Katrina & Sego

Communication is simply a method of sending a message from one person or group of persons to another. Good communication will ensure that all persons and organizations understand the message sent. Bad communication will have exactly the opposite effect. People will be confused by the message and misunderstandings will likely occur. Two examples of poor communication resulting in tragedies of catostraphic proportions can be drawn fron the Hurricane Katrina and Sego Mine disasters.

Hurricane Katrina was the costliest and one of the deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States. It was the sixth-strongest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the third-strongest landfalling U.S. hurricane on record. Katrina formed in late August during the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season and caused devastation along much of the north-central Gulf Coast of the United States. Attempts to help Hurricane Katrina's victims from officials and groups from the Washington area were slowed down by breakdowns in communication and disorganization among local, state and federal agencies. The lack of communication was evident in the crucial early days of the response to the catastrophe along the Gulf Coast. Michael Laris of the Washington Posts said that, "Among the difficulties, twenty-two Loudoun County sheriff's deputies and six medical personnel who left for the New Orleans area returned home early because of poor communication between officials in Louisiana and Virginia that left the team without required approvals." "I'm saddened to see that even after 9/11, the system doesn't work any better than this," Loudoun Sheriff Stephen O. Simpson said. "The impression we're left with is that nobody knows what they're doing down there." This is just one of many examples of how challenges in mass evacuations, communications, and environmental health and safety issues exposed vulnerabilities in disaster preparations and planning across all levels of government.

Another example of poor communication skills can be found in the Sego Mine disaster, where their was a terrible communication