Crisis Communication in Times of Disasters: Public Perceptions on the Timeliness and Clarity of Safety Announcements: A Systematic Literature Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18485/ijdrm.2025.7.2.11Keywords:
crisis communication, disaster, perceptions, clarity, timelinessAbstract
This study examines crisis communication during disasters, focusing on the timeliness and clarity of safety announcements and their influence on public perception. Guided by the Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT), which explains how authorities strategically communicate during crises to protect their reputation and build public trust, a systematic literature review was conducted, analyzing 29 articles. Most studies employed qualitative or quantitative methods, with only a few using a mixed-methods design. The crises examined ranged from natural hazards, such as typhoons, floods, cyclones, earthquakes, and tsunamis, to health emergencies, including COVID-19, SARS, MERS, H5N1, and influenza, as well as aviation and organizational crises. Findings indicate that both local and international contexts emphasized the importance of participatory and bottom-up approaches, where communities are active participants rather than passive recipients. Effective strategies also rely on the use of dominant languages, interpersonal communication, clarity, and timeliness. Communities and organizations often trust community radio and social media platforms, such as Twitter, as sources of information that help at-risk residents make appropriate and necessary preparations. Delays caused by inconsistent or overshadowed information, unpreparedness, and slow responses decrease public trust, create confusion, and undermine public compliance. Based on these findings, the study recommends that authorities responsible for crisis communication employ multidimensional crisis communication strategies, enhance message clarity and comprehensibility, prioritize timely and accurate information, adopt participatory approaches, leverage diverse communication channels strategically, foster public trust through transparency, consistency, accountability, and empathy, implement proactive misinformation mitigation strategies, and continuously refine communication strategies based community or organization needs to improve future emergency responses.
Downloads
References
1. Akarasewi, P. (2018). A strategy for the Thai Department of Disease Control for use in internal communication in situations such as the MERS, H5N1 and influenza crises. https://doi.org/10.20381/ruor-22964
2. Babayeva, S. (2024). Crisis communication challenges in Türkiye’s centralized disaster response: A case study of the Kahramanmaraş Earthquakes [Master’s thesis, Charles University].https://dspace.cuni.cz/bitstream/handle/20.500.11956/190814/120476186.pdf?sequence=1
3. Balanggoy, H. K. (2024). Implementation of disaster risk reduction and management. International Journal of Disaster Risk Management, 6(4), 198–210. https://doi.org/10.18485/ijdrm.2024.6.4.2
4. Babayeva, S. (2024). Crisis communication challenges in Türkiye’s centralized disaster response: A case study of the Kahramanmaraş Earthquakes [Master’s thesis, Charles University].https://dspace.cuni.cz/bitstream/handle/20.500.11956/190814/120476186.pdf?sequence=1
5. Chuang, S. (2024). A glance at the COVID-19 epidemic control system in Taiwan: Implications for organizational crisis management and leadership in black swan events. International Journal of Human Resource Development Practice Policy & Research. 10.2478/ijhrd-2024-0005
6. Fu, Y., Liu, L., & Yuan, D. (2024). What leads to effective emergency management? A configurational analysis of empirical cases of local Chinese governments. Land. https://doi.org/10.3390/land13040469
7. Hidayat, M. N. (2024). Exploring the role of social media in disaster management: A case study of the 2021 South Kalimantan flood. CHANNEL: Jurnal Komunikasi. https://doi.org/10.12928/channel.v12i2.847
8. Hong, Y., Xie, F., An, X., Lan, X., Liu, C., Yan, L., & Zhang, H. (2023). Evolution of public attitudes and opinions regarding COVID-19 vaccination during the vaccine campaign in China: Year-long infodemiology study of Weibo. Journal of Medical Internet Research. https://doi.org/10.12928/channel.v12i2.847
9. Hu, C., Yun, K. H., Su, Z., & Xi, C. (2022). Effective crisis management during adversity: Organizing resilience capabilities of firms and sustainable performance during COVID-19. Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013664
10. Indrayani, I. I. (2024). Gen Z's ethical approaches in crisis communication on social media: Evidence of Indonesia. Jurnal Komunikasi: Malaysian Journal of Communication. https://doi.org/10.17576/JKMJC-2024-4004-08
11. Inusa, M., Nnaemeka, E. C., Nyomo, J. D., Osawe, I. E., Obadaki, Y. Y., Isma’il, M., Ismail, A., & Bichi, A. A. (2025). Nature and extent of flood risk downstream of the Kubanni Dam, Kaduna State, Nigeria. International Journal of Disaster Risk Management, 7(2), 112–129. https://doi.org/10.18485/ijdrm.2025.7.2.3
12. Jayasekara, R. U., Jayathilaka, G. S., Siriwardana, C., Amaratunga, D., Haigh, R., & Bandara, C., Dissanayake, R. (2023). Identifying gaps in early warning mechanisms and evacuation procedures for tsunamis in Sri Lanka, with a special focus on the use of social media. International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment 14(1): 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJDRBE-02-2021-0012
13. Kaur, S., & Singh, K. (2024). Private sectors’ interventions in disaster risk management. International Journal of Disaster Risk Management, 6(4), 215–232. https://doi.org/10.18485/ijdrm.2024.6.4.3
14. Koswatte, I. & Fernando, C. (2022). Policy Development for Crisis Management in the Context of Sri Lanka. https://doi.org/10.26493/1854-6935.20.295-327
15. Lee, K. M., & Jung, K. (2019). Factors influencing the response to infectious diseases: Focusing on the case of SARS and MERS in South Korea. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16081432
16. Li, Y., Chandra, Y., & Fan, Y. (2021). Unpacking government social media messaging strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Policy & Internet. https://doi.org/10.1002/poi3.282
17. Lin, Y. C. J. (2022). Establishing legitimacy through the media and combating fake news on COVID-19: A case study of Taiwan. Chinese Journal of Communication. https://doi.org/10.1080/17544750.2021.2011343
18. Ma, Y. & Zhou, S. (2024). The impact of perceived timeliness of information release on subjective well-being: A heterogeneity perspective. Journalism and Media. https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia5040089
19. Meesangkaew, N. (2019). The effects of internal crisis communication on communication satisfaction, employee satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intention for Thai hotel employees. ProQuest. https://www.proquest.com/openview/80b173c66a0c1865d6257d24b7512b27/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y
20. Milenković, D., Cvetković, V. M., & Renner, R. (2024). A systematic literary review on community resilience indicators: Adaptation and application of the BRIC method for measuring disaster resilience. International Journal of Disaster Risk Management, 6(2), 79–104. https://doi.org/10.18485/ijdrm.2024.6.2.6
21. Nielo, L. C. G. (2024). A disaster communication plan for higher education institutions in the island province of Occidental Mindoro, Philippines. Frontiers in Communication. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2024.1368221
22. Nilupaer, J. (2019). Utilization of crowdsourcing and volunteered geographic information in international disaster management. ProQuest.https://www.proquest.com/openview/fe88e028505396bbedcfb76039a86ed2/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y
23. Reyes, J. A. L., Matro, R. L. C., & Oliva, M. A. C. (2018). Social media for civic participation, communication, and coordination of disaster relief: Twitter usage in the Philippines during typhoon Nockten. New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies. https://www.nzasia.org.nz/uploads/1/3/2/1/132180707/jas_jun2018_reyes_etal_copy.pdf
24. Ronny, R., Herdiansyah, H., & Panjaitan, B. S. P. (2023). Glimpsing Indonesia's social media discourse: What goes on during the COVID-19 infodemic. REiLA: Journal of Research and Innovation in Language. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1296-5160
25. Saptorini, E. (2024). Beyond the newsroom: Making news in three Indonesian news organisations during the COVID-19 pandemic. ePrints.Bournemouth University . https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/40469/1/SAPTORINI%2C%20Endah_Ph.D._2024.pdf
26. Sharma, B., & Tham, A. (2021). Cultural influences on disaster recovery and impact on tourism: The case of Nepal earthquakes. Journal of New Business Ideas and Trends, Vol.19 (1), pp.1-18
27. Sumaylo, D. J. (2024). Pre-disaster communication and engagement in isolated communities: Power, relationships, and experiences in the Philippines. RMIT University.
28. Suzuki, T., Watanabe, T., & Okuyama, S. (2019). Facilitating community risk communication for wide-area evacuation during large-scale floods. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16142466
29. Ullah, M. S. (2023). Keep me safe from cyclones: Community radio and disaster campaign in the coastal areas of Bangladesh. In the International Handbook of Disaster Research. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8800-3_80-1
30. Utomo, C. N., Liew, K. W., Ramakrishnan, K., Hoe, E. G. B., Wong, K. C., Wah, Y. C., & Abbas, S. K. S. (2024). Assessment of crisis management in higher education institutions towards academic quality and impacts on students. IAFOR Papers. https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2189-101X.2024.75
31. Wang, J., Zhou, Y., Zhang, W., Evans, R., & Zhu, C. (2020). Concerns expressed by Chinese social media users during the COVID-19 pandemic: Content analysis of Sina Weibo microblogging data. Journal of Medical Internet Research. https://doi.org/10.2196/22152
32. Yang, T. U., Noh, J. Y., Song, J. Y., Cheong, H. J., & Kim, W. J. (2021). How lessons learned from the 2015 Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak affected the response to coronavirus disease 2019 in the Republic of Korea. The Korean Journal of Internal Medicine,36(1),1–12. https://doi.org/10.3904/kjim.2020.371
33. Zakaria, M. H. F., & Yusnaidi, N. (2021). Crisis communication strategies during the code red phase of aviation industry and media framing discrepancies: Case of Malaysia Airlines twin tragedy. Journal of Media and Information Warfare,18(2),1–15. https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/46946/1/46946.pdf
34. Cvetković, V. (2023). A predictive model of community disaster resilience based on social identity influences (MODERSI). International Journal of Disaster Risk Management, 5(2), 57–80.
35. Zarei, L., Shahabi, S., Sadati, A. K., Tabrizi, R., Heydari, S. T., & Lankarani, K. B. (2021). Citizens' expectations from government in response to COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study in Iran. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-25745/v4.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Cara Sacyaten
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This journal operates under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction, adaptation, and transformation in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
Authors retain the copyright of their articles.
The International Journal of Disaster Risk Management (IJDRM) encourages and permits authors to:
-
Post pre-print (submitted version), post-print (accepted version), and publisher’s version/PDF of their articles on personal websites, institutional repositories, disciplinary repositories, and academic networks such as ResearchGate, Academia.edu, or departmental websites,
-
Do so at any time, including before or after publication,
-
Provided that appropriate credit is given to the original publication in this journal, including:
-
Full bibliographic details
-
A clear mention of the journal name
-
A direct link to the article’s DOI (as an HTML link)
-
No prior permission is required from the publisher or editors for such actions, as long as the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license are followed.
