The 6.7 and 6.0 earthquakes near the Big Island of Hawaii on Octdober 15, 2006 resulted in an unusual response by the Hawaii Civil Defense crew regarding a potential tsunami threat.
Although they knew a tsunami was not suspected within minutes of the first quake, they decided not to tell the public there was no tsunami. Rather than relieve fears during the island-wide power blackout that dragged on forever on Oahu, they chose to reveal nothing.
One official was reported in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin as saying people might catch only the end of the emergency alert and misconstrue it to be a confirmation of a tsunami.
That's bizarre. On the chance that some people might get the wrong idea, don't tell anybody anything.
Next time, try a looped tape that says, "There is no tsunami... There is no tsunami... There is no tsunami........"
The Tsunami Lessons author has started a new blog, again with the best of intentions, called Citizens Helping Officials Respond to Emergencies (CHORE). Too many officials' comments since the Hawaii earthquakes make it clear average citizens have a role to play in improving emergency communications here.
