What is it about?
This case study deals with the adaptation of communication strategies set out in the pre-crisis plan implemented by members of Quebec’s public safety authorities in the specific case of the rail explosion and fire that destroyed downtown Lac-Mégantic in July 2013. The analysis reveals that the disaster, whose magnitude and consequences were unprecedented in Canada, prompted those in charge of public safety to review established crisis management communication strategies and practices in order to adapt to the realities of a particular terrain and context.
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Why is it important?
Our findings demonstrate that in a crisis and emergency context, communication efforts must sometimes deviate from the planned strategies and come back to simple, direct, and “human” communication methods in order to adapt to the realities of the victims.
Perspectives
I hope this article will allow readers to re-evaluate their communication strategies in a crisis context in order to meet the needs of the target audience and find the best ways to reach them. This article was written after a presentation at Lund University as part of the Crisis4 4th international conference on crisis communication in the 21st century. This article also lead to a group of searchers contacting us and ultimately to create a new research project: “Supporting Disaster Resilience through Community Engagement and Social Participation”.
Marie-Eve Carignan
Universite de Sherbrooke
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Crisis communication adaptation strategies in the MM&A train explosion in Lac-Mégantic downtown, Corporate Communications An International Journal, August 2017, Emerald,
DOI: 10.1108/ccij-02-2016-0022.
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