- Government 45.74%
- Families 32.90%
- First responders 31.82%
- Neighborhood /community 24.49%
- Children 20.28%
- Elderly 13.92%
We encourage your newsroom to consider whether these percentages accurately represent the community’s perspectives. Furthermore, exploring how other subjects, such as artists, musicians, scientists, volunteers, farmers, athletes, libraries, churches or religious communities, pets, and other animals, are represented in disaster-related news coverage can open the door to a different perspective and address unattended needs of your audience.
According to the research, “destruction of or damage to buildings, homes, or other structures was the most frequent disaster effect, appearing in 72.82% of all disaster news stories. Next, just over one-half of all disaster news stories addressed the disaster cost or business issues resulting from the disaster (52.24%), while almost one-half of stories mentioned evacuation or transportation issues (44.66%). After these, the most frequent disaster effect was death or injury, which appeared in just over one-third of all disaster news stories (36.79%), and political implications of the event, which was found in almost one-fourth of all stories (22.65%). Finally, a few other disaster effects appeared in at least 10% of all news stories. These included mental health issues related to the disaster (including panic, worry, distress; 17.15%), crime related to the disaster (15.32%), and new outlook or growth resulting from the event (10.25%).”
Do these percentages make sense in your community? Or are there other topics important to your audience?
An “Analysis of Media Agenda Setting During and After Hurricane Katrina: Implications for Emergency Preparedness, Disaster Response, and Disaster Policy,” published by the American Journal of Public Health, highlights the impact of underreporting of disaster mitigation and preparation.
“Most (78%) of 1590 articles focused on response and recovery; only 8.9% emphasized mitigation and preparation,” the study says about the analyzed local, state, and national media outlets.
According to Professor Dworznik-Hoak’s research, “the most frequently mentioned organizational stressor [for reporters covering Hurricane Harvey] was the duration and type of hurricane coverage. Stress was directly related to managerial decisions regarding what was covered, when, and for how long.”
I’m not suggesting these topics shouldn’t be covered, but to think beyond them to better serve your audience. Once your newsroom has covered the most pressing stories about survivors, medical needs, infrastructure, and environmental damage following a hurricane or natural disaster, what additional focus areas can be addressed?
Tip: Conduct a survey among your audience of what tips would they like to be covered in the future.
Here, you have some ideas on topics a newsroom can cover. This is a list inspired by past experiences and colleagues’ suggestions who have covered natural disasters. I’m confident that you will be able to expand this list when you think about your community. They are organized in alphabetical order.
Academia
Who’s researching the aftermath of the disaster? What is academia interested in? There are more than 300 hundred disaster research centers in the world. Look for the one that is near to your community and learn what they are interested in.
Art
Look for artistic expression in refugee shelters. In the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, people sang and played instruments in the camps to calm others, an inspiring story for any media outlet. What are kids drawing or painting in those shelters? How are they processing their feelings through art? Also, check the status of street art, landmarks, galleries, coliseums, important venues, and museums.
Assistance
External and outside help will begin to slow down with time. How will it affect people? Consider covering the fade-in stage of assistance, especially if you are a local reporter. Who will still be in need after volunteers, NGOs, and international organizations are gone?
Tip: Ask your newsroom: Do you know how many people FEMA usually has in your community before a disaster strikes? Ask the same question after it hits. If FEMA opens new offices or rents new places, ask for how long those rents are. It will give a sense of how long they plan to stay. Does your city have a regular shelter for evacuees? What’s the process to get it activated? How long does it take?
Authorities
Rethink how you depict authority in natural disasters. Media outlets tend to rely only on official sources for depicting authority and expertise, sometimes leaving behind experts, scholars, and community leaders with a lot of field experience.
Daily life
Think of ordinary or common things people do in normal times. How are they affected by the disaster in the long term? How are marriage licenses affected? What about baptisms? What’s been the loss of the only cinema or theater in your community? Consider interviewing people in your community like ice cream sellers, car washers, plumbers, carpenters, window installers, etc.
Tip: Sailors can come in handy with pieces of advice on how to store food without electricity. Campers can help you with advice on how to cook outdoors. Think of evergreen content you can produce with their suggestions.
Damage and Destruction Reports
Once you have covered the initial phase of the emergency, consider addressing what the disaster means for people and communities experiencing it. Ask experts to reflect on what has happened and the root cause. If media outlets don’t address these topics, their coverage might result in a weaker narrative. Local news outlets have access to local experts and communities in a way no one else can have. Take advantage of them.
Death Tolls
Differentiate between direct and indirect deaths related to the natural disaster. Direct deaths from natural disasters occur as an immediate result of the disaster itself, such as fatalities caused by drowning in a flood, collapsing buildings during an earthquake, or being struck by debris in a tornado. Indirect deaths happen as a consequence of the disaster but not from the event itself. These can include deaths from delayed medical care, disease outbreaks due to poor sanitation, or lack of access to essential services like food, water, and healthcare after the disaster. Keep in mind that Indirect deaths could outnumber fatalities that are directly caused by the storm.
Tip: Be cautious when comparing data from previous disasters and places. Be sure those numbers reflect the use of the same methodology to avoid inconsistent conclusions and misleading comparisons, which can arise due to differences in data collection methods, time frames, and local contexts.
Disaster Relief Charity Scams
Guide your audience and readers on safely donating to people affected by a natural disaster. Give them tips like making donations to trusted, well-known charities, beware of scammers who create fake charities during natural disasters, and how to verify a charity’s legitimacy online.
Tip: The Better Business Bureau has a list of resources such as Wise Giving Guide, Charity Navigator, Charity Watch, or GuideStar, all recommended by the FCC. The National Association of State Charity Officials can explain to your audience whether charities must be registered in their state and if the charity contacting someone is on file with their state. (Read more about scams below.)
Education
Beyond school destruction, you can also focus on what it will take to get children back to school, the restoration of schools, and what other after-school programs might be needed. Remember to include stories related to special education programs and to cover daycare centers and assistance as they are much needed after natural disasters.
Environment
This is one of the more vast topics you can work on as a reporter. Depending on how big the impact has been, your community might experience loss of land, trees, animals, birds, insects, and reptiles; damage to water and sewage systems; overflowed rivers; landslides, rockfalls, ground displacement, debris pollution, garbage disposal, etc.. Keep in mind that there can be associated fires, during which windows bend and chemicals enter houses, making people sick.
Evacuation
One of the most stressful situations we experienced in 2017 when Hurricane Maria hit the island, was the imminent collapse of the Guajataca Dam in northwestern Puerto Rico. Two days after the impact, the National Weather Service warned that the failure of the Guajataca Dam was “imminent” and could lead to flash flooding for some 70,000 people that could be affected if it collapsed. Thanks to the intervention of the US Army Corps of Engineers, the dam withstood. If your newsroom covers an area close to a dam, consider the following: There are more than 91,000 dams in the US. In 2021, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the United States a “C-” in its America’s Infrastructure Report Card and estimated that 19 percent of dams in populated areas do not have emergency action plans in place in the event of a major hazard. Puerto Rico was given a “D-” in their last report. “Puerto Rico needs to increase investment by $1.3 billion to $2.3 billion annually – or $13 to $23 billion over 10 years – to update infrastructure in order to support economic growth and competitiveness. However, when considering deferred maintenance and hurricane-related recovery projects, the investment gap is even larger,” says the report. We didn’t have access to that information at that time. It could have given us a big opportunity to report more precisely and accurately about the dam conditions. Ask your newsroom: Are the evacuation routes updated and well-known by the community if a dam collapses? What’s the investment in the warning system that will alert people who must evacuate an area or neighborhood? Do people know where to seek refuge if they need to evacuate? What other areas are prone to flooding or landslides? Are people aware of their risks? Could you write a piece about them?
Finance
Always remember to check the calendar when you can forecast the occurrence of a natural disaster. If it falls towards the end of the month, it is prudent to take into account that a substantial part of the population might be confronted with financial constraints.
Health
Health services are among the first to feel the impact of natural disasters. Not only hospitals and clinics can have their facilities impacted, but also a substantial increase in the volume of emergency cases they must address. The following list represents possible adversities that can be seen in unsanitary conditions (e.g., overcrowding and flooding) resulting from hurricanes in the U.S., according to the CDC: Parasitic infections like Amebiasis, Cryptosporidiosis, Cyclosporiasis or Cyclospora infection, Giardiasis, Lice infestation, Scabies, and Toxoplasmosis. Bacterial infections like Escherichia coli, Shigellosis, Vibrio-related diseases, Leptospirosis (there was a high prevalence of it in PR after María, according to a Yale’s study), and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus infection. Viral infections like Norovirus infection and West Nile virus. Consider these infections when you plan your editorial coverage and how they can be prevented.
On the other hand, there are other stories you might want to explore, like the migration of mosquitoes and its impact, water poisoning and heat’s impact (Health can deteriorate quickly in extreme temperatures, particularly among children and the elderly), medical equipment used by embedded patients and who to help them when there’s no electricity: think of people who need oxygen concentrators, ventilators, and nebulizers to administer medicine. The Municipality of San Juan, in Puerto Rico, created a program to register people with electricity dependence in June 2022. Does your town or city have a similar program? Do people know about it? Is it easy to register?
Housing
The devastation of residential structures is a paramount concern in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Newsrooms should contemplate a multitude of inquiries as they plan their editorial coverage. Consider addressing some of the following questions in your coverage:
How long will it take to repair homes, and how much will it cost? How many of them can be rebuilt? What would happen to people who lose their homes? Where people will live and how long they will stay in the temporary housing. Who will provide the temporary housing? Will it be free? Will temporary housing be pet-friendly? How far is temporary housing from popular workplaces like downtown? Will people still be able to go to work? Keep in mind: The number of houses lost or damaged does not tell us what people who lived in those houses need.
Infrastructure
There’s much more than power out and the internet down after a natural disaster. Even though these two topics are extremely important, sometimes we overlook other issues. Here is a list of infrastructure-related topics: Roads and highways; Failure of water supplies, water treatment plants, sewer systems, water towers, and water pipes; Derailing of major transportation, train stations, metro, and trolleys; Tunnels, canals, and bridges across large bodies of water or intercoastal waterways. The fate of boats in those water bodies; Pipelines. Gas, oil, and others; Airports, ports, harbors, ferry terminals, marinas, and any commerce or communication hub, Industrial areas; Parks; Waste and debris management; Pollution control; Cemeteries. Think about the points of interest in your city/town: Hospitals, maternity clinics, stadiums, libraries, museums, cinemas, theaters, convention centers, markets.
Tip: Think about what’s working and what’s not affected. Help your audience know what’s back to normal.
Insurance
Topics related to insurance for homes, businesses, and even cars are some of the most demanded by readers after a natural disaster. What natural disaster insurance protects, what natural catastrophe policies say, how much natural disaster insurance costs, how to file claims, what to do if those claims don’t go forward, and when payments and checks arrive are some of the questions survivors ask. Think of them as part of your evergreen coverage. Also, consider covering other issues such as whether people are getting what they are entitled to, whether there are insurance scams, whether there are companies that are not being able to respond, whether the government offices responsible for controlling insurance are receiving complaints and intervening.
Mental Health
Consider the increase in depression cases after natural disasters. What other mental health conditions can be exacerbated? What about people living with dementia or women experiencing domestic violence? (See more information about violence below). Keep in mind that a disaster’s psychological impact can manifest after a period of time. Set a reminder in your calendar to check if this topic is becoming more relevant in the future, and write a follow-up piece.
Mitigation and Preparedness
The American Preparedness Project: Where the US Public Stands in 2015 says that two-thirds of families in the U.S. do not have sufficient plans or resources to weather the disruption of infrastructure from a disaster. According to FEMA’s 2023 National Preparedness Report, less than half of Americans are adequately prepared for emergencies. Media outlets play a crucial role in promoting individual and community preparedness, facilitating recovery, and fostering resilience. This is particularly evident in the context of local news, which has the opportunity to surpass national coverage and effectively cater to the needs of its audiences. In the movies, disasters always have a happy ending. But they do not address preparedness. That’s because preparedness is not attractive.” Only 8.9% of 1590 articles about Hurricane Katrina and analyzed in a research published by the American Journal of Public Health emphasized mitigation and preparation. Think of the huge difference your newsroom can make by telling people how to get ready.
Photos
Rethink the use of images while covering disasters. While it is imperative to convey the severity of the emergency, it is equally vital to consider the potential psychological impact on your audience and readers. In the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy, U.S. media outlets collectively opted not to publish photographs of individuals who perished in the terrorist attack. Is there a possibility of reaching a similar consensus to safeguard the well-being of victims and survivors in the context of natural disasters?
Power Lines
The American Society of Civil Engineers highlights that “most transmission and distribution lines were constructed in the 1950s and 1960s with a 50-year life expectancy” in the US. What’s the state of the power lines in your community? When was the last time they were repaired or replaced?
Scams
The Federal Communications Commission alerts: “Natural disasters and severe weather can create opportunities for fraud in their wake, occurring at a time when people may be especially vulnerable, or targeting charitable intentions. Scammers use phone, text, mail, email, and even go door to door to target residents of affected areas following hurricanes and damaging storms.” Write pieces of news reminding your readers or audience that officials with government disaster assistance agencies do not call or text asking for financial account information and that there is no fee required to apply for or get disaster assistance from FEMA or the Small Business Administration. Anyone claiming to be a federal official who asks for money is an imposter. Keep in mind that many times, the scams aim to target older adults before, during, and after disasters.
The mechanism is usually the same:
- The scammers call out of the blue.
- Introduce a huge problem that you are not experiencing yet.
- The demand to pay to avoid that happening, like fees or to avoid fines.
- They ask you to pay with gift cards, cryptocurrency, or by sending you a link through SMS or WhatsApp
- If they pressure for an immediate decision, it's a red flag.
- If the contact is made in person (knocking at someone's door) and they ask for cash, it's a red flag.
- The government never charges application fees or any fees on the phone or in person; it never calls to ask for social security numbers.
Be aware that the same method is used for fake donations. Go to Charity.gov to check if the organization is legit. Be careful with organizations that have similar names.
What to do if you paid a scammer, according to the Federal Trade Commission
Other types of scams besides Post-disasters Emergency Scams are: Family Emergency Scams, Government Impersonators, Utility Company Impersonators, Nanny and Caregiver Scams, Tech Support Scams, Political Scams, Romance Scams.
Survivors
In most disasters, most rescues are conducted by ordinary people. Neighbors helping neighbors. For example, when it comes to surviving an earthquake, most people who survive are rescued during the first 2 to 24 hours after it. It’s extremely uncommon to find survivors after that period of time.
Tip: Ask about those rescues around neighborhoods when you interview people in the field. They might guide you to extraordinary stories like the 19 policemen who were saved by four young neighbors who listened to the shots fired into the air in the middle of the south of Hurricane María to indicate that they needed help. The water had reached their necks, and they had had to take shelter on the roof of the police station.
Violence
Natural disasters might increase the short- and long-term violence rate by developing mental distress and anger. Several studies show there’s an association between natural disasters and violence, including domestic violence, interpersonal violence, and self-directed violence after a catastrophe. You can interview experts in the field and contact shelters for survivors and NGOs to check if they are experiencing a higher demand for services.
Tip: Add a note at the end of each article with resources on how to get assistance in those cases.
Volunteers
We tend to look for a traditional group of volunteers like Boys and Girls Scouts, Lion Clubs, Team Rubicon, the Peace Corps, CERT, or other well-established volunteers to report about them in the aftermath of a natural disaster. But other groups get organized and help your community. In the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, “butchers used to send out meat for the refugee camps.” Supermarkets have been an important source of food donations in the past. Contact Unions and ask them how they are helping. Plumbers have volunteered their services after earthquakes in California. Look for those with resources, and you might find a different list of organizations helping people in your area. Check also FEMA’s Programs to Support Disaster Survivors.
Weather
Remember to keep reporting on the weather after natural disasters. No matter how small, a drizzle can be catastrophic for a family trying to dry all their belongings in the sun. Be clear on your reporting about alerts. Different research has shown that the public often confuses concepts such as warning and watch. Tip. Analyze the warnings and alerts sent to people. They could be too vague and general to be effective. Keep in mind. Sea levels are rising, and oceans are getting warmer, fuelling hurricanes, but not everything is caused by climate change. Interview experts to be sure a natural disaster was actually caused by it.
Tip: Request your newsroom staff to get certified as Skywarn spotters, a volunteer program created by the National Weather Service with up to 400,000 people trained to report on severe weather in the US. It’s one time training and it’s constantly offered all over the country. It will help you better report on extreme weather conditions and their impact.
Wellness
Interview experts on how to relax in the aftermath of a disaster. Think of meditation, yoga, dance, etc. Think of people with expertise that might help cope during a natural disaster.
I hope you have found at least one of these ideas useful to your newsroom. This list will be expanded with additional ideas and topics in subsequent updates. If you have suggestions, please send them to maria@arce.biz. I will appreciate it.
