Risk Communication in Disasters: How Emergency Managers Can Correct Misinformation

The flood crest hasn't even arrived, and your phones are already ringing. A post claims the dam upstream is about to fail. Another says shelters are turning away anyone without ID. A neighborhood group is sharing a "leaked" evacuation map that doesn't exist. None of it is true, but thousands of people have already seen it.

Correcting rumors is now a core part of risk communication for emergency managers, PIOs, and public safety leaders. False information can send people toward danger, keep them away from help, and wear down trust in the agencies trying to protect them. This guide covers why rumors spread so fast in disasters, how to monitor and prioritize them, and how to correct them, online and face to face, without making them worse.

Why Rumors Spread Fast in Disasters

Rumors aren't just a social media problem. They're a normal human reaction to fear and missing information.

Kate Starbird, a crisis informatics researcher at the University of Washington, explains it this way: "When information is uncertain and anxiety is high, the natural response for people is to try to 'resolve' that uncertainty and anxiety" (Starbird, OneZero). People gather, in person or online, to piece together what's happening. That collective sensemaking helps people cope, but it also produces rumors, some of them false.

Platforms add fuel. A 2025 narrative review in JMIR Infodemiology notes that content algorithms often "prioritize engagement over accuracy," and that emotionally charged misinformation resonates with fearful and uncertain audiences (PMC).

The practical lesson: information gaps get filled. If your agency isn't answering the questions people are asking, someone else will.

Monitoring and Triage

You can't correct every false claim, and you shouldn't try. Build a simple system to find rumors early and decide which ones need action.

FEMA's risk communication best practices call on agencies to "listen to the public before and during the emergency" and to "monitor public responses and update communication efforts to meet people's evolving information needs" (FEMA).

Where to listen

Local community groups and neighborhood apps
Comments on your own agency’s posts
Calls coming into 911, 311, and your call center
Questions field crews, shelter staff, and CERT volunteers are hearing
Local news and radio call-in shows

How to triage

Ask three questions about every rumor:

Could it hurt someone? A rumor that keeps people from evacuating or seeking shelter goes to the top.
How far has it spread? A claim in one small group may fade on its own. One showing up in 911 calls needs a response.
Do we have facts to correct it? If not, say what you know, what you don’t, and when you’ll update.

Priority	Example rumor	Response
High	“The shelter at the high school is closed.”	Correct immediately on every channel and brief call-takers
Medium	“Aid is only available to homeowners.”	Add to rumor page, share in next update
Low	A vague claim in a small group with no engagement	Keep watching; don’t amplify

Risk Communication Rule One: Correct Without Amplifying

The biggest risk in correcting a rumor is repeating it so often that people remember the rumor instead of the fix. Researchers call this the continued influence effect: people can keep relying on misinformation even after they've accepted a correction.

The Knight Science Journalism program at MIT summarizes two widely used structures (KSJ Handbook):

The truth sandwich, associated with cognitive scientist George Lakoff: lead with the fact, mention the false claim briefly, then return to the fact.
Fact, myth, fallacy, recommended by the authors of The Debunking Handbook: state the fact first, state the myth once and label it as false, then explain why the myth is wrong. As the handbook puts it, “It is important for people to see the inconsistency in order to resolve it.”

Applied to a disaster rumor:

Instead of this	Try this
“RUMOR: The dam is about to fail.”	“The Miller Dam is stable and being inspected every two hours. A post claiming it’s failing is false. Engineers are on site and will alert the public immediately if anything changes.”
“We are aware of false rumors about shelters.”	“All four shelters are open and accepting anyone who needs a safe place, with or without ID. Find the nearest one at [link].”
“Stop spreading misinformation.”	“We know people are worried and sharing what they hear. Please check [link] before sharing, and we’ll keep it updated.”

Lead with the headline you want people to remember. If a reader only sees the first sentence, it should be the true one.

Trusted Messengers

The same fact lands differently depending on who says it. In many communities, the most trusted voice isn't the county emergency management office. It may be a pastor, a school principal, a tribal leader, a neighborhood association president, or a local radio host.

FEMA's best practices recommend building "pre-crisis partnerships and alliances with other stakeholders" and enlisting their help "in better understanding and reaching target audiences." Practical steps:

Build the list before the disaster. Identify trusted voices in every neighborhood and language community you serve.
Give them early, accurate information. A short text or email with approved talking points makes it easy for partners to help.
Use your own frontline staff. Firefighters, paramedics, and deputies are often among the most trusted people in a neighborhood.
Be honest about uncertainty. FEMA’s guidance calls for communicating “with honesty, candor, and openness,” including uncertainties. Trust built this way lasts past a single event.

Rumor Control Pages

A rumor control page gives your agency one place to post corrections, and gives partners, reporters, and call-takers a link to share.

After Hurricane Helene in 2024, FEMA maintained a running list of rumor corrections. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, it addressed claims such as FEMA confiscating survivors' property, FEMA providing only $750 in total assistance, and FEMA no longer accepting housing assistance applications (NLIHC).

To build your own:

Set it up before disaster season, with a template ready to publish.
Lead each entry with the fact, then briefly note the rumor.
Date every entry and update it when facts change.
Link to it everywhere: social posts, press releases, call-taker scripts, and shelter signage.
Keep the tone neutral. Correct the claim; don’t attack the people sharing it.

One-on-One Conversations with Worried Residents

Much of the most important disaster communication happens one person at a time: a resident at a shelter intake table, a caller on the non-emergency line, a neighbor stopping a firefighter on the street. These conversations can't be scripted like a press release, but they follow a similar pattern.

Acknowledge the worry. “That sounds scary. I’m glad you asked.”
Ask where they heard it. “Where did you see that?” This isn’t a challenge. It tells you how the rumor is spreading.
Give the fact plainly. “The dam is stable. Engineers checked it an hour ago.”
Point to a source they can check. “Our updates page and the county’s radio station have the latest.”
Offer something useful. “Would it help to sign up for alerts so you hear it directly from us?”

Avoid making the person feel foolish. Someone who feels judged will stop asking questions, and will keep getting answers from the rumor mill instead.

Why Practicing These Conversations Matters

Risk communication in writing is hard enough. Doing it out loud, with a frightened resident who has already made up their mind, is harder. The natural reactions under stress, like sounding defensive, dismissing the claim, or over-explaining, can make the rumor stickier.

Rehearsal helps. Practice the fact-first structure with a partner who plays a worried resident repeating a rumor they heard from a friend. Try it with someone who's angry, someone who's scared, and someone who doesn't trust government at all. After a few rounds, respectful correction becomes a habit you can rely on when the phones won't stop ringing.

Key Takeaways

Risk communication in disasters now includes rumor management. Rumors thrive on uncertainty and anxiety, so fill information gaps fast.
Monitor multiple channels and triage rumors by potential harm and reach.
Correct with the fact first, mention the myth briefly, and explain why it’s wrong.
Build relationships with trusted messengers before the disaster.
Set up a rumor control page ahead of time and link to it everywhere.
In one-on-one conversations, acknowledge the worry, give the fact, and point to a trusted source.

Practice the rumor conversation before the next disaster. Foretell AI from Glimpse Learning lets emergency managers, PIOs, and frontline staff rehearse out loud with a lifelike AI avatar, such as a worried resident repeating a rumor, and get feedback scored against your rubric for respectful correction and referral to trusted sources. Teams can also use it to rehearse press briefings and public Q&A.