Disaster warning messages: challenges and opportunities based on Brazil's experience

This research investigates the effectiveness of disaster communication messages in Brazil, with a focus on the structure and content of SMS messages sent out from 2018 to 2023. The Warning Response Model was used for coding. The analysis reveals that only 1.83 % of the 73,701 messages analyzed were...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Murilo Noli da Fonseca, Luciene Pimentel da Silva
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-04-01
Series:Progress in Disaster Science
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590061725000377
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850222667412537344
author Murilo Noli da Fonseca
Luciene Pimentel da Silva
author_facet Murilo Noli da Fonseca
Luciene Pimentel da Silva
author_sort Murilo Noli da Fonseca
collection DOAJ
description This research investigates the effectiveness of disaster communication messages in Brazil, with a focus on the structure and content of SMS messages sent out from 2018 to 2023. The Warning Response Model was used for coding. The analysis reveals that only 1.83 % of the 73,701 messages analyzed were complete; that is, they contain all the elements to be effective (source, hazard, location, guidance and time). The results also show that messages about natural hazards achieved the highest scores and that the states of Santa Catarina and Paraná stand out. In contrast, states such as Minas Gerais and Goiás achieved low scores regarding messages about technological risks. In addition, lacking geographical and time specifics, and failing to include details on the potential impacts compromise the effectiveness of the messages. The study highlights that the message length limit of 160 characters is an obstacle to effective communication, which can compromise the population's perception of risk, its adoption of protective actions. The research concludes that optimizing disaster communication messages is crucial to improve disaster response in Brazil, while it recommends using a multichannel system, the continuous training of civil defense agents, and greater community engagement to strengthen resilience.
format Article
id doaj-art-e55b72bfbfbb499f8047a0f7fa8dfc1d
institution OA Journals
issn 2590-0617
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Progress in Disaster Science
spelling doaj-art-e55b72bfbfbb499f8047a0f7fa8dfc1d2025-08-20T02:06:15ZengElsevierProgress in Disaster Science2590-06172025-04-012610044010.1016/j.pdisas.2025.100440Disaster warning messages: challenges and opportunities based on Brazil's experienceMurilo Noli da Fonseca0Luciene Pimentel da Silva1Corresponding author.; Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Imaculada Conceição Street, 1155 - Prado Velho, Curitiba, PR 80215-901, BrazilPontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Imaculada Conceição Street, 1155 - Prado Velho, Curitiba, PR 80215-901, BrazilThis research investigates the effectiveness of disaster communication messages in Brazil, with a focus on the structure and content of SMS messages sent out from 2018 to 2023. The Warning Response Model was used for coding. The analysis reveals that only 1.83 % of the 73,701 messages analyzed were complete; that is, they contain all the elements to be effective (source, hazard, location, guidance and time). The results also show that messages about natural hazards achieved the highest scores and that the states of Santa Catarina and Paraná stand out. In contrast, states such as Minas Gerais and Goiás achieved low scores regarding messages about technological risks. In addition, lacking geographical and time specifics, and failing to include details on the potential impacts compromise the effectiveness of the messages. The study highlights that the message length limit of 160 characters is an obstacle to effective communication, which can compromise the population's perception of risk, its adoption of protective actions. The research concludes that optimizing disaster communication messages is crucial to improve disaster response in Brazil, while it recommends using a multichannel system, the continuous training of civil defense agents, and greater community engagement to strengthen resilience.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590061725000377Public warningRisk communicationInstructional crisis communicationMobile communicationDisaster alert messages
spellingShingle Murilo Noli da Fonseca
Luciene Pimentel da Silva
Disaster warning messages: challenges and opportunities based on Brazil's experience
Progress in Disaster Science
Public warning
Risk communication
Instructional crisis communication
Mobile communication
Disaster alert messages
title Disaster warning messages: challenges and opportunities based on Brazil's experience
title_full Disaster warning messages: challenges and opportunities based on Brazil's experience
title_fullStr Disaster warning messages: challenges and opportunities based on Brazil's experience
title_full_unstemmed Disaster warning messages: challenges and opportunities based on Brazil's experience
title_short Disaster warning messages: challenges and opportunities based on Brazil's experience
title_sort disaster warning messages challenges and opportunities based on brazil s experience
topic Public warning
Risk communication
Instructional crisis communication
Mobile communication
Disaster alert messages
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590061725000377
work_keys_str_mv AT murilonolidafonseca disasterwarningmessageschallengesandopportunitiesbasedonbrazilsexperience
AT lucienepimenteldasilva disasterwarningmessageschallengesandopportunitiesbasedonbrazilsexperience