Where Communication is Needed During an Emergency

Rather than continuing to snipe at our local officials for their hurricane response this weekend, I'd like to discuss what I think is needed for future emergencies. From a resident perspective, the key is effective communications about what is going on and what is being planned, along with some advice on what to do and where we can go for more information. 

Before the storm arrives, the Town should use the Town website as well as social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, to send out bulletins about emergency preparation. Sure, not everyone sees these, but many people do and they are all low cost. I suspect that many of the estimated 17,000 Facebook users in Portsmouth would sign on to a Town Facebook page for such bulletins. Portsmouth Patch provides another important way to get information out as many residents follow it.

In addition, the Town needs a "Code Red" or "reverse 911" system in place to auto-call residents about impending emergencies. This has a cost but I'm sure that we could figure out some kind of fund-raiser to raise the money. I note that Portsmouth Water Board has such a system in place already and potentially could have been used by the Town in an emergency.

In addition, the Town needs a central point of leadership/decision making who can decide what and when to send information out. This should be the Town Administrator or perhaps the Town Council President. We used to have a volunteer Emergency Manager in Portsmouth who would be the focal point of emergency planning in Town. As the storm approaches, a Town spokesperson (the EMA volunteer?) should be in periodic contact with the local news media (including local newspapers such as the Newport Daily News) and especially radio stations, which become very important if power is lost. Almost everyone has a portable radio and our officials could advise everyone which station to listen to for Portsmouth information. 

If an evacuation is deemed necessary, all of the above should be used to tell people the specifics, including the reasons for the evacuations. A couple of local telephone numbers, perhaps manned by other volunteers working at home, should be set up to answer queries from residents.

My point here is that there are several ways of communicating with their residents and the Town should use them all.