IDRC /  Peter Bennett,

On the Ground: Teamwork for reliability

The findings provided a rich source of new knowledge about ways to make hazard warning systems more effective. As in any pilot project, the research showed up weaknesses in technologies as well as in the human agents working in real-life conditions.

The satellite radio set, for example, could transmit music even when the antenna was not optimally aligned, but for the alert to be delivered perfect alignment was essential — a discovery that could not have been made in a laboratory. Other banal reasons for transmission failures were forgotten logon passwords, accidental deletion of Java software on the cellphones, and cancellation of telephone service for non-payment of bills.

A less banal human factor was the civil conflict in Sri Lanka’s northeast. On the day of one live exercise, the government ordered the shutdown of all telephone service in the conflict zones. The tests were conducted with much improvisation. The best results in this instance came from satellite radio, which is immune to terrestrial shutdowns, natural or otherwise.

That experience illustrates one of the key findings of the study: the value of complementary redundancy.

The addressable satellite radio system enjoys one-way capability only, but its orbital base makes it immune to most local disruptions. Meanwhile, the Java-enabled mobile phone benefits from its language capacities, but is subject to local shutdowns and congestion. When both systems are joined, their complementary redundancy makes for a more reliable link.

The need for different types of media to work together seamlessly in transmitting messages highlights the importance of the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP). The CAP is an international standard for data interchange that allows alerts to be transmitted over multiple media in varied jurisdictions. For example, the CAP converts a single alarm into Internet messages, news feeds for television and radio, automated telephone calls, even highway pixel boards.

However, the researchers found shortcomings in the CAP protocol that raised questions about achieving perfect “interoperability.” Some types of ICT terminals, for example, were able to display only partial warning messages because of limitations on message length. In one live exercise, this resulted in communities mistakenly executing an evacuation plan for a tsunami and running to higher ground, rather than for a cyclone and seeking shelter at lower levels. Likely, modifications to the CAP can solve this problem.

Most of the adults who took part in the exercises were women, either because the men were at work or because many of the Sarvodaya village societies were headed by women. When men did participate, they tended to be more vocal and aggressive than the women. They were also less inhibited by cultural attitudes, for example those frowning upon travel by female response coordinators. Such gender differences in the capacity to take a leadership role may affect a community’s behaviour during an actual emergency.

Obviously, for ICTs to serve as warning terminals, they must be in working order all the time. The researchers looked at ways, aside from the alert function, that the various communication systems could be integrated into everyday life, thus increasing the likelihood the terminals would remain in good order. They found that, overall, every type of ICT possesses some unique feature that contributes to the daily life of the community, and that if the technology is provided and the operating cost is low, people will use it.

"All the sophisticated technology won’t matter if we don’t reach real communities and people. Satellites, buoys, data networks will make us safer, but we must invest in the training, the instituion building, the awareness-raising on the ground." — Bill Clinton, former United States President and former United Nations Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery

 

	IDRC /  Peter Bennett

The Impact: Trial by water

This last-mile system aims to complement and “amplify” the Sri Lankan government’s national alerting function, rather than to issue official public warnings. Project leaders hope that if they can demonstrate an efficient lastmile mechanism, the government will adopt it.

This goal may be advanced by pressure from Sri Lanka’s coastal villagers themselves. The project’s training exercises heightened their awareness of the importance of disaster preparedness, and many communities have demanded that such programs be continued and expanded. Many of the Sarvodaya villages have started emergency response committees to strengthen local disaster resilience.

Meanwhile, the technology and the training have been tested in an actual emergency situation. In September 2007 an earthquake triggered a government order for coastal areas to evacuate ahead of a possible tsunami. Most villages did so, but at least one community — thanks to links with the Colombo hub by satellite radio and Java-enabled phones — decided instead to monitor the situation. The emergency response coordinators observed the ocean before mobilizing the people to flee. In the end, the tsunami did not happen. The government order had been an overreaction, and so the system served to avoid a costly and needless evacuation.

Future Challenges: Remaining vigilant

This multi-faceted research endeavour has drawn attention to the many technical and people-centred problems that must be confronted if such hazard alert systems are to work.

The investigation was the first test of the CAP mechanism in a multilingual environment. The researchers stress the need to further develop and apply this crucial communication tool. They recommend establishing a special working group to tackle interoperability issues like language and message display capabilities.

The exercises made plain the difficulties of providing effective training using volunteer trainers. A follow-up project seeks to remedy this problem by offering training and related services to coastal tourist hotels, in addition to Sarvodaya villages.

A related challenge concerns the shortness of any society’s attention span. In the absence of frequent crises and alerts, how can a nation — or even a village — sustain the continuing levels of preparedness essential to ensure that, when the next big wave comes rolling in and the sirens sound, its people will have the motivation and the capacity to act? The follow-up project seeks to address this worry by preparing the hotels and villages to respond to different types of hazards, rather than only to the relatively rare tsunamis.

Download the PDF: For Easy Sleep Along the Shore: Making Hazard Warnings More Effective