Information and communication
Accurate, reliable, timely, and verified information is crucial for managing emergency situations. It helps us make the right decisions and protect our health, lives, and property. We should therefore trust primarily those sources that are obligated to inform the public during emergencies. These include state institutions, regional and municipal authorities, the police, fire and rescue services, emergency medical services, and public media.
How to ensure access to information?
During emergencies when power supplies are disrupted, it can be difficult to obtain information about what is happening around us.
Therefore, prepare:
Remember to have spare batteries, chargers, and cables.
During a crisis situation, we should limit mobile phone use to essential communication only. Otherwise, we might overload the network and slow down or even block communication for emergency services. If there is a large-scale power outage, mobile phones and the internet will stop working because transmitters have only limited backup batteries.
Official sources of information
- Public service media (Czech Radio, Czech Television) and regional media
- Municipal announcements and electronic sirens
- Messages from emergency services and responsible authorities
- Official notice boards of regional and municipal offices (The app of the municipality we live in, e.g. Munipolis, Obcenawebu, etc.)
- Websites of government offices and institutions
During crises, unverified information and rumors often spread quickly. Such messages can increase uncertainty and fear, and complicate the work of emergency services.
How should we handle information?
- Verify information using multiple trusted sources.
- Rely primarily on official sources.
- Share only verified information that we are certain is true.
How can we assess the reliability of information?
Reliable information is essential in crisis situations – only on its basis can we make the right decisions important for our lives, health and the safety of our loved ones. If we are unsure about the truthfulness of a piece of information, we can ask ourselves the following simple questions:
WHO is saying it?
- Who is responsible for the information? Can we find out who created it?
- Is it an official source, a journalist, or someone unknown?
- Information from recognised, official sources with clear responsibility is more trustworthy.
WHAT are they saying?
- Are they presenting verifiable facts, or assumptions and speculation?
- Are specific details and sources provided, or just vague claims?
- Specific data with sources is more reliable than general statements.
HOW is it presented?
- Does the message try to trigger strong emotions – fear, anger, outrage?
- Is it calm and factual, or dramatic and sensational?
- We should be cautious if an unknown or questionable source repeatedly stirs fear or anger – it is often an attempt to make us share the information before verifying it.
WHY is the author sharing it?
- Does the author really want to inform, or just grab attention at any cost?
- What benefit could they gain from spreading this information?
- Especially on social media, different motives may lead to the spread of false information.
Answering these questions may not give us absolute certainty, but it can help us distinguish trustworthy sources from questionable ones and avoid falling for outright hoaxes or false reports. In crisis situations, information changes quickly and some details are still being clarified. It is therefore important to rely on verified sources and not click on everything that looks sensational.
