The monster snow storm is likely to cause loss of life and widespread suffering. I have been advocating for years a Federal Government (likely FEMA) to air public service announcements (PSA) on citizen Disaster Readiness. I hear a lot of comments that the Folks would panic and in essence the Folks can’t handle the truth. Government officials may point to the “We advise people to stock up on plastic wrap and masking tape” fiasco after 9-11. While there will always be a few people who take things to extremes, in that case the message was very poorly crafted.
I believe is FEMA had a number of geographically pertinent PSAs on likely scenarios and specific actions citizens should take; we would be much better served. I think there are too many people in power who have a serious level of distain for the average American’s ability to understand risk communication and take appropriate action. I think Federal officials should use a good “Risk Communications Specialist” to write the copy which could be used to educate the Public on appropriate actions to take in advance of various disasters, attacks or Public Health Emergencies. It’s too late for the current snow and ice storm, but not too late for future events.
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