Rescue Communication

Chapter 20 Rescue Communication Official and Volunteer Groups' Use of Mobile and Social Media During Disasters that Become Crises Keri K. Stephens, Keri K. StephensSearch for more papers by this authorKendall P. Tich, Kendall P. TichSearch for more papers by this author Keri K. Stephens, Keri K. StephensSearch for more papers by this authorKendall P. Tich, Kendall P. TichSearch for more papers by this author Book Editor(s):W. Timothy Coombs, W. Timothy CoombsSearch for more papers by this authorSherry J. Holladay, Sherry J. HolladaySearch for more papers by this author First published: 25 October 2022 https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119678953.ch20 AboutPDFPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShareShare a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Summary Stephens and Tich explore the understudied area of rescue communication. They note rescue communication is emergent, adaptive, and dependent on access to shared communication tools that allow for various parties to exchange vital information. Stephens and Tich observe when comparing official and unofficial responders, there are differences in their access to communication technologies. They find official responders often have robust, proprietary equipment while volunteer responders and the public rely on private social media, as well as semi-public and public communication tools. Volunteer rescue responders, on the other hand, use public and private communication tools and often have elaborate self-organizing systems where they use their existing networks to connect. Stephens and Tich discuss the implications of these differences. This chapter's focus on rescue communication offers a contrast to Chapter 19 on disaster mitigation by Heath and Chapter 21 on disaster preparation by Robertson and Stephens. The Handbook of Crisis Communication RelatedInformation