Homework answers / question archive / What is your suggestion to prevent the spread of disaster myths in your community? Why do you suggest this? What are the consequences when we have different views about human behavior during disasters? ANTICIPATING HUMAN BEHAVIOR IN DISASTERS The Impact of Hollywood and Media • Incorrect portrayals about disaster behavior that are quickly spread through video footage and social media

What is your suggestion to prevent the spread of disaster myths in your community? Why do you suggest this? What are the consequences when we have different views about human behavior during disasters? ANTICIPATING HUMAN BEHAVIOR IN DISASTERS The Impact of Hollywood and Media • Incorrect portrayals about disaster behavior that are quickly spread through video footage and social media

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What is your suggestion to prevent the spread of disaster myths in your community?

Why do you suggest this?

• What are the consequences when we have different views about human behavior during disasters?

ANTICIPATING HUMAN BEHAVIOR IN DISASTERS The Impact of Hollywood and Media • Incorrect portrayals about disaster behavior that are quickly spread through video footage and social media. • The media loves sensational stories. Nevertheless, the accuracy of such presentations may be in question. How the media erroneously educates the public about human behavior in a disaster. • Questions - From where do most people get their understanding about disasters? - What is the role of the media in providing misrepresentations about disaster behavior? - Does the media like sensational stories? How does this impact people's perceptions of disasters? Research on Myths • Most persons held preconceived notions about disaster behavior that were essentially untrue • Many common beliefs and perceptions about disaster response and post-impact behavior are not empirically valid - People act irrationally in disaster situations. People always panic - People evacuating at once: Panic flight is rare, occurring only when there is an imminent threat. Not everyone evacuates creating the need for dangerous search and rescue missions - Antisocial behavior: looting, people will resort to violence to protect their interests. price gouging as predominant behavioral patterns. - Emergency workers are unreliable in the aftermath of disaster (role or post abandonment) - Media provides an accurate portrayal of the disaster: an inflated impression about the extent of the situation. - Martial law must be imposed after disasters? Martial law is the replacing of civilian authority with that of the military. It involves the imposition of strict curfews and limitations on people's movement and activity - the military and National Guard must be mobilized and utilized to maintain social stability when disasters occur. Realities about Response and Recovery • Exaggeration instead of myth: while the stories may be factually correct, they are not representative. The initial reports by the media are likely to be inaccurate, incomplete, and even misleading • To react successfully to a disaster, you must understand actual behavior - You must base your post-disaster decisions and policies on what people are most likely to do. - You should not make and implement decisions based on incorrect or incomplete beliefs. • - Implications Effective use of resources Morale of emergency management staff Symbolism Managing relationships with Media Community based emergency management Therapeutic Community → education and training have helped emergency managers to gain “an increasingly accurate understanding of the actual behavioral response to disaster” Introduction • What is your suggestion to prevent the spread of disaster myths in your community? Why do you suggest this? • What are the consequences when we have different views about human behavior during disasters?