{"689952":{"#nid":"689952","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Communicating During a Crisis","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E- written by Seungho Lee\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe North American hurricane season is, for many on the East Coast and Gulf Coast, six months of vigilance, and among the resources most likely to be consulted during this time are storm tracking maps. If you learn that your home might be in the path of a storm, you probably actively search for the most current version of one of these maps. Bruce Walker, a professor in the schools of Psychology and Interactive Computing at Georgia Tech, wants to ensure that storm-tracking maps and other emergency and environmental communication tools convey the most important information in the most understandable manner to the largest number of people possible. \u201cWeather and climate affect every single person on Earth,\u201d he said, \u201cso no one can be left behind when it comes to these critical communications.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWalker is director of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cicc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECenter for Inclusive Climate Communication\u003C\/a\u003E (CICC) at Georgia Tech. CICC is a new and growing consortium of researchers, organizations, agencies, and companies whose goal is to ensure that climate information of all types is widely accessible. The center is housed in the School of Psychology but has affiliated faculty from all around campus, and several universities around the U.S. CICC is expanding internationally as well, developing sub-networks in Europe, Africa, and Australia.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs part of its efforts, the CICC is working with the coastal city of Brunswick, Georgia. Situated about 65 miles northeast of Jacksonville, Florida, Brunswick is no stranger to hurricanes and tropical storms. The city is working to develop a comprehensive Community-Based Emergency Warning System, which will include maps and other emergency communications that ensure language, culture, level of education, or other differences in lived experience are not barriers to residents understanding critical safety information. This work is supported by the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems (BBISS) and the Center for Sustainable Communities Research and Education (SCoRE) through the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/sustainability\/seed-grants\u0022\u003ESustainability Next\u003C\/a\u003E Seed Grant Program.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHurricane maps and related information can come from many sources. Government agencies, municipal emergency management agencies, media outlets, and meteorological organizations all may have their own versions, which vary in how they visually display data. The information used to generate the maps is collected and distributed to the public domain by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) every few hours. The maps that the public sees show the important information that one would expect, but they may not do so with an eye for how different people might interpret, or misinterpret, that info.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOnce we determine the best way to present hurricane data to the most people, we will work with content providers to standardize the way they generate these resources,\u201d says Walker. \u201cReliable data and what we call inclusive communications lead to better decisions by the public.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe CICC investigators\u2019 process aspires to the philosophy of Universal Design, but since no design can be 100% universal, they refer to what they create as \u201cinclusive designs.\u201d Inclusive design means adapting to the diverse needs of the broadest possible audience. Since the language skills, education, lived experience, and physical ability of the person in the storm\u2019s path can vary, these maps must present information in many alternative ways.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor those who can see the map, for example, improving the visual design (e.g., a better use of symbols and a clearer visual layout) can help. For those with vision impairment, adding audio layers (called \u201csonification\u201d) to the map can help. For many people, simply comprehending a map can itself be a challenge. In that case, adding more explanations about how to interpret a map, what different terms mean, and what the storm is likely to do can make it more understandable.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAll of these strategies provide multiple means of accessing, understanding, and acting on the data represented by the map. When studying how to design inclusive maps, soliciting input and suggestions from as many different potential users as possible helps the CICC team ensure that vital information is understandable and useful to the most people.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of CICC\u2019s primary goals is to take lessons from their research projects, such as the inclusive hurricane map, and derive general principles for the effective design of emergency communications tools of all types. While every disaster, from floods and wildfires to tsunamis, tornadoes, and ice storms, will require the distribution of unique pieces of data, the CICC researchers and their community partners are identifying design strategies that will make these communications understandable and actionable to everyone.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWalker and other CICC researchers engage students in this work. Isabella Martinic, a Ph.D. student in engineering psychology, shepherds many of the center\u2019s research and design efforts, including AccessCORPS, a team that makes educational materials more inclusive and accessible. Jessica Herring and Ishan Vepa, students in the M.S. program in human-computer interaction, have led the hurricane map project, including overhauling existing maps from recent storms by applying CICC design guidelines to them. And undergraduate student Cal Price has been the lead researcher on the Brunswick collaboration, engaging with both community members and civic officials.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThese efforts \u2014 adding more features, revamping existing maps, and consulting with weather experts and end users \u2014 demonstrate how seemingly simple changes can lead to significantly better interpretations of the data by the target audience. The research behind the inclusive hurricane maps will be presented at the 23rd International Web for All Conference, which takes place later this year.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECICC researchers are also engaging in partnerships with companies that see the potential benefits of this approach. Data visualization company Highcharts, for example, is a supporter and collaborator. Since their business models revolve around distributing such information, they have a keen interest in the lessons learned from CICC research. CICC does not regard its findings as intellectual property; they prefer that good design guidelines proliferate.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cUltimately, our goal is for anyone to be able to look at a communication tool, quickly grasp critical pieces of information that may impact their lives and well-being, and take appropriate actions,\u201d Walker said, \u201cwhether that be for the daily weather or for an impending natural disaster.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe North American hurricane season is, for many on the East Coast and Gulf Coast, six months of vigilance, and among the resources most likely to be consulted during this time are storm tracking maps. If you learn that your home might be in the path of a storm, you probably actively search for the most current version of one of these maps.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The Center for Inclusive Climate Communication (CICC) at Georgia Tech is a new and growing consortium of researchers, organizations, agencies, and companies whose goal is to ensure that climate and disaster information of all types is widely accessible."}],"uid":"27338","created_gmt":"2026-04-22 22:23:47","changed_gmt":"2026-04-23 19:12:39","author":"Brent Verrill","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-04-22T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-04-22T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680036":{"id":"680036","type":"image","title":"SideBySide_Hurricane_Maps.jpg","body":null,"created":"1776896796","gmt_created":"2026-04-22 22:26:36","changed":"1776896882","gmt_changed":"2026-04-22 22:28:02","alt":"Side\u2011by\u2011side comparison graphic showing two hurricane forecast visualizations. The left panel, labeled \u2018Conventional Hurricane Map,\u2019 displays a white cone of uncertainty over the Atlantic Ocean and southeastern United States with dated forecast points for Hurricane Florence, while the right panel, labeled \u2018Inclusive Hurricane Map,\u2019 shows a red shaded impact corridor over Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina with a storm track line and icons indicating storm categories near cities such as Atlanta, T","file":{"fid":"264270","name":"SideBySide_Hurricane_Maps.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/04\/22\/SideBySide_Hurricane_Maps.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/04\/22\/SideBySide_Hurricane_Maps.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":811363,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/04\/22\/SideBySide_Hurricane_Maps.jpg?itok=K8l-PK_h"}}},"media_ids":["680036"],"groups":[{"id":"244191","name":"Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems"},{"id":"660398","name":"Sustainability Hub"}],"categories":[{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"194611","name":"State Impact"},{"id":"194836","name":"Sustainability"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1937","name":"Bruce Walker"},{"id":"195054","name":"Center for Inclusive Climate Communications"},{"id":"188360","name":"go-bbiss"},{"id":"10617","name":"resilience"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"},{"id":"194566","name":"Sustainable Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brent.verrill@research.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EBrent Verrill\u003C\/a\u003E, Research Communications Program Manager, BBISS\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brent.verrill@research.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}