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Regular, consistent communications are crucial functions of incident command during a natural disaster. During the response phase, it can be easy to lose track of stakeholders outside the immediate response team. Use these guidelines to identify gaps in the stakeholders identified in your communications plan during the disaster planning process.

• New staff members who are not aware of their role or responsibilities in an emergency can create a fault line in an otherwise solid communications plan.
  • Ensure that new staff members in all departments undergo emergency training as part of their onboarding process.
  • Whenever possible, incident command should make an effort to establish and maintain relationships with new staff members before an incident.
• External stakeholders such as vendors, contractors, charitable organizations, volunteers and other localities can be difficult to identify during a disaster.
  • Ensure that your disaster communications plan includes lists of all relevant stakeholders and current contact information.
  • Update your stakeholder list regularly to ensure contact information and relevance are up-to-date.