It exposed an error among the authorities that several of them only used Facebook to communicate during the power outage in Nuuk on Saturday, January 24th.
This was stated by the editor-in-chief and director of Mediehuset Sermitsiaq, Masaana Egede, earlier this week.
The Government of Greenland also recognizes that information about future outcomes should not only be published on social media, but also on the authorities' websites.
The Greenland Police were among those who used Facebook to communicate. In a written response to Sermitsiaq, they stated that it is their experience that they reach the citizens of Nuuk most widely via Facebook in emergency situations, where many people seek updates on the social media.
- We prioritize being present where citizens are to ensure that the necessary information reaches as far as possible, writes the Greenland Police.
As the cause of the power outage was quickly identified as a line fault and communication to citizens was swift, the authorities chose not to activate either the Greenland Emergency Response Team or the Greenland Emergency Response Commission, Naalakkersuisut informs.
The Greenland Police state that they, together with the other emergency authorities, are participating in the evaluation of the overall authority effort.
KNR provided service and information coverage
If you were looking for information on Facebook, you might also come across KNR. They posted several updates on their Facebook page during the night before the power outage. They also sent out announcements on the radio every 15 minutes. They started doing that three hours after the power went out.
There was no article on their website overnight. The first article regarding the crash was published on knr.gl at 11:30 AM Monday.
Sermitsiaq has attempted to get an interview with KNR Director Hans Peter Poulsen about the matter, but has received a written response.
Here it is stated from KNR that the emergency response was not activated in connection with the power outage, and therefore KNR's obligations were limited:
"KNR's obligations in relation to emergency preparedness are laid down in the Inatsisartutlov on radio and television broadcasting. Section 16 states that KNR and the broadcasting license holder are obliged to broadcast messages of emergency significance to the population when the emergency is activated.
In this situation, there was therefore no emergency incident, and KNR's coverage was therefore service and information coverage."
KNR writes that they have no further comments.
Sermitsiaq is trying to get a comment from the person in charge of the Emergency Response Commission, Natuk Lund Meire, who is the head of department at the Ministry of Nature and Environment, about why the emergency response was not activated and how the authorities generally handled communication during the power outage.
