In addition to all the residents, businesses and travellers impacted by the catastrophe, my thoughts are with the communication teams working through the current situation in Queensland and northern NSW.  So many of you will be working through your crisis communication plans and business continuity programs.

If you are managing communications during a crisis for the first time, there are a number of IABC resources that may assist.

The February 2010 CW Online featured Social Media for Crisis Communication:http://www.iabc.com/cwb/archive/2010/0210/

A prior CW Online edition on spokesperson training includes links to some disaster & crisis related resources. Includes links to reactive messaging. http://www.iabc.com/cwb/archive/2009/1109/RelatedResources.htm

If you are an IABC Discovery subscriber, there are a number of case studies that may be useful for the recovery phase. http://discovery.iabc.com/phrase.php?phrase=crisis+communication

Google has established a single landing page for the key official information sources (Government, emergency services, donations).

http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/queensland_floods.html