Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
through grassroots efforts to disseminate frequent updates on personal safety and relief sup-
port after a disaster, such as the 2007 San Diego wildires and the 2008 Virginia Tech University
shootings (Hughes et al., 2008; Winerman, 2009) and hold great promise in complementing
current warning dissemination methods for communities threatened by both near- and far-
ield tsunamis. For at-risk individuals who may only have minutes to escape tsunami-prone
areas, being warned by social networking technology used by other people in tsunami hazard
zones may be a more realistic and timely way to quickly disseminate information than tradi-
tional message-dissemination paths. The number of people using these technologies will
surely grow in the future, and their applications to disaster warnings and response efforts will
be more prevalent.
The use and role of social networking and mobile technologies in emergency, crisis, and
disaster management is an active research area (International Community in Information
Systems for Crisis Response and Management, 2008, 2009). A persistent concern about their
use is the potential for inconsistent information that promotes confusion, and additional
research is needed to contend with this problem. The future of tsunami warning likely involves
a concerted effort by local, state, and federal agencies to integrate and leverage social net-
working technologies with the current message dissemination methods. Public agencies and
oficials with disaster warning and response duties could also monitor the spread of social
networking technologies in coastal communities threatened by near-ield tsunamis. Unoficial
messages from these social networks could conirm oficial warnings, minimizing the amount
of time people typically take for the warning conirmation process and before they evacuate
(Mileti and Sorenson, 1990; International Community in Information Systems for Crisis Re-
sponse and Management, 2008, 2009). Collaborative web-based tools (e.g., chat rooms, blogs,
wikis, instant messaging) could assist in maintaining situational awareness and clarify concerns
at the state or local level.
Although social networking technology holds great promise in supporting near-ield
tsunami evacuations, the technology is not currently embraced by many local or federal
oficials. The incorporation of social networking technologies into oficial emergency response
efforts may be dificult as federal and local disaster response agencies operate under the Inci-
dent Command System—a standardized protocol that includes a top-down chain of command
for information low (Winerman, 2009). The committee reviewed a draft white paper from the
Paciic Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) on the topic of the use of social networking and is
encouraged that the TWCs are at least considering such new technologies. Although there is
evidence of the TWCs investigating the potential use of collaborative information technologies
with emergency managers, the committee saw little evidence that they were also embracing
mobile social networking technologies that empower the general public to warn each other.
Conclusion:
Messages from the two tsunami warning centers do not completely follow
evidence-based approaches in format, content, and style of effective messages. The
generation of two different TWC warning messages to accommodate different areas of
responsibility has created confusion among the media and the general public and will
likely continue to do so. Little formal attention has been paid to the use of traditional, non-
