This paper describes five problem areas of communication that occur during crisis response. These areas arecommunication infrastructure, situation awareness, individual and organizational common ground, form andcontent of messages, and communication paths through organizations. Five focus groups with Swedish fieldpersonnel from national and international crises were performed. The main contribution of this article is ahypothesis, based on the outcomes of the focus groups, about the relation between communication problems andhow they interact with crisis response work.