Examining the Temporal Dynamics of Risk Communication During Extreme Weather Events: Insights From a Scoping Review

As extreme weather events unfold on a timescale of minutes, hours, or days, individuals must respond accordingly. Dynamic risk communication—that is, risk communication that updates alongside evolving risks—can support individuals in making timely, well-informed behavioral decisions that safeguard their well-being. Existing literature on dynamic risk communication during extreme weather events uses multiple methods to examine how different populations encounter dynamic risk communication during different types of events. In this scoping review, we synthesize empirical evidence from 14 articles to advance an integrated understanding of the temporal dynamics of risk communication during extreme weather events. First, we describe how individuals interact with heterogeneous forms of dynamic risk communication over the course of extreme weather events. Second, we identify environmental, personal, and social factors that may lead individuals to encounter dynamic risk communication (i.e., antecedents). Third, we identify individuals’ appraising and behavioral responses to dynamic risk communication (i.e., consequences). Taken together, our review suggests opportunities to better align the provision of risk communication with individuals’ informational needs during extreme weather events. Additional longitudinal research is necessary to more precisely examine changes and relations among time-varying constructs, consider the role of individuals’ multiple, varied contexts in their protective behavioral decision-making processes, and identify individual differences in people's needs for and uses of dynamic risk communication during extreme weather events.