Media

The media are important means of communication with respect to natural disasters. These mass means of communication are advantageous because they “provide easy access to large publics and some of them constitute a robust communication system which remains working even in cases of a partial breakdown of the infrastructure” (Peters). Using the media appropriately can lead to improved coordination between disaster relief organizations and the population as well as better education of the population with regards to the disasters. Important means of communication for such situations are “Newspapers, television, radio and - increasingly important - the internet”; these will be discussed below (Peters).

Radio, television and newspapers/magazines (or other similar printed media) are important means of mass communication since these are available in both countries that we are considering and are a powerful method to transmit information. Through these it is possible to transmit visual and written information, which would be very valuable for the population to learn about tsunamis; as well, the radio is able to communicate to a vast amount of people. In Micronesia, the radio is an important means of communication between the different islands. It only seems reasonable to use the internet to communicate with a specific portion of the population since in Peru only about 10% of the population has access while in Micronesia around 6% of the population uses internet (The World Fact Book, 2005).

It is important to note that in both countries the literacy rate is high—around 88% (The World Fact Book, 2005).

Language barriers in Peru do not seem a real challenge since the diversity of language is in the mountains as well as in the Amazon area. Spanish will be sufficient to effectively transmit the information. In Micronesia, however, there are several important languages. Since English is the official (and common) language, most of the radio broadcasting should be done in this language. However, special segments should be included in other languages. Regarding the television, broadcasts can be in English with subtitles in other languages and vice versa. In magazines/newspapers or other printed media, emphasis should be made on pictorial information such as signs or maps regarding evacuation or flood zones. Explanations can be short and in different languages.

There are two methods of presenting the information effectively. There can be an informative program describing tsunamis, their causes and effects and how to be safe and what to do in case of a tsunami. However, this should be balanced with personal encounters which would turn out to be more entertaining; such a method also appeals to emotion and can have a more profound effect. A simplified example of such a method—targeted at children—can be seen in the Chilean website (www.shoa.cl) which describes how a fictitious family is able to survive a tsunami. This balance is necessary since plain facts would probably not catch the attention of the population; although these facts are important to know, the more personal stories will maintain interest and cause the population to react more effectively in case of a tsunami.

For the above ideas to be carried out, the media has to rely on the Planning Section of our group’s chain of command. The Planning Section would be in charge of gathering the adequate information from the adequate sources regarding tsunami education. This information should then be passed on to the media officials for its dissemination into the population. Agreements should be made between the Planning Section and the media for the information to be broadcasted in a regular and effective manner. A once a week relay would be sufficient to establish the regularity of an educational program; moreover, consideration for the long term transmission of information must be made. Constant and long term education is necessary to maintain the population aware of the tsunami threat, however, programming must be considered to not lose the public’s interest. This method of education thus relies on the Planning Section of the chain of command to provide the media with information; the media will only serve as a means for massive dissemination of the information.

The media can also serve to warn the population when a tsunami is expected or predicted. Below is an example of the pacific warning system (Tsunamis: The Great Waves). From this, certain important points can be taken. Information should be given to the media by some authorized organization—most likely the tsunami detection section—so that the population is correctly educated about tsunamis; the media then decides how to disseminate this information. This is applicable to both countries. Also, some kind of tsunami warning center can broadcast information directly, whether it is through radio or television (or an alternate source).

For our group’s situation, warnings by the tsunami detection section of our project should be distributed to the media with instructions of immediate broadcast. The media could then distribute this information to large portions of the population of either Peru or Micronesia. The detection section of our project could similarly directly broadcast its information, whether directly to the public, or to governments or other organizations as they seem fit.

There might arise two problems regarding this method of communication with the public. Firstly, if the tsunami issue is exaggerated, the population might not take it seriously and when there actually is a threat, the people will no respond correctly. This could be solved by having a long term plan, disseminating essential information in a trust-worthy method over a long period of time. Secondly, the media might not reach all people in tsunami hazard zones, especially those in isolated communities. In such cases, some mission must be developed to connect these communities to the radio or other media; the practicality of such a situation is questionable.

The following is an example of how the Pacific Warning System uses the media to warn the population about an oncoming tsunami. Retrieved from:

Tsunamis: The Great Waves. ((nd)). Retrieved Sep 22, 2005, from Columbia Earthscape database.

“The warning includes predicted tsunami arrival times at selected coastal communities within the geographic area defined by the maximum distance the tsunami could travel in a few hours. A tsunami watch with additional predicted tsunami arrival times is issued for a geographic area defined by the distance the tsunami could travel in a subsequent time period

Warning Dissemination

* Tsunami watch, warning and information bulletins issued by PTWC and ATWC are disseminated to local, state, national and international users as well as the media. These users, in turn, disseminate the tsunami information to the public, generally over commercial radio and television channels.

* The NOAA Weather Radio System, based on a large number of VHF transmitter sites, provides direct broadcast of tsunami information to the public.

* The US Coast Guard also broadcasts urgent marine warnings and related tsunami information to coastal users equipped with medium frequency (MF) and very high frequency (VHF) marine radios.

* Local authorities and emergency managers are responsible for formulating and executing evacuation plans for areas under a tsunami warning.

The public should stay-tuned to the local media for evacuation orders should a tsunami warning be issued. And, the public should NOT RETURN to low lying areas until the tsunami threat has passed and the "all clear" is announced by the local authorities.”

Sources:

1. CIA, (2005). The world fact book. Retrieved Sep. 22, 2005, from http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/fm.html.
2. Peters, H. P. (n.d.). Natural disasters and the media. Retrieved Oct. 31, 2005, from http://www.chmi.cz/katastrofy/peters.html.
3. Servicio Hidrografico y Oceanografico de la Armada, (n.d.). La boya infantil. Retrieved Sep. 21, 2005, from http://www.shoa.cl/
4. Tsunamis: The Great Waves. ((nd)). Retrieved Sep 22, 2005, from Columbia Earthscape database.

Additional Sources:

1. A brief history of education in micronesia. (n.d.). Retrieved Sep. 21, 2005, from http://www.micsem.org/photos/education/intro.htm.
2. After the tsunami : rapid environmental assessment / [Nairobi] : UNEP, 2005.
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4. Background Note: Micronesia. (cover story) Background Notes on Countries of the World: Micronesia, Oct2004, p1-5, 5p, 1c; (AN 15386272)
   Database: Business Source Premier
5. Background Note: Peru. Background Notes on Countries of the World: Peru, Apr2005, p1-16, 16p, 1c; Abstract: Presents information on the country of Peru as of April 2005. Geography; Type of government; Historical background; Economic condition.; (AN 16930096)
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