EDUCATING THE PUERTO RICAN MEDIA ABOUT TSUNAMIS: THE PUERTO RICO TSUNAMI MEDIA KIT PROJECT

Geoscience education aimed at media personnel, who is not adequately prepared for science reporting, is a challenging enterprise. However, the media plays a crucial role in the dissemination of earthquake and tsunami alerts to the public thus contributing to a rapid and effective response during emergencies. Consequently, it is of the utmost importance for the Puerto Rican media to have a basic knowledge of earthquake and tsunami science, and the written and audiovisual resources to convey scientific concepts to the public in a clear and scientifically sound manner.

The Puerto Rico Seismic Network has undertaken a five-year long ongoing geoscience education collaborative project, sponsored by the NOAA’s National Tsunami Hazards Mitigation Program, to provide the Puerto Rican media personnel with training and resources to inform the public about tsunami hazards. The Tsunami Media Kit is comprised of a written tsunami guide available in hardcopy and electronic versions; a webpage (http://www.prsn.uprm.edu/mediakit/) where all written and audiovisual materials are available; and computer and cellphone applications. As part of our presentation we will be discussing the following topics: aim and conceptualization of the Puerto Rico Tsunami Media Kit; latest version of the Puerto Rico Tsunami Media Kit; the extensive collaborative writing and reviewing process undertaken in the project; marketing strategies used to reach Puerto Rican media personnel; and the opportunities for improvement and next challenges.