Help residents understand warning system

Re: “Rethink our emergency preparedness,” column, Jan. 26. Charla Huber’s column missed the mark.

“If you turn your cellphone off at night, that’s really your own issue,” she says, ignoring the fact that some don’t have cellphones, some live where there is no service, and some can sleep through bleeps and buzzes.

She also ignores the fact that most of us make decisions about cellphones in the bedroom based not on the likelihood of a tsunami warning, but on everyday concerns about sleep quality.

The morning after, social media were full of people asking questions. Why did they knock on those doors, but not mine? Why didn’t the siren at Naden go off? How come I had to find out from my cousin in Ontario? These are, contrary to Huber’s implication, good questions, not evidence of people lacking responsibility. They are evidence of public confusion over just what the warning system — beyond mobile alerts — looks like.

Huber got part of the lesson right: People need to educate themselves about whether they live in a tsunami zone and know how to evacuate.

But her narrow focus on individual responsibility prevents her from acknowledging the rest of the lesson: Our municipalities need to provide clear information about how the whole system works. A press release with step-by-step explanations and a push to increase awareness would go a long way toward building understanding and trust.

Public education will save lives some day. In the meantime, knowing the whole plan will help everyone sleep better at night. Kristin Atwood Victoria