1982 Video Recalls Broadcast Failures During Hurricane Iwa -- a Lesson Yet To Be Learned?

With the 25th anniversary of Hurricane Iwa’s pass through the islands just three months away, it’s useful to recall the lessons we should have learned during one of Hawaii’s biggest emergencies in its 48 years of statehood. One lesson was the need to strengthen the communications network.

We’ve just had the treat of watching a compilation of Honolulu television stations' newscasts that were dominated by Hurricane Iwa coverage on November 23 and 24, 1982. (Honolulu resident AJ McWhorter transferred the newscasts from their old formats -- e.g., Beta tapes -- to DVD; his hobby has become a business, as described in this Honolulu Star-Bulletin story. AJ wants to find old KGMB-TV tapes, including newscasts from the Bob Sevey era and the Crossfire public affairs show that aired “live” on Sunday afternoons in the mid-70s; if you can help him, write to AJ at ajm@hawaii.rr.com.)

Remembering the 1982 Breakdown

Long-time Hawaii residents will recall the communications debacle after Iwa smashed into Kauai and gave Oahu a glancing blow. The category 1 storm knocked off 95% of Oahu’s electric grid, and only one radio station – the designated emergency broadcaster – remained on the air with its backup generator.

Don Rockwell, KITV’s news director then, and anchor Tim Tindall sat in their studio late that night and talked about the storm damage, painfully aware that only a small fraction of the market was able to see their newscast during the power emergency. Rockwell described his trip to the Windward Side and back, noting the eerie feel of the deserted streets, and then he spoke with concern about how fragile the emergency communications system seemed to be:

Rockwell: One of the interesting things to me was that at one point the only communication between officialdom and the public was one radio station, and that was KGU.

Tindall: We had discussed that, and I wanted to get your thinking on that. We have a Civil Defense system and a Civil Defense network that has been set up in conjunction with the broadcast community for many years here, and it works well as long as the radio and television stations are on the air.

Rockwell: And there was only one on the air at the time, and I really want to compliment and congratulate KGU for doing a terrific job and for having the generator capacity to keep everything on the air, including their transmitter. And one wonders why more stations, and one wonders why the television stations – and I know it’s a very expensive project to keep the transmitter and the office building on the air – but you gotta wonder what would happen if something happened to KGU. Let’s say some saboteur came along and blew it up and we didn’t have them either, what would we then do? So that’s something I think we ought to keep our eyes on and ask a few questions about in the succeeding weeks and months as this becomes history.

Asking 1982’s Questions Now

Wherever he is today, Don Rockwell might be amazed how little had changed in Hawaii's broadcast industry in the 24 years between Hurricane Iwa and Earthquake Sunday, October 15, 2006. More than a dozen radio stations on Oahu and three out of four TV stations were unable to broadcast to their regular listeners and viewers because they lacked backup power.

One of Hurricane Iwa’s big lessons had either never been learned or was forgotten: If a station claims to broadcast in the public interest, it must be prepared to do so in a power blackout.

What’s the status today? We’re looking forward to the September 27th meeting of the Comprehensive Communications Review Committee. The agenda for the meeting is no help in knowing what subjects will be covered, but CHORE believes it must include a detailed account of all Hawaii broadcast stations’ ability to remain on the air in a power emergency. If that’s something the stations cannot do, we have to question their commitment to the public interest and safety.

The CCRC needs to do the right thing and tell Hawaii citizens before the next emergency the status of our broadcast station lifeline. Tell us which stations have backup power and which don't. That at least will take the guesswork out of knowing where to turn for information in the next crisis.
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Click here to visit our sister blog for occasional posts on tsunami-related communication as events dictate. Tsunami Lessons was started one week after the December 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.

CCRC Sets Minimalist Agenda for 9/27 Meeting

Maybe you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but you often can judge a meeting by its agenda. Rule of thumb: The fewer details in the agenda, the less outside input is desired. That may be what's happening with the next meeting of the Comprehensive Communications Review Committee.

You’ll recall that this committee was established after the October 15th earthquakes to review emergency communications preparedness and recommend improvements in how to keep our citizens safe and informed in emergencies. The issue, after all, is public safety.

Here’s the agenda for the September 27th meeting:

Welcome

Group discussion on status of final committee recommendations and implementation status of those recommendations (by each organization).

Wrap-up

Not much transparency, but at least the CCRC is consistent; transparency hasn’t been much of a consideration for the group, as CHORE has reported since its creation in October. The CCRC has not held public meetings and has had virtually no public representation on the body.

Since the September meeting is shaping up as the CCRC’s final piece of business, let’s see if Honolulu’s reporters can pull themselves away from the daily grind of covering hurricanes, fires and tsunamis – each one a potential crisis -- long enough to do some long-range coverage of the CCRC’s recommendations before they go into effect.

In that regard, one of the recommendations by the group, which had strong representation from the telecommunications industry, was to rely on text messaging in future emergencies. Here’s an MSNBC story headlined When Cell Phones Fail that reports on the breakdown of the cellular phone networks after the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed in Minneapolis.

Citizens might well be skeptical about the CCRC’s recommendations regarding reliance on text messaging, in light of that incident and our own Earthquake Sunday experience. And even more important is the need for more transparency by a group that's planning for our future emergency communications needs.

At a minimum it could publish a detailed agenda.

NOTE: For a refresher on CHORE's objections to how State officials have treated the emergency communications issues since October, please visit our March 1st post here.

Could Quake Info Have Been Faster? Initial Assessment Suggests Slow Website Response

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center gets points for updating its website to be more user friendly. The graphics are attractive (if spotty at times), and the running log of outgoing messages is easy to find.

Nevertheless, yesterday’s quake was yet another opportunity to improve on existing procedures. The job’s never done, right? As the Oahu Civil Defense administrator said a couple days ago, “Every time we pull out the contingency plan, we find something and say, ‘Why didn’t we think of that last time?’ And we update the contingency plan.”

CHORE attempted to keep a real-time log of the PTWC’s quake-related messages following yesterday’s earthquake. We may have missed some emails from the PTWC, and we’ve gone back to its site see what was there and sign up for various alerts, just to be sure we’re on the list.

That said, our conclusion is that the Center’s website lagged in posting its outgoing bulletins and advisories by up to an hour or more. We can’t be positive, but that’s our conclusion.

Serving the Individual Consumer

One might argue that the PTWC was getting the word out efficiently to the Tsunami Warning Focal Points designated in each nation in and around the Pacific, as well as to civil defense agencies and key media in Hawaii.

Still, with our world rushing ever more rapidly toward electronic point-to-point communication, we have to hope NOAA and the PTWC are constantly working to make information accessible to the individual consumer without media intermediaries.

NOAA’s communications gurus might want to run an exercise on how they expect to transmit a tsunami warning to someone without access to radio and TV. In today’s environment, he or she might be as hard to find as Diogenes’s “honest man,” but it’s a worthwhile exercise to test the warning capability if broadcasters aren’t in the picture.

Testing Assumptions

Just ask Hawaii civil defense officials about assumptions, such as their assumed reliance on cell phones to communicate in an emergency. That one was proven faulty last October on Earthquake Sunday when Oahu’s cell networks crashed.

Email and the web have emerged as channels of choice for emergency information. It therefore is reasonable to want those channels to be as efficient and timely as they possibly can. If we’re correct in concluding that the PTWC website was an hour late in posting outgoing emails, that’s an obvious area for improvement.

Complacency Is the Enemy

PTWC officials already may be hard at work on fixing glitches and enhancing their capabilities, but to fix a glitch, you have to acknowledge that it exists. What makes CHORE nervous is that nearly every utterance by PTWC officials gives the impression that the Center handled everything with absolute perfection.

CHORE’s sister blog, Tsunami Lessons, was launched one week after the December 2004 Indonesian earthquake and tsunami precisely because the PTWC could have done things to save lives that day, but didn’t. (Go to our post on the 2nd anniversary of that event for a review of what life-saving opportunities were missed by the PTWC staff.) As the Oahu Civil Defense official suggested, there is no such thing as a “final contingency plan,” and we know with certainty that NOAA and the PTWC learned from their experiences in 2004 and have changed their procedures.

Let's hope they learn from yesterday, too.

7.9 Peru Quake Prompts PTWC Messages; Hawaii Put on Alert, then Gets the All-Clear

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued several emails and posted alerts on its website this afternoon. One email said the major earthquake just off Peru’s coast did indeed trigger a tsunami according to sea level gauges, and an “Expanded Regional Warning" was issued for Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia and other nations up the Pacific coast.

The PTWC then issued a “Tsunami Advisory” specifically for Civil Defense agencies in Hawaii saying: AN EVALUATION OF THE PACIFIC WIDE TSUNAMI THREAT IS UNDERWAY AND THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT HAWAII COULD BE ELEVATED TO A WATCH OR WARNING STATUS. IF TSUNAMI WAVES IMPACT HAWAII THEIR ESTIMATED EARLIEST ARRIVAL TIME IS 0214 AM HST THU 16 AUG 2007 That later was canceled, as shown in this timeline.

Quake-Related Message Sequence:

1:40 p.m. HST – a shallow earthquake hits off the Peru coast.
1:53 p.m. HST -- PTWC issues Information Bulletin, says earthquake measured 7.5 magnitude and that quakes this size "sometimes generate local tsunamis...," advises authorities in region to take appropriate action.
1:54 p.m. HST – PTWC issues Information Statement, says: BASED ON ALL AVAILABLE DATA A DESTRUCTIVE PACIFIC-WIDE TSUNAMI IS NOT EXPECTED AND THERE IS NO TSUNAMI THREAT TO HAWAII. REPEAT. A DESTRUCTIVE PACIFIC-WIDE TSUNAMI IS NOT EXPECTED AND THERE IS NO TSUNAMI THREAT TO HAWAII.
2:19 p.m. HST – PTWC issues its Expanded Regional Warning, upgrades quake to magnitude 7.9.
2:20 p.m. HST – PTWC issues its Tsunami Advisory to Hawaii agencies noting that a Watch or Warning could be declared.
3:26 p.m. HST -- PTWC issues an Expanding Regional Warning Supplement that says: SEA LEVEL READINGS INDICATE A TSUNAMI WAS GENERATED. WE HAVE OBSERVED A TSUNAMI SIGNAL ON THE DEEP OCEAN GAUGE OFF NORTHERN CHILE.
3:29 P.M. HST -- PTWC issues Tsunami Advisory Supplement to Hawaii agencies repeating the potential for a Watch or Warning here.
4:09 p.m. HST -- PTWC issues a somewhat confusing and incomplete Tsunami Warning and Watch Cancellation and says its bulletin APPLIES TO AREAS WITHIN AND BORDERING THE PACIFIC OCEAN AND ADJACENT SEAS...EXCEPT ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA...WASHINGTON...OREGON AND CALIFORNIA. It specifically cancels the Warning and Watch for Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia and the other nearby countries. The potential for a Watch or Warning in Hawaii is not mentioned in this Bulletin except obliquely in the "within and bordering the Pacific Ocean" phrase. Despite the cancellation, this Bulletin again notes that sea level readings indicate a tsunami was generated; however, there are no reports of a tsunami striking any shores at this time.
4:12 p.m. HST -- the PTWC issues its Final Tsunami Advisory canceling all warnings and watches and advisories on the potential tsunami. (However, this message is not posted on the PTWC website for at least an hour.)
4:15 p.m. HST -- the NOAA/NWS/West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center issues a "Final Tsunami Advisory" on its website noting that no tsunami watch or warning is in effect for the West Coast of North America. The Advisory says: "The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Ewa Beach, Hawaii has concluded its investigation of this event and is issuing a final message for areas outside California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska.
5:00 p.m. HST -- TV news reports the Hawaii "alert" has been cancelled.
5:15 to 5:30 p.m. HST -- the PTWC website catches up with earlier messages and posts three that are approximately one hour old, including the one referenced in the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center's 4:15 message, above.
As of 5:55 p.m. HST, an email from the PTWC has not been received noting the cancellation of the advisory for Hawaii that was issued at 4:12 p.m.

Snail Mail Email

CHORE has to wonder why the website and email communication links seem to have lagged as much as this timeline indicates. First indications are that these channels were not timely and need work. More to follow.

As Flossie Slips Away, Questions Remain on Broadcasters’ Ability to Function in a Crisis

Except for heightened readiness on the Big Island, the state didn’t have its emergency communications apparatus tested much by Hurricane Flossie. No major power outages were reported, and we therefore don’t know whether our broadcast industry has upgraded its capability to remain on the air during blackouts – a test many stations failed last October after the earthquakes.

The State’s Comprehensive Communications Review Committee, which was formed to examine communications failures on Earthquake Sunday and recommend improvements, has been silent for months. The logical conclusion is that it’s doing nothing, and citizens haven’t been told about emergency communications enhancements that will meet our needs during future crises.

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin’s TheBuzz column today does some of the CCRC’s work for it by reporting on upgrades to Big Island radio stations. It’s good to see that New West Broadcasting Corp. now has backup generation installed for its three Hilo radio stations. Let’s hope TheBuzz reports on what Oahu stations have done, because it doesn’t look like we’ll find out from the state’s official communications review body.

Other post-Flossie observations:

• Don’t worry about “crying wolf.” A Honolulu Advertiser story today quotes a Kauai Civil Defense official, “There’s always the fear about crying ‘wolf,’” by issuing so many warnings that people stop responding to them…. Some people will ignore a freight train bearing down on them, but for heavens sake, don’t use them as your litmus test! If a weather or other incident suggests a warning should be sounded, don't play amateur psychologist. Just issue the warning! The majority of the population will thank you for it.

• Oahu Civil Defense has it right. The same story ends with a quote from Oahu’s CD administrator that reveals a mindset that might well be emulated by State Civil Defense, which often gives off the vibe that it can do no wrong. Every storm is a training opportunity, the administrator says. “It’s improving the way we plan. Every time we pull out the contingency plan, we find something and say, ‘Why didn’t we think of that last time?’ And we update the contingency plan.”

Exactly right.

Advice to Emergency Communicators: Please Concentrate Only on What We Need to Know

We start by reiterating the purpose of this blog; go here for our first post, which includes our Mission Statement. In sum: we’re here to help.

That said, we urge State Civil Defense officials to confine their public statements in the few seconds afforded to them by the media as Hurricane Flossie approaches to what is truly important for citizens to know – information that will help us in the coming emergency.

We do not need briefings on internal logistical moves. What are we talking about? Here’s what the State’s top Civil Defense official said this evening on KGMB-TV’s 6 o’clock news:

“We have a fairly large full-time force of both the Army and Air National Guard that’s on duty now, and we’re just waiting for additional needs that we can activate very quickly. Our helicopters are on alert to fly to the Big Island, and the rest of the Air National Guard assets if need be.”

Just Give Us the “Need to Know”

Military personnel would call this “nice to know” information, but it’s certainly not “need to know.” As this official and anyone in a position to be interviewed regularly should know, the media will use what you emphasize in your remarks – and your remarks should emphasize what’s important. We simply do not need to know what Air Guard assets are available to fly to the Big Island.

What information might the citizenry want to know? Let’s start with the status of all those radio stations that lost power on October 15th. We need to know whether those stations have improved their ability to stay on the air and which stations have invested in improvements. We might also want to know which stations have done little or nothing to improve their resiliency in a power emergency.

We might want to know how often and when civil defense officials will issue updates over those stations. And we should know how many of the nearly 150 "gap areas" in the emergency siren warning system have been filled in the past several months and which communities remain unprotected by a warning system.

Exactly what's been done to improve emergency communications to the citizenry, General?

Measuring Up to the Test

Hurricane Flossie is the first real test of Hawaii’s emergency communications capabilities since Earthquake Sunday. Hawaii’s citizens deserve highly professional emergency communications. CHORE urges officials to confine your logistical information to your internal briefings and give us only what we need to know to be prepared for this hurricane.

Central Pacific Hurricane Center Corrects the Narrative of Hurricane’s Path to Match its Map

As noted in the Sunday Morning Update to yesterday’s post, immediately below, the Central Pacific Hurricane Center was in the embarrassing and baffling position of having contradictory information about Hurricane Flossie on its website early today.

Advisory #16 had Flossie moving west while the map on the Flossie information page showed the storm moving much further north than due west. This west-northwesterly path on the map shows nearly the entire state within the hurricane’s “Potential Day 1-3 Track Area.”

Advisory #17 issued at 11 a.m. HST today eliminates the discrepancy: FLOSSIE IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 14 MPH AND THIS MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS.

CHORE wonders why Advisory #16 was so obviously out of synch with the map on the CPHC’s Flossie page. Surely the Center has a zero tolerance policy about publishing anomalous information like this.

Stay alert, citizens. Ours is not a zero-defect world.

With Flossie Bearing Down on the Islands, It’s Time to Check Your Supply of Radio Batteries

SUNDAY MORNING UPDATE: Something doesn't seem right about the Central Pacific Hurricane Center's information pages on Hurricane Flossie. Bulletin #16, the latest as of this writing, says: FLOSSIE IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST NEAR 12 MPH AND THIS MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS. Yet the map on the Center's Flossie page shows a predicted path that is clearly well north of due west, suggesting a much closer pass by the state than would a path "toward the west." Might we expect more precision than this when a "dangerous" hurricane approaches Hawaii?

Maybe this category 4 hurricane won’t strike the islands after all, but in the words of a State Civil Defense spokesman, “So what?” Here’s his entire quote from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin story:

"If this thing fizzles out, so what? Everybody should still be prepared."

There’s nothing like an off-the-cuff remark by a State Civil Defense official to impart confidence among the citizenry, is there?

In the absence of any substantive advice from State Civil Defense in this story, here’s CHORE’s recommendations regarding emergency communications:

Go out and buy batteries for your portable radio. Don’t own one? Buy a battery-powered radio today – along with extra batteries. If the winds pick up dramatically and/or the power fails, immediately turn on your radio and listen for situation updates.

(Perhaps after seeing how meager his earlier remarks seemed in print, this same official expanded his comments, as reported in Sunday's Star-Bulletin near the bottom of the story.)

Documenting the Performance

If a radio station goes off the air, make a note of the time and date for your future complaint to the Federal Communications Commission, then tune to another station. Keep doing that until you find a station that stays on the air and gives frequent “live” updates.

If a station cuts to pre-recorded programming in the middle of a power blackout or storm incident, make a note of that, too – also for that future complaint to the FCC. (We really can’t accept the premier emergency broadcast station going to a canned show again as it did on October 15th, can we?)

Also note when you first hear statements by an official spokesman for the civil defense agencies and the electric company on the radio. It’s only natural to expect earlier statements and better performances from them than what we experienced on Earthquake Sunday last October. The notes you keep will help reconstruct the sequence of events so those performances can be evaluated. CHORE would like to know what you find, so add your comments to our most recent blog post when the time comes.

Remember, this site is all about Citizens Helping Officials Respond to Emergencies. You can do that by paying close attention to how they do with Flossie or whenever the next emergency occurs.