The management of information among various stakeholders in natural and human induced disasters is fundamental to the mitigation and effective disaster-relieve operations. Efficient information exchanges are a vital component of disaster response and relief operations. This is based on the idea that precise and timely information is made available prior, during and after disasters. Disasters always happen abruptly, and often with different levels of severity, posing a major challenge for effective information exchanges and coordination. Extended droughts, trans-boundary haze, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis, landslides, volcanic activities and severe weathers have created havoc and displaced populations in many parts of this continent. These events have given rise to the realization that a more strenuous attempts to uncover the emerging patterns in disaster communication. By drawing from experiences in disasters, especially in Asia, the paper firstly conceptualizes disaster, vulnerabilities and disaster communication, in the broader literature on disaster. Secondly, it examines how the emerging features, such as disaster communication and coordination mechanism, the role of social media and technology, reliability of communication systems, social capital and cultural knowledge can assist first responders, care givers and disaster related agencies in helping disaster victims more effectively.

The major criticism of the ASEAN Community idea is its elitist approaches. It lacks the most crucial components that have brought about the success of other similar regional organizations such as the European Union (EU): the involvement of the general public in the formation process. This study, therefore, analyses to what extent the Indonesian public understands and perceives the proposed regional community idea. By using statistical tests, the study accesses several interlinked factors such as knowledge about the ASEAN Community concept, perception of the process of establishment of the regional community, and perceived achievement of ASEAN as a regional organization to understand the Indonesian public's attitude. The study found that despite Indonesian respondents’ relative lack of knowledge on the proposed formation of the ASEAN Community, they are indeed supportive of the idea. They also show some support for the proposed creation of the regional community under its three core pillars, namely the Security Community, Economic Community, and Socio-Cultural Community. Furthermore, the Indonesian respondents also perceive that the formation of the community would be beneficial not only to their country, but also to the society and economy.

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