I've been looking at and listening to taped news archives the past few days- the latest being the flash-floods on October 4 and 5- 1998.
Here are some hard- indisputable facts I've gleaned from these tapes:
1. If you need immediate police- fire or EMS services during a natural disaster- forget it.
This fact I discovered on the audio scanner tapes from that night: The Fire Department learned of the Prospect tragedy from bystanders who stopped a battalion chief's vehicle out on patrol- NONE OF THE VICTIMS COULD GET INTO 9-1-1.
By the time that chief was notified by the bystanders what had happened- the victims were already washed downstream and drowned.
Also- it took the local news media MORE THAN AN HOUR after it happened to find out 6 people had been washed from the Prospect bridge over Brush Creek (even though I had been on the phone to the newsroom several times over the past 45 minutes TELLING THEM this incident had occurred.
2. Some TV news people know little about Kansas City geography.
In repeated FOX-4 newscasts (I was working for them at the time too)- the news readers/anchors kept referring to Lakes Winnebago and Raintree as being "in the Northland." Unless they've moved from southern Lee's Summit...
3. At least some TV weather people missed the obvious point- until it was too late.
I still shake my head when I hear those audio tapes. I'm on the phone to FOX-4's weather department early on- suggesting THE FLASH FLOOD THREAT IS PARAMOUNT- not so much the tornado watch we were also under.
We'd already had several inches of rain that Sunday- afternoon flash-flooding in Lee's Summit and Blue Springs- and I was pulling a 24-hour news shift following it all. The reason I was pulling that 24-hour shift was because my inner weather-alarm was going off- so sleep was futile. Something told me history was in the making and Mother Nature didn't disappoint.
Well- as long as I'm alive and kicking as this blog remains- the latter won't happen again!
_______________
No comments:
Post a Comment