Building a Culture of Resilience
Lesson 4: Communication Creates Clarity: What Ida Revealed about Information Sharing
By Lai Sun Yee
When Post-Tropical Cyclone Ida brought historic rainfall to New York in September 2021, the emergency stretched across jurisdictions, agencies, and levels of government. For the people responding, one challenge reached across all of them:
Information had to move.
Cities and counties had their responsibilities. New York State had its responsibilities. Federal agencies were mobilizing support. Other public, private, and nonprofit partners were part of the broader response. Each organization saw the emergency through a slightly different lens.
In Lesson 4 of Meridian Strategic Services’ Building a Culture of Resilience™, Senior Emergency Management Consultant Lai Sun Yee reflects on that environment from her experience as FEMA’s Federal Coordinating Officer. Her perspective offers an important lesson for organizations preparing for their own crises.
Having Information Is Only the Beginning
A crisis can generate an enormous amount of information.
What happened?
Where?
Who is affected?
What resources are available?
What has changed?
What happens next?
The real test is whether the information that matters reaches the people who need it while they still have time to use it. That requires communication across organizational lines, particularly when multiple agencies and jurisdictions are involved. One organization may hold information that changes another organization’s understanding of the situation. Put enough of those pieces together, and leaders begin to develop a shared picture from which they can make decisions.
Follow the Information
Organizations routinely exercise plans, procedures, and operational capabilities. Communication deserves the same scrutiny. Pick one critical piece of information your organization might need during an emergency and follow its path.
Who needs it?
Who provides it?
How will you make sure it reaches them?
Then go one step further: What could slow it down? That exercise may reveal as much about your readiness as a much thicker plan sitting on a shelf.
Building a Culture of Resilience™ is a 10-part series from Meridian Strategic Services.
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