Questions the Media Should Ask NOAA Administrator Lautenbacher During His Hawaii Visit Today

The Honolulu Advertiser reports this morning that NOAA Administrator Conrad Lautenbacher Jr. will tour the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Ewa Beach, HI today.

Since the Center is right here in their back yard, here's hoping the Honolulu media finally start asking questions about the Center's performance following its detection of the December 26 earthquake.

A Lautenbacher press conference has been scheduled for 3 p.m. HST today; according to a NOAA press release, the focus would appear to be "...the importance of having an international early warning system in place for tsunamis and other severe weather events and climate phenomenon that affect global communities."

That's well and good, but again, the emphasis seems to be on high-tech issues and solutions. Here are some questions -- helpfully faxed to the Honolulu news media -- that need asking at the press conference about the PTWC's crisis communications protocols and its ability to issue effective warnings without spending a dime on anything but long-distance telephone calls to the media:

• Will NOAA release the PTWC’s crisis communications plan? (If not, why not?)
• What liaison did NOAA accomplish with the major media (Associated Press, CNN, BBC, etc.) before 12/26 to ensure emergency phone calls to these media would produce timely warnings to their audiences?
• Are PTWC scientists trained to telephone the media to issue life-saving warnings?
• Is the PTWC too high-tech oriented? Do you think low-tech telephone calls have a place in your pre-crisis planning and emergency warning protocols?
• Have you ordered changes in the PTWC warning protocols since the tsunami?
• Does NOAA accept responsibility for an internal procedural failure that might have cost the lives of tens of thousands of people in south Asia?
• What is NOAA telling south Asia nations about its performance on 12/26?
• What are your personal feelings about NOAA’s performance on 12/26?

Perhaps we'll have some answers later today.

Doug Carlson
Honolulu, HI
January 11, 2005
www.DougCarlsonCommunications.com