The role of public relations in building community resilience to natural disasters: perspectives from Sri Lanka and New Zealand

Abstract

Purpose – The paper identifies a role for public relations in disaster management by analysing disaster and communication managers’ understanding of community resilience and their use of communication in the context of two different cultural environments. Design/methodology/approach – The research study comprised 51 in-depth qualitative interviews with disaster managers in Sri Lanka and New Zealand, which were thematically analysed using the software programme NVivo 10. Findings – The study identified cultural differences in Sri Lanka and New Zealand that impact on how managers’ communicate in natural disaster situations. The findings indicated that public relations’ understanding of communities’ cultures, their communication, networking and lobbying skills could further enhance the effectiveness of efforts to build community resilience to disasters. Research limitations/implications – Nations are complex multicultural realities; the findings cannot be generalized to make claims about how natural disasters are managed in different national contexts. Practical implications – The paper identifies the unrealized potential of public relations’ expertise in communication, community relations, networking and lobbying to contribute to building community resilience to natural disasters. Social implications – By supporting efforts to build community resilience to disasters, public relations practitioners can contribute to social well-being in times of catastrophic natural disasters. Originality/value – The paper adds an innovative perspective to public relations crisis literature by identifying the potential contribution of public relations’ concepts and practices to build community resilience to natural disasters. It demonstrates how sociocultural differences may affect disaster communication strategies.