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PurposeThere has been a considerable effort over the last decade to increase awareness of the tsunami risk in coastal Washington, USA. However, contemporary research on warning systems spawned by the recent Indian Ocean tsunami tragedy highlights the need for development of an effective tsunami warning system for both residents and transient populations, including visitors and tourists. This study sets out evaluate staff training for emergencies, emergency management exercises (including drills and evacuation), and hazard signage within motels and hotels in Ocean Shores, Washington, USA.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from interviews with reception staff and managers at 18 hotels, motels, and other accommodation establishments.FindingsLevels of staff training and preparedness for tsunami and other hazards were found to be generally very low, although examples of “best practice” were found at a select few establishments. Larger hotels already had orientation or general training programmes set up which had the potential to incorporate future tsunami and hazard training, while smaller “owner‐operator” businesses did not.Research limitations/implicationsSuggestions on how to improve preparedness are discussed, including undertaking training needs analyses and conducting workshops, simulations and employee training to empower both businesses and employees.Originality/valueThis case study provides an insight into the challenges faced by emergency managers and the tourism sector in improving the effectiveness of warning systems in areas with high transient populations.

This paper summarizes research involving a multidisciplinary team of volcanologists and social scientists. It describes collaboration in relation to social and physical risk and vulnerability following the Mount Ruapehu eruptions of 1995‐1996. This work stresses a key role for such multidisciplinary teams in reducing the social impact of volcanic hazards through assisting communities, organizations, and individuals following an eruption and, importantly, during quiescent periods. We present an overview of a multidisciplinary approach and related research. In stressing the role of the physical science community in managing societal hazards and risk, the paper addresses how this role can be enhanced through collaboration with social scientists and others. The emphasis here is the facilitation of volcanological knowledge and expertise in threat communication, mitigation, community development, emergency planning, and response management. Our research has examined mechanisms for integration, multi‐disciplinary training, and preparing volcanologists for the social demands encountered in playing an active crisis management role. One area of overlap that can tie together disciplines and assist the public is the idea that volcanic activity and the related uncertainties are, at their essence, simply problems that with increasingly integrated efforts likewise have increasingly attainable solutions.

Residents of two North Island, New Zealand, communities were surveyed in March 1995 to measure their understanding of volcanic hazards. This was repeated in November 1995, following the Ruapehu eruptions of September‐October 1995. Both communities were subjected to intense media coverage during the 1995 Ruapehu eruption. Whakatane was spared any direct effects, whereas Hastings experienced the hazard directly, in the form of ash falls. Only Hastings’ respondents showed a significant change in threat knowledge and perceived volcanic risk. While experiencing the direct and indirect impacts of the 1995 Ruapehu eruption may make subsequent warnings and information releases more salient, thereby enhancing the likelihood of engaging in successful protective actions or other forms of response, the characteristics of hazard impacts may increase susceptibility to a “normalisation bias”, reducing future community preparedness.