Aug
24
Written by:
Paul McLane
8/24/2011 1:27 PM
Paul McLane is U.S. editor in chief.
Should EAS have been activated during or after yesterday’s East Coast earthquake?
Al Peterson, a Washington-based radio network engineer and former colleague here at Radio World, heard no evidence of EAS; nor did I. We were not at the epicenter in and near D.C., but we were plenty close to get a real good scare.
I’ve since confirmed with the staff at WTOP, our local primary in the Washington area, that there was no EAS alert. The station’s Mike McMearty added: “But then there wasn’t much actionable information to pass on to our audience and, of course, no advance notice of the quake.” I also emailed the Virginia state EAS chair.
While waiting for that reply, I asked Al Peterson what he thought an EAS message should have said, had one been issued, given that indeed there had been no warning (outside of weird animal behavior reported after the fact).
“There’s the stock EQW warning that is built into units like the Sage Endec,” he emailed me.
“What follows the data squirt, however, is up to the broadcaster. Like any emergency, it depends on the event and the circumstances. I’ve always believed the process was meant for conditionally-appropriate use even *during* emergencies; not only as an early warning system.
“An EAS activation would, by design, put a primary newser’s programming up on the automated unmanned music stations in the market to disseminate information across the widest audience,” he continued. “In our own case, it probably could have included proper evacuation instructions from D.C., reports on damage, a direct audio line to fire and police, where to go if immediate emergency medical treatment was necessary, among other details.”
Yes, that’s basically exactly what WTOP was doing all day yesterday, but without the alerting tones. “If the damage were more extensive with considerable loss of life, then perhaps an activation would have been in order,” Al continued. “Either this may have been too minor an event to have authorized one, or everyone just got too busy to remember to hit the button.
“In the Midwest, thunderstorms and tornadoes are dangerous enough to justify frequent activation, and rightly so. I don’t know how they work it in California when a quake rattles their teeth. But speaking as an East Coast-based broadcaster, testing this $2,700 box every week to see if it works (under penalty of a fine) when even an earthquake isn’t ‘major’ enough to warrant legitimate activation just makes me scratch my head in wonderment.”
I share Al's comments because I find that his thinking echoes that of many engineers in the trenches. Al adds that he thinks EAS deserved to be used in 9/11 too. In fact he made that point in an editorial he wrote in Radio World back on the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
I subsequently heard back to my earlier query to the Virginia EAS chair, Mike Fleming of Clear Channel.
“I believe the point of EAS is to alert the public of an impending situation where there is imminent danger to public safety and there is actionable information the public needs to know in order for them to make decisions,” he wrote me.
“Remember, broadcast stations typically do not decide to originate an EAS without being asked to do so by some government official or agency. In the case of an earthquake, by the time government officials determine what happened, put together what they what to say about it and recommendations on what to do, it’s over. After the initial quake the public is already alert to something has happened and they start tuning in their radios and TVs to find out exactly what happen and to what extent they are affected.”
He said that in almost every other situation there is, however, a small, lead time in which the public needs to be told something is about to happen and here’s what they need to do. “I think that‘s where EAS comes in.”
Fleming added: “That was yesterday, now we’re on Irene watch – don’t you love Virginia?”
(By the way, I contacted several broadcast groups with East Coast holdings to see if any had experienced station damage or infrastructure issues; so far all have reported no major problems, and NAB’s staff said they’ve not heard of any. As always I welcome info from you about your own experiences; write to radioworld@nbmedia.com.)
5 comment(s) so far...
Re: Does EAS Have a Place in an Earthquake?
One of the most important uses of EAS is weather warnings and you're not required to carry them. Go figure.
By G. Peacock on
8/25/2011 7:21 AM
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Re: Does EAS Have a Place in an Earthquake?
Please forward this to everyone you know in radio.
Liner: Radio is Everywhere; in your car; in your home; and now on millions of Android Smart Phones!
Dear Fellow Broadcasters,
Now is the time to take destiny into our own hands and we will need to act quickly. Radio is strong, ubiquitous and will remain a powerful and relevant force in media for decades to come if we are proactive and sing our own song. We can not rely on associations or governments to do this for us. New media is counting on us to be lazy and unable to organize. It is essential to believe in our collective power and make Strong, decisive measures. We need all of us to put our shoulders into this. This is the big test.
Finally, good news for terrestrial radio and it's rebirth! There are millions of new FM radio receivers out there just waiting to be used. Currently there are over 100,000,000 FM equipped Android phones in the US with over 400,000 activated daily that do not incur Data Charges (like Pandora) or drop out when traveling (like Cell Phones) or use up excessive battery capacity much like happens when there is a disaster. That's nearly a half million new FM radios introduced to Americans every day! Now, we need to remind them to use them. We need to send this powerful, yet simple message to all those potential listeners users. “Radio is Everywhere; in your home; in your car and now on Android Smart Phones.
BTW: The United States is home to the largest passenger vehicle market of any country in the world. Overall, there were an estimated 254,400,000 registered passenger vehicles in the United States according to a 2007 DOT study and nearly every one with an AM/FM radio. So now, we have a quarter of a billion car radios and hundreds of millions of smart phones able to listen to us! Imagine the built in RDS systems on the Android radios being able to take the user to the web site of the current advertiser with just the push of a button. We need not develop and new standard like we tried with HD radio. The standard is already set. That completes the circle. There's no stopping us now!
Since perception is reality, radio is what others perceive it to be. Our value is held in the ear of the beholder. After all, we are free radio. We need people to think of us as the only true mobile medium. We are convenient, effective, essential, relevant, FREE and EVERYWHERE.
Radio will continue to serve the public interest long after an emergency shuts down the cell system With the EAS system activated, users could have their Android radios automatically turned on in the event of an emergency with swift warnings of inclement weather etc. “Dropped Calls” will not occur. Think of us as a giant super cell tower with thousands of watts and extremely high fidelity We are the gold standard here!
We have the absolute power to create the image we chose because we “buy ink by the barrel” so to speak. Yet, the ink cost us nothing! No ink, no presses and almost free distribution. One person or a trillion people can listen to our stations at one time. We have no bandwidth issues, no drop outs and are Ubiquitous. Our signals can penetrate tall buildings, we're faster than a speeding bullet and radio is everywhere. “Radio is everywhere; in your home; in your car and now on your Android Smart Phone”
Just a note about programming. We could do better; but minimally, we are as good as Pandora, XM/Sirius and certainly better now than allowing the mayors wife to host a talk show!
Will you step up to the plate and take advantage of this incredible opportunity? Say it! “The largest free backbone distribution system in the world with no viruses, Spy-ware, Trojan Horses and no identity theft.” And, it is FREE! Together we have the power! We have the biggest mouth in town! Sign the petition – Run the message – Reap the rewards! This is the beginning of a massive multi-year campaign.
By Rick Murphy on
8/25/2011 7:20 AM
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Re: Does EAS Have a Place in an Earthquake?
This morning was the "state" of DCs EMT. I've received complaints of our insensitivity for sending out a test after the earthquake.
By John Holt on
8/25/2011 7:21 AM
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Re: Does EAS Have a Place in an Earthquake?
Dear Mr. McLane: Purely enjoyed your cogent, erudite and most provocative article. The earthquake situation would appear to be an event the Government officials simply are not prepared to address in terms of issuing an EAS alert. This leads one to wonder what other types of emergencies the Government officials would ignore. On the postive side, we saw that broadcasters immediately did cover the earthquake without any nudging from the Government.
Respectfully submitted, [Signed:] Keith (Trantow)
By Keith Trantow on
8/25/2011 7:21 AM
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Re: Does EAS Have a Place in an Earthquake?
An interesting question to which I have to agree with the differing viewpoints.
Here in NJ, I don’t recall any EAS, EBS or Conelrad activations in my lifetime. Amber and weather alerts are occasionally read by announcers on duty, depending on the station and format, and automated stations are questionable in their ability to pass on alerts to the public. Of course, this all depends on what alerts are programmed to be passed on.
The public is conditioned to tolerate monthly and weekly tests, which is generally considered to be an annoyance and ignored, prompting many to change channels. EAS is little understood by the public, and they don’t really have a clue to what it’s about and what it does. One reason for this is the fact it’s never been used.
In the case of the recent earthquake, I think the EAS should have been activated. Yes, it would be after the fact, but I would like to know it was an earthquake and not something worse. What if it was a truck or plane crashing into the building you’re in, or a major explosion somewhere?
And then there’s the red tape: Can anyone imagine a government official creating and broadcasting an EAS message in a timely manner, regardless of what the emergency is? The NWS is the only entity I believe capable of doing so.
The national test currently scheduled is a good first step to see how well the system works. There will be many problems discovered, especially on local stations, which can be rectified. Once the physical system is debugged, then we have to tackle the administrative issues.
As stated, 9/11 was the ultimate failure of the EAS system. Ten years later, are we any better off? Even with all the changes planned and CAP incorporation, is EAS even relevant today?
Thanks, Paul, for bringing this up yet again!
By Bob Kovaleski on
8/26/2011 8:16 AM
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