Communicating Disasters: An Asia Pacific Resource Book
Inspiring Practice
Bangkok; Nugegoda (LK): UNDP Regional Centre in Bangkok;Television for Education Asia-Pacific (TVE Asia-Pacific) (2007), x, 150 pp.
Contains illustrations
CC BY
"Our 21 contributors -– most of them from Asia, and representing media, development or humanitarian sectors -- do not engage in mere theoretical discussions. In 19 chapters of this book, they draw on their rich and varied experience working in either preparing disaster resilient communities or responding to humanitarian emergencies triggered by specific disasters. Some are journalists who have reported on disasters from the 'ground zero'; others are aid workers, public information officials or development professionals who have been at the forefront in emergency responses or are engaged in disaster risk reduction. Diverse as their backgrounds and experiences are, our contributors share a belief in the central role that communication can play before, during and after disasters occur. Within this, they offer a kaleidoscope of perspectives as well as a great deal of practical advice on how to communicate hazards and disasters at inter-personal, inter-agency, inter-sector and public levels. The tools, technologies and methods may vary, but there is a broad consensus that to be effective, communication needs to be two-way, inclusive, participatory and sustained over time. It is not an 'add on' to other development interventions, but an integral component in its own right." (Page 3)
Introduction / Nalaka Gunawardene and Frederick Noronha, 1
I. COMMUNICATING TSUNAMI, 5
The 2004 Tsunami: Unfinished Story / Johanna Son, 7
A Candle in My Window / Peter Griffin, 13
Nobody told us to run… / Chanuka Wattegama, 21
Children of Tsunami: Documenting Asia’s Longest Year / Nalaka Gunawardene and Manori Wijesekera, 27
Beyond the Disaster-News Template / Joanne Teoh Kheng Yau, 37
Surviving the Tsunami: A Journalist’s Story / Frederick Noronha, 41
II. COMMUNICATING UNDER DURESS, 43
Capturing Nature’s Fury / Shahidul Alam, 45
Stop All the Clocks! Beyond Text, Looking at the Pics / Max Martin, 49
Seeing Disasters Differently: How to Unearth Real Disaster Stories / Amjad Bhatti, 55
Communicating to Save Lives / Patrick Fuller, 59
Extra Hands in Times of Crisis / Veronica Balderas Iglesias, 65
III. SEEKING COMMON GROUND, 69
Engaging the Media: A Rough Guide / A S Panneerselvan, 71
Building Bridges: Managers and the Media / Sanny Jegillos, Rajesh Sharma and Pablo Torrealba, 77
Who’s Afraid of Citizen Journalists? / Sanjana Hattotuwa, 81
Bridging the Long ‘Last Mile’ / Nalaka Gunawardene, 87
Gender and Disasters: Tracing the Link / Ammu Joseph, 93
Healing Broken Hearts, Calming Anguished Minds / Chin Saik Yoon, 101
‘Critical mass’ for Community Disaster Resilience / Buddhi Weerasinghe, 111
Digging Under the Rubble / Kalpana Sharma, 115
Appendix 1 Official Report of Regional Brainstorming meet on ‘Communicating Disasters: Building on the Tsunami Experience and Responding to Future Challenges’: Bangkok, 21 – 22 December 2006, 120
Appendix 2 List of participants of Bangkok Brainstorming, December 2006, 137
Appendix 3 Suggested guidelines for more effective engagement of mass media and new media before, during and after disasters, 139
Appendix 4 Contributing Authors, 141
Appendix 5 Reuters AlertNet for Journalists, 144
Appendix 6 UN/ISDR Media Network on Disaster Risk Reduction, 147
Appendix 7 ReliefWeb Project, 149
I. COMMUNICATING TSUNAMI, 5
The 2004 Tsunami: Unfinished Story / Johanna Son, 7
A Candle in My Window / Peter Griffin, 13
Nobody told us to run… / Chanuka Wattegama, 21
Children of Tsunami: Documenting Asia’s Longest Year / Nalaka Gunawardene and Manori Wijesekera, 27
Beyond the Disaster-News Template / Joanne Teoh Kheng Yau, 37
Surviving the Tsunami: A Journalist’s Story / Frederick Noronha, 41
II. COMMUNICATING UNDER DURESS, 43
Capturing Nature’s Fury / Shahidul Alam, 45
Stop All the Clocks! Beyond Text, Looking at the Pics / Max Martin, 49
Seeing Disasters Differently: How to Unearth Real Disaster Stories / Amjad Bhatti, 55
Communicating to Save Lives / Patrick Fuller, 59
Extra Hands in Times of Crisis / Veronica Balderas Iglesias, 65
III. SEEKING COMMON GROUND, 69
Engaging the Media: A Rough Guide / A S Panneerselvan, 71
Building Bridges: Managers and the Media / Sanny Jegillos, Rajesh Sharma and Pablo Torrealba, 77
Who’s Afraid of Citizen Journalists? / Sanjana Hattotuwa, 81
Bridging the Long ‘Last Mile’ / Nalaka Gunawardene, 87
Gender and Disasters: Tracing the Link / Ammu Joseph, 93
Healing Broken Hearts, Calming Anguished Minds / Chin Saik Yoon, 101
‘Critical mass’ for Community Disaster Resilience / Buddhi Weerasinghe, 111
Digging Under the Rubble / Kalpana Sharma, 115
Appendix 1 Official Report of Regional Brainstorming meet on ‘Communicating Disasters: Building on the Tsunami Experience and Responding to Future Challenges’: Bangkok, 21 – 22 December 2006, 120
Appendix 2 List of participants of Bangkok Brainstorming, December 2006, 137
Appendix 3 Suggested guidelines for more effective engagement of mass media and new media before, during and after disasters, 139
Appendix 4 Contributing Authors, 141
Appendix 5 Reuters AlertNet for Journalists, 144
Appendix 6 UN/ISDR Media Network on Disaster Risk Reduction, 147
Appendix 7 ReliefWeb Project, 149
