Conflicting cues with emergency warnings impacts protective action

摘要

Australia's emergency services agencies face immense challenges when responding to natural hazards. Evacuating people in affected regions requires time, influence, coordination and expertise. Triggering large-scale public evacuations in time-critical situations of flood or bushfire is problematic, as there is always some uncertainty about whether, or how, a natural hazard will occur. Compounding this problem is that emergency services are not the only source of information that the public uses when considering taking action. There are also environmental cues, such as the weather outside, what is being said by the media, or what actions peers are taking, all of which can inhibit taking timely protective action.