Safety Tips When Covering Disasters or Extreme Weather Events

Journalists are often asked to go into dangerous environments in order to do their jobs. Even now, the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio is presenting ongoing health risks to both residents of the area and journalists (who, in addition to covering a spill of at least five biologically hazardous chemicals, are being arrested for their attempts to do so). Of course, charging into any disaster area or into ongoing bad weather presents a significant safety risk to any journalist. 

Journalists and newsrooms can preempt the danger of these events with a few simple steps.

FIRST, NEWSROOMS SHOULD CONDUCT A LENGTHY PLANNING SESSION.

When assigning coverage of extreme weather or hazardous disasters, it’s the newsroom’s job to arrive prepared with as much information as possible before sending the journalist out. Risk assessment is the first step–what are the health and safety risks to the journalist, and does it even merit sending a human being into the zone on the ground? For natural disasters, this is particularly prescient: in the recent Turkey-Syria earthquakes that have claimed the lives of at least 41,000 people so far, the initial quake was exacerbated by a series of aftershocks which destroyed fragile infrastructure and trapped survivors under piles of debris, only to be hit by a winter storm and freezing temperatures shortly thereafter. Any journalist put on the ground before the aftershocks would be in significant danger.

The newsroom and journalists should work together to find entry and exit points and set up regular check-ins. The newsroom should also identify if any personal [protective equipment (PPE) is necessary before the journalist goes into the area, and provide the journalist with the necessary equipment, as well as check-in points to receive more equipment should the need arise. All parties should assess whether or not journalists will have reliable access to phone service, banks for possible emergency money, and access to medical care should something happen. Finally, an emergency “out” plan needs to be worked out should conditions deteriorate further.

NEXT, THE FITNESS OF JOURNALISTS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED.

 Fitness does not just mean physical fitness, but both the newsroom and journalist should be honest about the following questions: Can we cope with challenging, oppressive, possibly dangerous and traumatic situations? Does the individual have any health conditions or considerations that could be exacerbated by the disaster? For example, journalists with little to no pre-existing medical conditions were dispersed during the COVID-19 pandemic to cover developments and populate newsrooms. Putting journalists at risk of injury without fully informing them of the risks of the job is illegal and withholding information from a journalist with a pre-existing condition could lead to criminal charges if that person experiences adverse health effects on the job.

UPON ARRIVING, GET THE LAY OF THE LAND.

Who is in charge of rescue operations? Where are official checkpoints set up either by the government or aid-givers such as the Red Cross? Do not, under any circumstances, enter an area that has not been cleared by a first responder—that area is likely extremely unsafe. Then, assess the situation amongst locals affected by the incident and start drawing boundaries with yourself about how to navigate talking to and interviewing survivors and locals. Provide resources—both physical and emotional—for people who need help. Also, journalists must care for themselves and continue to assess and reassess their physical and emotional well-being often.

WHEN IT’S ALMOST TIME TO GO, CHECK YOUR PLAN AGAIN.

Conditions change, sometimes rapidly, during natural disasters. Check in with the newsroom to assess whether or not your exit strategy is still viable. Make sure you have the equipment you arrived with, properly inform rescue operations of your departure, and tie up any loose ends you may need for official clearance. Newsrooms should conduct a thorough debrief with the journalist when they are back from their deployment and retrospectively assess which pieces of the initial plan were successful and which were less so. Future protocols should then be adjusted accordingly. 

Journalism is a risky job without the pitfalls of mother nature or human error. When a journalist can be prepared for an unsafe situation, it simply behooves both the journalist and their employer to take the opportunity to prepare and to create as many contingency plans and boundaries around the work as are necessary in order to keep the journalist—and their work—safe and sound and able to make it back to the newsroom.