"On the broken emergency alert system" From February 21, 2020. When a false "emergency alert" was sent out suggesting there had been an incident at a nuclear power station near Toronto on January 12th, it took 43 minutes for a correction. When a false alert -- including information that it was not a drill -- about an incoming missile was issued in Hawaii, it took 38 minutes for a correction to come out. How the Pickering nuclear alert was sent out in error almost does not matter any more. What still matters six weeks later is the lack of public information about who should have done what when the message came out; and why and how so many individuals and organizations were so slow to react. For educational purposes.
For more on the role of local radio in times of local crisis please listen to Season 1, Episode 6; and for more on being prepared for an emergency and the necessity of battery-powered radio, please listen to Season 1 Episode 3.
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