Media Break Silence on Review Panel's Work; Will Findings Be Released in a Public Briefing?

Seventeen days after the first meeting of the State-appointed Comprehensive Communications Review Committee, the public finally can read about its progress.

Several committee recommendations to improve communications to the public during and after emergencies are summarized in a Honolulu Advertiser story today. The final report of the committee, which is composed of State officials and media representatives, is still more than a month away.

There isn’t much to go on in the Advertiser story, but there’s enough to raise a question or two – which of course is what this blog does. (Doug White raises some additional questions here.)

Was it a “Power” or “Protocol” Problem?

The major focus of the committee’s work as reported today was the power outage on Oahu that lasted for hours. The committee’s chair is quoted: “Power was the biggest issue. There was no backup.”

The island-wide blackout certainly was a huge issue, but was it the biggest? The designated emergency broadcast station and others actually remained on the air using backup generators, so citizens did have a source of information on portable radio AM and FM dials.

What seems like a bigger issue was the absence of protocols for officials to address the issue at hand – two significant earthquakes that might have generated a tsunami and did produce a chain of events resulting in the blackout.

State Civil Defense decided on October 15th to not issue a “no tsunami” message. Other messages that might have reassured the public on the status of the emergency were not relayed to the on-air radio stations, apparently due to the inability to call in on a secure line. And the Emergency Alert System took nearly four hours to activate.

“Constant” Means “Constant”

The committee reportedly is recommending solutions to these problems, including issuing a “no tsunami” message when warranted to allay public fears. Another recommendation (quoting the newspaper story) is to offer “regular updates at least every 30 minutes in the event of an emergency so that the public gets a constant flow of information.”

News every 30 minutes doesn’t sound like a “constant flow of information.” Some emergencies will be severe enough to require a virtually uninterrupted stream of messages from Civil Defense officials.

Let’s hope the final report will include new procedures for officials that will achieve that end and resolve other quake-revealed problems. The committee’s recommendation to upgrade the Emergency Alert System so it can cut into radio and TV broadcasts seems wise.

Pairing the Report with a Briefing

CHORE has urged State Civil Defense to brief the public on what it learned on October 15th and what it will do differently in future emergencies. Here’s a proposal that makes too much sense to resist:

State Civil Defense and the Comprehensive Communications Review Committee would do well to issue the panel’s report and answer questions at a public briefing at the earliest opportunity.

The media would cover such an event, as they did Hawaiian Electric’s public briefing on October 23rd. Civil Defense officials could demonstrate their responsiveness to the public by participating, something they’ve yet to confirm they’re willing to do. And the committee would receive instant feedback from the public on its recommendations.

Now that some journalists have shown an interest in the committee’s work, maybe they'll get behind a proposal to involve citizens in improving systems meant to ensure public safety.

And to all fellow veterans, enjoy your day.