[December 23 post: Two years ago on Christmas Day, Hawaii time, the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami killed hundreds of thousands. CHORE visitors are invited to spend a few minutes with today's post at our sister blog, Tsunami Lessons, on how the international news media networks could be used to improve tsunami warnings to distant and isolated populations.]
Maybe CHORE’s little rant a few days ago hit home.
Or maybe the Comprehensive Communications Review Committee’s spokesman was throwing a feint at the Star-Bulletin last week when he said the target to release the panel’s recommendations for improving emergency communications was “end of this year.”
Whatever, the report was distributed to committee members yesterday, and the Bulletin has a story on its recommendations today, notwithstanding the “CONFIDENTIAL – For Committee Use Only” notation at the end. (CHORE had a copy last night but decided the dailies could be first on this story for a change.)
We’ll reserve comment on most of the report’s recommendations until we’ve had more time to study them, but it’s fair to note that perhaps an inordinate amount of the attention so far falls on the broadcast industry’s rather dramatic breakdown after the October 15th quakes.
"People Factor" Still Critical
Granted, there’s much to be done to stiffen the industry’s capabilities (the report says 80 percent of the state’s radio and TV stations were off the air after the quakes), but just as important will be adjustments to how government agencies and their personnel respond to emergencies.
CHORE and others have been critical of the decisions that were made – or weren’t made – that kept citizens of this state uninformed for too long about real and imagined threats to their personal safety.
That’s why we’ve been clamoring for weeks for a commitment by State Civil Defense to meet with the public and explain what it learned from the quake experience and what it will do differently in our next emergency.
Notwithstanding assurances by State Civil Defense's senior leaders (here and here) that a staffer would contact CHORE about setting up that meeting, it hasn’t happened.
That said, it’s encouraging to read in the report’s Conclusion that “…the emergency situation that occurred served as an urgent wake-up call to government agencies, the news media, telecommunications providers and electric company that the current emergency communications system can be improved.”
On that, we all agree.
No comments:
Post a Comment