My apologies for being missing in action for so long. It's been a hectic few weeks between teaching a graduate class in Portland and doing keynote speeches at the All-hazards Summits sponsored by Emergency Management magazine. But that's merely an excuse – I've actually been suffering from an uncharacteristic bout of writer's block. I don't […]
It's always easy to find examples of poor crisis communications. Some organizations seem to go out of their way to appear deceptive and unsympathetic. It's nice to see someone do it right for a change. This past Sunday, two Walmart employees and a contract security officer were involved in an altercation with an alleged shoplifter […]
Over the years I've seen the impact of disaster up close both personally and professionally. One the the things that has always impressed me is the sheer power of Mother Nature when she cuts loose. I've seen heavy vessels moved inland and small vessels stuck into the sides of buildings after hurricanes and typhoons. I've […]
One of the most common disasters myths is that people are incapable of taking care of themselves after a disaster. Despite historical examples and decades of research, we have based much of our planning on the concept of a strong central authority that directs disaster relief efforts. However, as the relief effort on the East […]
I have litany of reasons why people don't prepare. It ends with, "If it's that bad, they government will take care of me." Unfortunately, this is not the case as many people on the East Coast are finding out as they recover from the recent superstorm. The truth is that most of the money used […]
One of the problems we see consistently in disaster operations is that of bad information being passed informally as rumors. This is particularly problematic in this era of immediate electronic communications. Rumors spread rapidly via tweets and social media pages. We have traditionally dealt with this by having a "rumor control" function within our public […]
Bernardo De Bernardini, one of the scientists convicted of manslaughter by a court in L'Aquila on Monday. Photograph: Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images Tuesday's blog discussed the conviction of a group Italian seismologists on manslaughter charges stemming from their assessment of earthquake risk prior to the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake. However, in addition to the scientists, the government […]
You may recall that last year Italy placed six seismologists and a government official on trial for providing inadequate advice prior to the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake that killed over 300 people. All seven defendants have been found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to an astonishing six years in prison. As I discussed in in my […]
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee October 17 was the anniversary of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, still well remembered here in San Francisco. The 18th was the date of the Great Shakeout, a state-wide earthquake preparedness drill. With all this attention on earthquakes, it was the perfect time for San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee to announce […]