I just received an interesting note from my friend and colleague, Rocky Lopes. It seems that the recent 3.6 earthquake in Maryland rattled a bit more than windows. Here in California, we use 5.0 earthquakes to stir our coffee, so a 3.6 would probably not be noticed in most places. However, Maryland rarely gets earthquakes, so this one got their attention. Unfortunately, according to Rocky, a lot of the information and comments making the rounds after the temblor were based on what we call disaster mythology - something very akin to folklore. These included things like the old "stand in the door" response. On the plus side, Rocky was asked to appear on a local news show and did his best to correct some of the misinformation.
There are a couple of lessons here. The first is that we truly have to be all-hazards in our planning. As we do our risk analysis, we should plan not only for the most likely event but for other possible events as well and that planning should include pre-scripted public safety announcements. Secondly, in this age of rapid communications, we need to get our message out to the public almost immediately. We can't afford to wait and then try to counter rumors and old folk tales.
It's definitely a good idea to plan for all disasters in all places. I should know. I've experienced 3 earthquakes in my life and not a single one was during my stay in California. Actually the first earthquake I remember was when I lived in Maryland in the 80s.
Posted by: Cynthia | 07/18/2010 at 04:08 PM