Roundtable Workshops

Roundtable Workshop 6: Alerting America: Effective Risk Communication

Workshop Summary

October 31, 2002

The National Academies
Room 100
500 Fifth Street
Washington, DC

AGENDA

Objective: The objective of this workshop is to provide the opportunity for researchers, decision-makers, practitioners, and other interested parties to exchange views and perspectives on communicating risk information to the public about various kinds of hazards and disasters. This is intended to provide a broad view on risk communication, facilitate understanding across relevant disciplines and professions and offer a basis for future risk communication action and research.

8:30 AM Welcoming and Opening Remarks
William H. Hooke, NDR Chair, American Meteorological Society

Session I The Risk Communication Challenge

Moderator: William H. Hooke, NDR Chair, American Meteorological Society

8:45 AM Risk Perception
David Ropeik, Harvard Center for Risk Analysis

9:05 AM A Case Study: Risk Communication and Survival at the World Trade Center

Martha T. Moore, USA Today

9:30 AM Lessons From Research

The Process of Risk Communication
Dennis Mileti, University of Colorado

Risk Communication and Hazards: Lessons from Research
Kathleen Tierney, University of Delaware (Download Presentation)

Risk Communication and Diversity: Grounding Practice in Research
Brenda Phillips, Jacksonville State University (Download Presentation)

Questions and Discussion

10:45 AM Break

11:00 AM Session 2 - Panel on Local Perspectives

Moderator: Ross B. Corotis, University of Colorado at Boulder

Truth or Consequences: TV News and Disasters
Deborah Potter, NewsLab

Get Out of Dodge by High Noon or You Will Die
Walter S. Maestri, City of New Orleans

Questions and Discussion

12:00 PM Lunch break

1:00 PM Session 3 - Panel on Warning Systems

Moderator: Peter Ward, Partnership for Public Warning

The National Warning Crisis
Peter Ward, Partnership for Public Warning (Download Presentation)

Risk Communication and the National Weather Service
Jack Kelly, National Weather Service (NOAA) (Download Presentation)

Hazard Warnings for Earthquakes in California
Lucy Jones, U.S. Geological Survey (Download Presentation)

Crisis or Risk Communication and Public Health Emergencies
Eric Noji, U.S. Public Health Service (Download Presentation)

Questions and Discussion

2:30 PM Break

2:45 PM Session 4 - Panel on International Issues

Moderator: Ann-Margaret Esnard, Cornell University

Environmental monitoring of vegetation and weather in Africa

Patrick Gonzalez, U.S. Geological Survey (Download Presentation)

Forecasting Challenges and the Role of the US National Weather Service in the Caribbean Basin
Michel Davison, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Download Presentation)

Questions and Discussion

3:34 PM Session 5 - Looking Ahead: Opportunities for Research Challenges in Risk Communication
Moderator: William H. Hooke, NDR Chair, American Meteorological Society

4:30 PM Adjourn