As I write, Northern Queensland is braced to bear the worst tropical cyclone Australia has ever experienced. In 1974, Cyclone Tracy caused utter devastation in Darwin but was smaller than the system that is steaming into Townsville and environs at the moment.
What the outcome will be we have no idea and, at present, can only hope and pray that there is no loss of life and minimal injuries for the thousands taking shelter from what looks to be a truly catastrophic storm.
Throughout the preparations, @QPMedia, the Queensland Police media team have used every channel available to them to warn, cajole, encourage, advise and inform the people of North Queensland ahead of this disaster. Facebook pages, Twitter streams, live streaming, audio - everything has been pulled together to give maximum warning and information to those affected. And all this just weeks after floods ravaged the Sunshine State. The picture below, circulating on Twitter today, shows Tracy on the left and Yasi on the right.
Communicating in any disaster is a huge undertaking - to have to deal with two disasters in quick succession is beyond pretty much everyone's experience. 
Tropical Cyclone Yasi is due to hit land at around 10pm EST - about 1am NZT - and, like many others, I'll be praying that those in the shelters, still at home or trying to get out of the path of the storm are safe. I also hope that we will all be able to do something to sort out the inevitable aftermath that will have to be dealt with.
In the meantime, safe passage to all involved and I would publicly pay my respects to those who have tried so hard to communicate the scope of the situation in such difficult circumstances.
Earthquake changes communications landscape
If there is an organisation left in New Zealand that has, post-February 22 - failed to appreciate the power and potential of online and social media then seriously - we need to talk.
The ferocity and scale of the second Christchurch earthquake meant that organisations were forced to leave 'old' communications processes behind and venture in to uncharted waters as the urgent need to communicate outweighed entrenched opinions of how 'communication' should be undertaken.
I take my hat off to all those involved in the post-quake communication, many of whom were having to deal with both the professional and personal aftermath of the quake.
For some, that meant learning to use 140 characters or less while under great stress, for others, it was simply about saying 'I don't know - but I'm finding out'.
I would particularly salute Christchurch City Council's communications team and the many volunteer techies who built valuable and vital web platforms - sometimes in hours - so that people could access information that helped them towards the basic necessities of life.
Lots of people will, in the months to come, pontificate on what was good and what was bad, the lessons to be learned and so on. As for me, I think that unless you have lived through such an experience, you can't legislate one way or another. Those involved have done the best possible job in extreme circumstances with what was to hand.
Post-quake communications will continue to be vital for the Canterbury region for many years ahead, long after the world at large has switched its gaze elsewhere. Christchurch communicators - and all of us involved in this line of work - are in this for the long haul. So Kia kaha. And well done.
Posted at 10:08 AM in Christchurch earthquake, Comment, Communication, Crisis communication, Current Affairs, Disasters, New Zealand, public relations, real life | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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