Analysis of strategies utilized and their adequacy in communicating early warning messages for disaster preparedness in Tana River County, Kenya

Abstract

This rearch was conducted in Tana River County Kenya. Early warning communication is a branch of crisis communication that has been adopted into community knowledge and practice for disaster preparedness. There are, however, concerns that in many cases, early warning on impending disasters has not translated into appropriate and timely actions towards saving lives and livelihoods. While early warning is known to be necessary for reducing disaster losses, studies indicate that early warning communication does not necessarily lead to early and appropriate response from the target communities.The objective of this study was to evaluate the dissemination strategies used to communicate the messages to the community and their adequacy in communicating early warning to the community. Qualitative approach to the research was used where interview schedules and focus group discussions were adopted in data collection method. A sample of 25 respondents were interviewed, three focus group discussions were held and seven key-informant interviews were carried out. The study used purposive and snow ball sampling procedures. The data obtained was transcribed and analysed for themes relevant to the topic. The study found that there are considerable weaknesses in dissemination strategy by institutions charged with the early warning communication, The study recommends that there is need for communicators of early warning messages to look at the design of the messages on flood warnings and to take into consideration the three elements of early warning communication, which are forecasting, dissemination and response. It is envisaged that the findings of the study will be helpful to the communicators of early warning messages to reconsider strategies of communication. The findings will also assist in guiding the formulation of future disaster management policy.