Crisis Communications: Before, During, and After Disasters

In crisis communications, the classroom and real-world disasters continually inform one another. During the 2024 Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, FEMA-trained public information officers used an eight-step strategy learned in the Executive Public Information Officer (EPIO) course to build public trust through proactive, multilingual messaging and transparent leadership visibility.

Similarly, in the wake of a 2023 Nashville school shooting, a FEMA-trained PIO guided a police chief to offer sincere, faith-based empathy—avoiding clichéd language like “thoughts and prayers.” These examples underscore the vital role of training in preparing communicators to respond with clarity, compassion, and credibility—and how every disaster becomes a lesson for the next. Read the full article from HSToday here.