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Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
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January
2004
Volume 5
- Number 4 |
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The Disciplines of Emergency Management –
Communications By David
Diec America
was stunned. The people were stunned
and surprised of such hatred from a relatively small group of terror. America thought that such things could not
be happening and would not conceivably be carried out by a civilized
society or
its people. America – was reaching out
to the world of its ideology and belief in human rights, religious
tolerance,
and financial affluent – bewildered to realize that human rights and
religious
tolerance have a completely different meaning to others from different
corners
of the globe. America was wounded, not
militarily but financially and socially. The
actions taken by those terrorists have made American realize that the
land-of-the-frees and an open democratic society would no longer be the
same. America needs to protect itself,
its people, and its infrastructure from another attack.
As a result, Department of Homeland Security
(DHS), in March 2001, introduced the Homeland Security Advisory System,
an
early warning system, as part of its emergency and preparedness, to
communicate
to and alert its people to the possible dangers from terrorist acts. Homeland
Security Advisory System The
Homeland Security Advisory System is used to convey a possible danger
message
of terrorist attacks to the general population, States, Locals, and
other Federal
authorities. This system provides
warnings in the form of a set of graduated threat conditions that would
increase as the risk of the threat increases (ref. 1). This
system is intended to create a common risk communication and structure
for an
ongoing national discussion about the nature of the threats that
confront the
homeland and the appropriate measure that should be taken in response. There are five levels of threat from lowest
to highest. Each is identified by a
description and corresponding color. The
Lowest threat level is colored green. The
Guarded threat level is colored blue. The
Elevated threat level is colored yellow. The
High threat level is colored orange, and
the Severe threat level is colored red. The
higher the threat condition, the greater the risks of
a terrorist
attack. Since the
introduction of this system, a number of High threat (Orange level)
alerts had
been publicly issued to heighten the risk of terrorist attacks to the
homeland
and the American people. The list below
may not be a complete chronological declaration of national alerts
issued by
the Department of Homeland Security. It
is intended only to illustrate the number of declarations made (refs.
2, 3, 4,
and 5). !
September
10, 2002 !
September
24, 2002 !
February 8,
2003 !
February 24,
2003 !
March 17,
2003 !
April 16,
2003 !
May 20, 2003 In each of these public announcements, the
general public
was uncertain as to what to do with and how to respond to the intended
alert
message. The expected actions, if any,
taken by the public, were at times did not make sense.
The actions as discussed in each of the
threat levels seem to apply to audience other than the general public. For example, the public was advised to
purchase adhesive tapes and plastic sheets as part of mitigative
actions based
on a perceived threat. Instead, some
people bought toilet paper because they thought it could somehow help
to
mitigate the danger posed by a bio terrorism event.
People were found to be ill prepared and lacked of
understanding
of the consequences of the terrorist threats. Who Are The Intended Audience In formulating the color-coded alert levels, DHS
considered
a variety of factors to assess the threat. Questions
were asked whether the threat is credible, is
substantiated,
is specific or imminent, and how likely is the threat.
Actions were then assigned to each of the
color-coded threat levels. Detailed
response actions associated with these alert levels can be found on DHS
public
web site. For example, the following
definition and response actions are defined for High threat condition,
Orange: !
Definition:
High risk of attack !
Responses: "
Coordinating
necessary security efforts with armed forces or law enforcement agencies "
Taking
additional precaution at public events "
Preparing to
work at an alternate site or with a dispersed workforce; and access to
essential personnel only The public clearly do not have the capability nor the know-how to effectively implement the above expected actions during an emergency event. The message and expectation of these actions are meant for intra-agencies or internal agency communications. Yet, this information is published as if the public’s actions are expected during an emergency event. Psychological Impacts The likelihood that the risk of attack by
terrorist was
perceived high such that an increase in the threat level was justified,
as
discussed in the Homeland Security Advisory System section. As a result, the nation experienced multiple
increases to Orange from Yellow risk level, without a clear rationale. For example, in the February 8, 2003
announcement, the rationale for the decision to increase the threat
level was
based in part from recent arrests in Britain of terrorism suspects with
the
chemical agent ricin, in France with cyanide compounds, and in Spain
with other
chemicals (ref. 6). Each time, the
public wondered and contemplated about what appropriate responses would
be,
when the increased threat level was announced, and no terrorist threat
events
had occurred. The threshold used to
justify the increases appeared to be random and unsubstantiated. Consequently, the public may be
unnecessarily alarmed (ref. 7), the integrity of these announcements
could be
compromised, and the expected public actions could be ignored. What Is In It For The Public The current actions discussed in the Homeland
Security
Advisory System for different alert levels are intended for States,
Local,
Federal, and other agencies. In order
to participate and respond to national alert levels, the information
would have
to be directed to the public, follow by specific actions.
The message should be simple and easy to
understand. Training, exercises, and drills as part of
emergency
preparedness for the public are equally important to ensure effective
emergency
response. Although this approach
intrusive at times and impose unnecessary fears to the public, it is,
however,
important that the general population recognizes the basic response to
an
emergency event as part of education, thereby minimizing the
uncertainty. Media Role and Responsibility The media can be an effective medium to disseminate emergency messages. It is equally true that the media for marketing and headline grabbing purpose can play-up the same information. Each time the national alert level changed, the media, using a number of self-proclaimed experts, speculated the possible national targets, vulnerability, infrastructure weaknesses, and doubts on emergency preparedness. While these types of discussions maybe ultimately strengthen the nation’s capability to respond to all types of terrorism events by enhancing awareness of the government and public of the possibilities, it may also be inadvertently encourage terrorist groups by providing them with insights they would otherwise have no knowledge of. Thereby, sending fears to the general population. The media needs to be mind full of all possible unintended consequences, which could potentially compromise national security, while exercising its rights to freedom of expressions. The government authorities need to also be forthright about sharing intelligent information that would ensure the public safety. Balancing the need between public awareness and national security is essential and requires a coordinated partnership and trust between the authorities and media outlets. This delicate act should be exercised vigilantly. Recommendations
References: 1. Department of Homeland Security 2. http://www.CNN.com, Official: Credible Threats Pushed Terror Alert Level Higher 3. http://www.cortland.edu, New York State University Police 4. http://www.hkchcc.org, Hong Kong China Hawaii Chamber of Commerce 5. http://www.ABCNEWS.com, News Channel 10, US Elevates Terror 6. http://www.CNN.com, FBI Seeking Pakistani Man For Questioning 7. http://www.bayarea.com, Higher Threshold for Public Warnings of Terror Attacks |