But do these sites provide the information citizens need, or present it in a streamlined way that people can access? Not necessarily, according to a study conducted by Brooke Liu, assistant professor of Public Communication at American University in Washington, D.C.
Even so, emergency management Web sites have the potential to provide the public with quicker access to high-quality, detailed information; support real-time interaction; and promote accountability through highly visible online processes.
"Measuring citizen-agency interactions is important because interactivity is one of the primary advantages of electronic communication compared to more traditional forms of communication, such as phone calls and office visits," Liu said. "In the post-Katrina world of emergency management, states must evaluate their role in managing preparation for, and in response to, disasters. A key component of this preparation and response is effective communication with the public, other levels of government and organizations active in emergency management."
But how can emergency management Web sites achieve effective communication?
It's as simple as getting key information online and making it easily accessible.
Organized Content
Liu evaluated the effectiveness of emergency management agency Web sites in four main areas: democratic outreach, information content, outreach to special needs populations and intergovernmental relations.
Citizens should be able to contact state employees directly, either by phone, address, e-mail or physical location. Liu's study found, however, that most contact information on emergency management Web sites was general rather than employee specific.
Web sites should also inform the public of potential disaster threats and prepare citizens for action should a disaster strike.
"On our Web site, we have press releases and a whole page that is nothing but brochures, pamphlets and bookmarks for kids -- all kinds of things that are geared toward making people aware of what they can do to be prepared," said Helen Stewart, computer information technologist for the Missouri Emergency Management Agency, and primary person responsible for maintaining the agency's Web site.
People like having access to as much information as possible, said Rex Griffin Pyle, Web coordinator for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. "It's a balance of providing a lot of detail," he said, "but also making the navigation transparent enough so that you can actually find what you're looking for."
This can be challenging, Pyle explained, but Virginia has focused on organizing the information in a content-specific manner, which helps users navigate through the Web site.
"We're trying to provide contextual linking," Pyle said. "If you're on a page about hurricanes, you might find a link on the right-hand side that says, 'Related information,' and it might point you to our family emergency planning page."
Virginia now uses a Google search product, he said, which makes it much easier for users to find what they're looking for.
In addition, keeping the number of mouse clicks down minimizes user frustration, said Steve Ollis, systems analyst for the Oregon Emergency Management Agency. "We try to provide as much information on the front page as we possibly can," he said.
Missouri uses the same strategy, Stewart said, adding that everything is basically one or two clicks away.
Links to additional information on other Web sites keep mouse clicks at a minimum, but make it possible for users to have even more information at their fingertips.
Up-to-date links reduce the amount of work for the user, said Ken Murphy, director of the Oregon Emergency Management Agency, who added that people can go to the emergency management Web site as the single source to a variety of information spanning several sites.
"So many people depend upon the Web to find data," Murphy said, "so if you've done that homework ahead of time, it really saves people a lot of time."
Providing information online also saves employees time because they no longer have to answer callers' questions, Murphy added, since most information is available online.
Links to organizations such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the American Red Cross and local emergency management agencies can lead citizens to more disaster-related resources. Additional links for and to the media can help unite the public, the media and emergency management agencies through shared knowledge.
Another way to provide the public with current information is through RSS feeds and subscription services.
"RSS feeds are a good way for people to keep up to date with new content on the site during emergencies, when news releases or new situation reports come out," Pyle said.
Virginia's emergency management Web site also links to a biweekly newsletter called EM Update, which is archived on the site and offered through a subscription page.
A common look and feel platform helps users become more familiar with the structure of emergency management Web sites. In Oregon, every state agency uses the same format and Web publishing system. "We're not using FrontPage, we're not using Dreamweaver," Ollis said. "We're using a database-driven system that all state agencies use, which enables the average citizen to go to almost any state agency Web site and have the same basic layout and find what they're looking for."
Missouri created standards that promote consistency with state agency Web sites, so Missouri's emergency management Web site will experience a face-lift. Consistency, Stewart said, lets people know what to expect before they get to your site.
Open to Everyone
Successful emergency management Web sites must contain user-friendly, organized content, but also be accessible to the public, including those with special needs, such as foreign-language speakers, children, people with disabilities and the elderly.
"Disparities in access limit the effectiveness of e-government for citizens with disabilities, language limitations and technology barriers," Liu said. "In terms of the special needs public, there's very little information, very little in anything other than English. They had more information for pet owners than for people with disabilities, or people who are older or are foreign language speakers, which to me is really shocking."
A majority of the Web sites contained information for children and families, but only 38 percent contained information for people with disabilities, and only 8 percent offer TTY/TTD phone access, which allows people who can't speak or hear to use telephones, according to Liu's study.
"Thirty percent of the Web sites display a Web site accessibility policy," Liu said. "But this policy is meaningless without specific information about how the disabled should prepare for and respond to a disaster."
Few emergency management Web sites accommodate people who speak a foreign language, according to Liu's study. "States with large populations of foreign-language speakers, such as Hispanics, do not have commensurate foreign-language access on their sites," Liu said, noting that despite New Mexico's Hispanic population of 43 percent, the state does not offer much information in Spanish.
AltaVista is a program used to translate an entire Web site's content to a different language, but according to Liu, this option only promises 80 percent accuracy. "Such translation appears to be a catchy feature rather than a targeted decision," she said.
The elderly make up a large portion of the population; however, only 16 percent of the emergency management Web sites have information specific to them. As a result, they are unable to benefit from valuable preparation advice, such as stocking up on necessary medications.
"Some may argue that the elderly and disabled are not as likely as other publics to access these Web sites, and the lack of electronic information for these groups is not all that important," Liu said, adding that these findings are important because the information available online may reflect the information available in print.
"Unless agencies are producing and distributing information for the disabled and the elderly that is not available online," she said, "the agencies need to seriously enhance their outreach to these special needs groups."
Business owners also seek advice during a disaster situation, or in preparation for one. Virginia's emergency management site contains a separate section for businesses. A "business toolkit" link takes businesses to a minisite designed with specific business-related questions in mind, including business continuity in the event of a disaster.
Drawing People Together
User feedback is essential for the success of any Web site, and probably even more so for an emergency management Web site, Pyle said. "It's not just information about a product, it's information about how you can keep yourself and your family safe."
On each one of its pages, Virginia's emergency management Web site features a feedback link, which visitors can use to send comments to Pyle and his team. "This gives our users a direct line to me to let me know if they're having an issue with the Web site," Pyle said.
Interface changes were made to accommodate user needs. When designing the current site, Pyle and his team asked users about their experience and where they would expect to find certain content, such as a news release or a family emergency plan. "There's nothing more important than talking to your users and trying to understand who they are, how they look for information and what they're going to your site for," he said.
User input has also aided in the success of Oregon's Web site, Murphy said. "That's where I think we made some good moves," he said. "You have to ask yourself, does this make sense to anybody else but us?"
In her study, Liu concluded that while Missouri, Oregon, Tennessee and Virginia stood out because of their successful emergency management Web sites, most similar sites are not reaching their potential.
"It is likely that the state emergency management agencies do not have the staff or finances to produce sophisticated Web sites," she said. "Thus, these agencies may be interested in providing more opportunities for democratic outreach on their Web sites, but may currently be unable to offer these opportunities.
"This doesn't have to be something people have to spend tons of time and money on to actually make it effective," Liu continued, adding that providing access to information is the most important step.
And having a supportive emergency management agency is key, Pyle said. "Our success is not just because we were really good at planning the site, but also because we continue to think forward about how we can improve communications channels through it," he said, "and because we have a lot of support from our agency, from the leadership all the way down."
A good Web site sets high standards for other emergency management agencies, but it also draws people together, Ollis said.
"Without access to resources, everybody's out there all on their own," he said, adding that if the people doing the emergency management work are provided with contacts in other counties who are doing similar work, they can compare notes and work together on situations, not just independently.
"In the end," Pyle said, "the success of your site is gauged by how effectively you're able to reach your audience and provide them with the information they need with as few clicks as possible."
