Emergency Systems (Week 9 Post)

As the California fires of 2007 swept across the landscape, and I have returned to my home in a cleared evacuation area, there are thoughts about the handling of information, and the systems in place to get that information to the people that are directly affected.

When one thinks of interaction they also think "design", which usually denotes some kind of product that communicates with its users. The problem is that some information must be communicated in existing channels. There can be no reliance or assumptions about new devices for interaction. Instead, it must travel through means that already exist for other purposes.

Luckily, humans today have many devices that specialize in handling different parts of communication: television, phones, radio, and the internet being the big players. Unfortunately, as it currently stands, information that's connected to a region-wide disaster, needed for vital evacuation, is highly disjointed and could use further refinement.

Since the fires of 2003, San Diego has implemented a reverse-911 system that communicates evacuation plans or other emergency services to anyone with a registered landline. I found myself at a considerable disadvantage considering that our condo doesn't currently own a landline. While still fairly rare in households, the trend among teens and young adults to have all communication through a cell phone is becoming increasingly popular. With the land-based telephone facing opposition as a main form of communication, leaving only options that rely on power to operate can be very dangerous. Therefore, systems that take advantage of cell towers (a third mass-communication technology) like UCSD's newly implemented emergency-texting system should definitely be something the city pursues.

To avoid confusion, weeks 5-8 do not have weekly blog posts.