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The electronic
news media can be another effective vehicle for disseminating health
advisories and updates on casualties and relief efforts. For example, during
the emergency phase, warnings of possible landslides disseminated by the
media may help populations maintain a vigilance and possibly evacuate areas
if minor rockfalls, slope failures, or debris flows suggest that a more
severe failure is imminent. Prompt evacuation of low-lying areas near the
coast should also be a priority whenever the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration's tsunami warning network (headquartered in
Hawaii) issues a warning. In a survey conducted after the 1989 Loma Prieta
earthquake, Bourque, Goltz, and colleagues found that while the majority of
deaths and injuries happened at the time of earthquake shaking, a rather
high proportion--about 40%--of deaths and injuries occurred during the
72-hour period after the earthquake, some of which might have been prevented
had advisory warnings been issued to the public (87). Ideally, public
officials should work out media guidelines for information dissemination so
that all parties will know what to expect when an earthquake strikes. |