Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
brochures, business planning guides, media kits, websites, museums, online games, newsletters,
workshops) to various audiences (e.g., children, adults, households, business owners, oficials,
tourists) and at various scales (e.g., villages, unincorporated towns, cities, counties, states).
The committee commends all those involved in tsunami education for their individual
efforts to raise tsunami awareness in coastal communities. However, the lack of NTHMP mecha-
nisms to systematically compile, evaluate, and disseminate these efforts at a national scale
breeds the potential for the duplication of efforts and for conlicting messages. For example,
the committee found that several states (e.g., Hawaii, Oregon, Washington) are developing their
own tsunami education guidelines (often referred to as “train the trainer” workshops) with little
communication among the parties and uneven application of evidence-based approaches.
With regard to new education efforts, a web-based repository for tsunami education
material is a vital irst step for avoiding duplication of efforts, transferring lessons learned and
best practices, and identifying gaps in education coverage. Duplication of efforts could be
reduced if education efforts were conducted involving several NTHMP members to develop
common tsunami education materials for certain sectors (e.g., broadcasters, hotel owners, tour-
ists, households, and schoolchildren). Local differences can be added to education materials
to relect local needs, but a core set of materials with national relevance could be developed
and maintained by the NTHMP to ensure a more consistent message, which—as previously
noted—increases the effectiveness of educational efforts.
A second obstacle that prevents the committee from fully commenting on the status of
tsunami education is the lack of tsunami education programs that explicitly included pre- and
post-outreach evaluations of effectiveness, such as the evaluation associated with a series of
tsunami outreach efforts in 2005 in Seaside, Oregon (see Box 3.3). Because there are few studies
that have documented the perceptions, knowledge, and capacity to prepare at-risk popula-
tions, there is no consistent baseline from which to gauge the effectiveness of education
programs. That an education effort occurred could be conirmed, but there is no information
on whether the knowledge of participants increased because of an effort.
Besides lacking education evaluations, the NTHMP also lacks standards and criteria for
evaluating the multitude of tsunami education efforts occurring in member states, territories,
and commonwealths with regard to their information content, dissemination process, presen-
tation style, and enculturation of new information. For example, tsunami education products
have not been evaluated for the level at which they discuss tsunami hazards, the vulner-
ability of individuals and communities to tsunamis, how at-risk populations can reduce their
vulnerability, and how people should act if a tsunami occurs. A national tsunami research
plan (Bernard et al., 2007) also notes that there has been little analysis on the effectiveness of
education programs or coordination among states to deine messages with desired outcomes.
Having consistent evaluation criteria is critical if the NTHMP is to evaluate isolated education
efforts and to determine funding priorities for future education programs, in terms of location
(e.g., Alaska versus Puerto Rico) and focus (e.g., tourists versus residents).
The need for measurable outcomes and standards for educational programs was also
noted in the NTHMP ive-year review (National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program, 2007)
and the 2007 national tsunami research plan (Bernard et al., 2007). Currently, school curricula
