ABSTRACT
Enhancing the effectiveness of emergency planning for disasters, whether in Britain or elsewhere, will depend upon the appropriate analysis and communication of the risks that communities face from the relevant hazards and disasters (Stallon and Coppock 1987). Without this communication there can be no concerted action, and planning without concerted action is meaningless. Indeed, communication is at the heart of emergency planning, but the communication of risks is inherently problematic (Handmer and Penning-Rowsell 1990, Kasperson et al 1988). These problems involve the communication of risks to both the official or unofficial ‘actors’ in the emergency planning process, and to the public for whom that planning is undertaken. Given these complexities, we need to proceed with care.
