The Twelve Cs of Disaster Preparedness Education. Rocky Lopes, Silver Spring, MD: © October, 2007. Educating the public about hazards such as tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, and floods, among other natural and technological events, not to mention a deliberate attack on human life such as a bombing or intentional release of a biological agent, is always a challenge. People generally do not want to believe that anything bad can happen to them. They are usually in a state of what risk communicators call denial. This 24-page paper describes twelve concepts for effective risk communication that motivates behavior change. It is based on 25 years of reviewing and applying research in the field of disaster preparedness.

Public Perceptions of Disaster Preparedness Presentations Using Disaster Damage Images.
Working Paper #79, University of Colorado Natural Hazards Center, Boulder, CO: September, 1992

The Alternate Dilemma: How to Explain and Encourage Counterintuitive Behavior. Natural Hazards Observer, Volume XXII Number 2. University of Colorado Natural Hazards Center, Boulder, CO: November, 1997.

Response to "Triangle of Life" by Doug Copp, August 24, 2004. Original text of what was an e-mail message sent to local Red Cross chapter representatives in the United States.

Talking About Disaster: Guide for Standard Messages (orig. 1999, 2004, National Disaster Education Coalition. Lopes served as Project Manager and Executive Editor for these versions of the publication). Updated March, 2007 by Coalition on Disaster Education (to make up another acronym, for gosh sakes). Public Domain document.

The Futile Search for a Hard Number. Washington Post, January 9, 2005. Story about why it is impossible to know exactly how many people are killed and injured by large-scale disasters. This story was in reference to the Indian Ocean tsunami that occurred December 26, 2004.

Reaching Communities in Crisis with Safety Literacy.
Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy and Learning, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX: February, 2006.

Engaging the Disengaged.
Rocky Lopes, Silver Spring, MD: © June, 2007.