PDA

View Full Version : "Hello, this is the Township Office of..."


Judy G. Russell
September 29th, 2005, 09:58 AM
Just answered the phone and almost hung up when I realized it was a recorded message, but I'm glad I didn't.

"Hello," the recorded voice said, "this is the Township Office of Emergency Services. If you or a member of your household has a special need that would make it difficult for you to evacuate..."

Now... (a) what about people without phones; (b) what about people who hang up when they answer and realize it's a recording; (c) what about people who aren't home and don't have/use answering machines... I could go on and on.

But it's a start. It's the first time I can remember ever getting such an inquiry. And it's about time.

ndebord
September 29th, 2005, 10:43 AM
Just answered the phone and almost hung up when I realized it was a recorded message, but I'm glad I didn't.

"Hello," the recorded voice said, "this is the Township Office of Emergency Services. If you or a member of your household has a special need that would make it difficult for you to evacuate..."

Now... (a) what about people without phones; (b) what about people who hang up when they answer and realize it's a recording; (c) what about people who aren't home and don't have/use answering machines... I could go on and on.

But it's a start. It's the first time I can remember ever getting such an inquiry. And it's about time.

Judy,

One of our fine senators recalled that in the good old days of the Cold War, we used the emergency broadcast network on RADIO to inform people. That has lapsed as we've moved on to new and better technologies like TV, cellphones and the Internet....all of which failed NO in its hour of need. But RADIO would have worked. SIGH

Judy G. Russell
September 29th, 2005, 09:30 PM
But RADIO would have worked. SIGHOnly assuming that they were portable, battery-powered pocket radios... and not everybody had those even in the heyday of radio!

ndebord
September 29th, 2005, 10:17 PM
Only assuming that they were portable, battery-powered pocket radios... and not everybody had those even in the heyday of radio!

Judy,

In NO...in the age of boomboxes? Oh, I think the message could have gotten out in the 9th ward...whether they can be considered truly portable is another question.

Judy G. Russell
September 29th, 2005, 11:14 PM
I don't know... part of the problem is a distrust between government and the citizenry such that you wonder if people -- pre-Katrina -- would have believed that the government wanted to know about special needs in order to help people.