•Status of letter to NOAA's Lautenbacher: Awaiting his response (see April 8 post)
•National Weather Service "won't allow" phone calls to media ( March 31 post)
•Report on visit to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center ( March 26 posts)
Could it be we’re actually getting somewhere?
Dr. Charles McCreery, director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, writes today from the Tsunami Warning Conference in Mauritius that he has introduced the idea of partnering with the media to issue tsunami warnings. As noted in numerous posts here, the media essentially are not in the loop under current communications protocols.
McCreery responded to an e-mail I sent earlier today asking if he still intended to raise the subject, as he indicated he would when we met on March 25 (see post immediately below). He said there has a been a cautious – but not negative – response from his colleagues. A representative from the World Meteorological Association reportedly said the agency has been working on this issue for years regarding major weather events and that tsunami scientists might benefit from their experience.
“Breakthrough” is too strong a word, but “progress” isn’t. Chip McCreery has made a move in Mauritius. He’ll have more to report either by e-mail or when he returns to Hawaii.
Postscript
We're about half-way through "Tsunami Awareness Month" in Hawaii, and the news media are pretty much ignoring it. They're also apparently ignoring the questions e-mailed to 28 Hawaii journalists, the answers to which would be helpful in understanding just how the PTWC sends its tsunami warnings to the media (see April 3 post).
Doug Carlson
Honolulu, HI
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