This article first appeared on my old blog at http://www.bloglines.com/blog/wsodeman?id=193
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061017/NEWS01/610170340/1001
One disappointment on Sunday morning was Clear Channel’s slow response immediately after the earhquake. KSSK (590 AM, 92.3 FM) is the officially designated radio station for civil defense emergencies, so the station has emergency power generators that did keep the transmitter running.
But all listeners heard until 8 am was a prerecorded community affairs program.
Civil Defense Vice Director Ed Teixeira did acknowledge that there was public concern over a possible tsunami. However, officials had quickly determined that there was no tsunami threat, and it was better not to announce that than to risk a general panic.
It’s always possible that listeners will not understand an announcement, and believe that a tsunami is coming when the broadcast actually said that it wasn’t.
Several people called KSSK Sunday morning to ask if a tsunami was coming. It was amusing to hear callers asking these questions several hours after the earthquake, as a tsunami would have struck Oahu as soon as 27 minutes after the most powerful quakes occurred on the big island. Again, I wonder if anyone pays attention in their science courses.
As it was, the quakes were not powerful enough to generate a tsunami. Apparently a 6.9 or greater magnitude is required.
If a tsunami alert were issued, an automatic announcement would have cut into the KSSK broadcast. Also, the city’s sirens would have sounded.
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