A short, but insightful online comment by a New England resident serves as a good reminder for emergency managers to use ENS both during and after a crisis.
Two weeks ago, a county's water department issued a boil water notice due to elevated levels of e-coli discovered in one of the ground water sources. A boil water notice was issued and a public alert was launched through the county's emergency notification system.
After several days, water samples revealed no presence of e-coli and the boil water notice was rescinded. However, it appears the county did not launch an automated callout to notify citizens the event was over (at least according to one citizen's comments). While the county certainly did nothing wrong in general, the story highlights a best practice in alerting: post-event notifications.
As a critical event emerges and people face imminent danger, launching a notification is an obvious decision. However, as the danger passes and other emergency management duties take over, the urgency of sending alerts after the event may mistakenly diminish.
While there are plenty of other valid channels for issuing post-event information (press releases, media, web page, etc.), we believe the means used for informing the public initially creates expectations for how emergency managers will communicate throughout a given situation. Thus, residents who receive an automated telephone call warning them of potential danger also expect to receive through the system periodic updates and an "all clear" signal when it's over.
ENS is really about communicating and not just warning. Keep this in mind, and your citizens will thank you from beginning to end.
Best regards,
Lorin
Galain Solutions, Inc. provides consulting services for public safety agencies selecting and implementing emergency notification systems. For more information, email: info@galainsolutions.com.
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Great post. I appreciate the great work you are doing.
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