Disaster communication governance and public trust: the case of TEPCO

The International Risk Governance Council (IRGC) Risk Governance Framework identifies five inter-dependent phases, of which the final phase, Communication, is of the utmost importance because effective communication is the key to creating public trust in disaster risk management. Extant government reports on the 2005 Hurricane Katrina and the 2009 Victoria bushfires in Australia (2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission 2010) provide evidence that disaster communication governance deficits contribute to the slow disaster response and recovery operations and the erosion of public trust in government disaster management.