Hurricanes, Wildfires and Flooding. Here’s How Domain Expertise Helps Reporters Understand an Unfolding Natural Disaster

Brands add real value to ongoing debates around society’s response to extreme weather events. However, any communication around natural disasters needs to be respectful, empathetic, and appropriate. 

Hurricane season has arrived, with Isaias has hit the Northern Gulf Coast. Flash flooding, damaging winds, and storm surges are forecast to come in its wake. It’s time to batten down the hatches.

This year’s storm season is expected to be the worst in a long while. The El Niño weather pattern driving many of these storms is the strongest in more than 70 years and will last until at least February 2027. WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo has warned: “El Niño has the potential to deliver a massive blow to communities and economies across the world.”

We’ve already had a reminder of the destructive power of extreme weather earlier this year, when a devastating flash flood in Tibet and Nepal, caused by a glacial collapse, led to widespread disruption. More than 1,200 people have died and many thousands more remain missing. Some 3,500 people have been left homeless across 27 sites.  

This tragedy comes at the end of the hottest summer on record for many countries. Successive heatwaves rocked Europe for most of July and August, leading to widespread drought, powerplant shutdowns, and train derailments. Already, meteorologists are predicting that due to El Niño 2027 will likely be the hottest year on record globally.

Climate change means that such weather-related events and natural disasters are only going to become more frequent. 

How will journalists cover extreme weather events?

During these moments, human impact is always the center of the story. Initially, the focus is on health and wellbeing, but reporters will rapidly work to lend scope, size and impact to the story. This means a steady flow of stories on economics, infrastructure, and supply chain (particularly related to food and medicine.)  They also actively seek out ways to illustrate community resilience in the face of adversity. 

They will want to hear from companies that help improve and protect infrastructure, as well as financial services businesses that insure this infrastructure. They will want to hear from any company that has a technological solution to the challenges of disaster recovery, as well as from organizations that can help improve meteorological forecasting, urban planning, and other related fields.

“…B2B storytelling has an important role to play in the ongoing narrative around extreme weather events.”

John Cook, EVP, Fintech & Media Strategy

This is to say that B2B storytelling has an important role to play in the ongoing narrative around extreme weather events. Businesses that have something valuable to contribute to the debate absolutely should.

How should experts contribute to natural disasters?

However, there’s a major caveat here. Above all else, brands must be sensitive to the individuals and communities affected by these events. No company wants to be seen as cashing in or exploiting tragic circumstances. That means communicating with care and empathy. 

Timing is key. It’s mostly unwise to communicate directly during a disaster unless you have something to say that can immediately help those affected (for example, if your organization is offering disaster relief, or environmental cleanup support), or if you need to communicate real-time updates about service availability. 

The best way for brands to enter into these conversations is to position themselves as a journalistic resource, not the center of the story. Highlight your expertise and how you can help, but never try to push product. Ultimately, the shift in mindset is away from PR as a mechanism for promotion, to PR as a channel to get useful information to people who might need it.

If your brand operates in this space, there’s going to be plenty of opportunity to get your voice heard in the coming months and years. When you do so, just make sure what you say is authentic, empathetic, and appropriately timed.