the Working Group on Natural Disaster Reduction. The White House report, “Effective
Disaster Warnings” concluded, "The major problem in emergency management is creating
an effective warning system that reaches every person at risk who needs and wants to be
warned."
Insufficient information can be dangerous. People 'fill in the blanks'. This can lead to
panic, especially when the threat is an uncommon one. In a hurried and confused
situation involving a widespread evacuation or terrorist attack, some people could
evacuate through the danger zone. Others, who would be safer sheltering-in-place,
inadvertently may put themselves at greater risk by evacuating.
Recent press reports have stated that some threats, like tsunamis, need immediate
communication. The December 26th 2004 tsunami is a tragic example of a catastrophe
where most human deaths and some personal property damage could have been
minimized with effective public warnings. As the New York Times reported, "Advance
notice of the wave's approach would have saved thousands of lives, according to officials
and residents". All reports say there was time but there was no emergency management
information system in place to transmit information among international authorities and no
way to deliver an effective localized public warning.
