Emergency response leader: Social media cannot replace classic information channels

On Saturday, January 24th at 10:30 PM, the power went out in Nuuk. Fortunately, the fault was quickly discovered, something Nukissiorfiit and other authorities immediately announced – on Facebook.

The use of Facebook to communicate with citizens was subsequently criticized by editor-in-chief and director of Mediehuset Sermitsiaq, Masaana Egede.

- I think it is critical that so many public authorities only use Facebook as a crisis communication tool. I am not questioning its effectiveness or that it is being used, but that it stands alone is a mistake, he says.

Chairperson of the Greenland Emergency Management Commission, Natuk Lund Meire, who is also Head of Department at the Ministry of Nature and Environment, agrees that there is room for improvement, but she does not believe that there is a breakdown in emergency management.

This is stated by Natuk Lund Meire in a written response to Sermitsiaq.

- Facebook is today a fast and effective channel that many citizens use. That is why it was actively used in the situation by the authorities. Having said that, Facebook cannot and should not stand alone. It is a point of attention that we take seriously and which is included in the overall evaluation of the process, she says.

Facebook cannot replace KNR

To the question of whether the Emergency Management Commission can be sure that Facebook is a credible medium for sharing information about situations such as the power outage, Natuk Lund Meire responds that social media cannot replace more robust and classic information channels such as KNR Radio and the authorities' own websites.

- There is a real need to ensure a better balance between speed and range on the one hand and robustness and availability on the other. This work has been initiated – even before the power outage occurred.

- Throughout the night, KNR updated the situation in both Danish and Greenlandic on the radio, precisely to reach citizens without social media.

KNR has informed Sermitsiaq that they broadcast radio from 01:32. That is, three hours after the power went out.

Crisis preparedness is activated in the event of major accidents and disasters

In another response, the public service media also states that they are only obliged to send emergency announcements when the emergency is activated – which they did not do this time.

But why not?

Natuk Lund Meire says that the cause of the power outage was quickly identified as a specific and limited technical link failure caused by strong winds.

- The emergency response must be activated if an incident can develop into a major accident or disaster. Although a power failure is serious, it quickly became clear that this was not an incident that required the activation of the emergency response. The decision was thus made on the basis of an overall professional assessment of the nature and development of the incident.

"It is important to emphasize that lack of activation is not an expression of lack of attention or seriousness. Rather, it is an expression that the situation was handled effectively at the right operational level, without unnecessary escalation," she says.

Will create peace and security

The power outage came three days after new crisis guidance from the Greenlandic Government stating that citizens should be able to cope for five days – for example, during a prolonged power outage.

And at a time when the United States has threatened to take over Greenland, it is natural that some people felt insecure when the power went out, says Natuk Lund Meire.

- I would like to acknowledge that parts of the population felt unsafe in the situation and were worried about the worst. I fully understand that – especially at a time when there is already great attention to the security situation.

- We will therefore look at how we can communicate the nature of the incident more clearly – and earlier – so that clarity and calm are quickly created, also in situations where the cause is technical and not an expression of an external or security threat, she says.

The person in charge of the Emergency Response Commission states that they will continue to work with clearer guidelines for channel selection.

- The purpose is not to dramatize situations unnecessarily, but to create calm and security through clear, accessible and uniform information. This is precisely the balance that a well-functioning emergency response must be able to strike – and which this incident gives us the opportunity to fine-tune further.