How we did on the tsunami test
Can I grade last Wednesday’s Tsunami Communication Test? The jury’s still out, but here is a preliminary assessment.
Four factors to consider:
1: Did you do what you set out to do — test the systems that you had prioritized?
2: Did people understand it was only a test? More important, was anyone injured or overly frightened because they thought it was a real tsunami?
3: Was there bad publicity? 4: Did you identify problems? Do you have a plan to fix them?
A number of systems were included: emergency notification, emergency Alert (EAS) activation, EAS triggering of sirens, and civil air patrol audible messaging. All of these areas were tested on Wednesday, so check off No. 1.
It’s hard to quantify how many people were confused by the test. There were only a few calls to dispatch in Humboldt and Del Norte counties asking what was happening, and no reports of anyone who was overly upset or evacuated. I feel comfortable in saying we met the second criteria.
The third sign of a failed test is coverage that reflects poorly on the organizations or personnel involved with the test. Bad publicity can doom future testing and make it impossible to expand into other areas of the state. I judge the media coverage as balanced in both explaining the importance of the test and pointing out problems and I hope they continue to pursue progress in fixing those issues.
And yes, there were problems, some expected and some a surprise. I was pleased to get two emergency notifications at 10 AM on Wednesday. My phone dinged in quick succession with test messages from Humboldt County and Humboldt State University and I received emails as well. And from the comments on Facebook, many others had similar experiences. County reps are following up with Everbridge this coming week to deter