How Do You Think NYC Mayor DiBlasio Handled the Blizzard Warnings?

[By Bruce Hennes] I’m not necessarily a fan of NYC Mayor DiBlasio. But in the ramp-up to the blizzard set to hit New York City a few days ago, I think he was right on target.

Based on the meteorological information on-hand at the time, New York City was set to get hit hard.

One of the most important tenets of crisis communications is this: it’s far preferable to be quoted as saying “the situation turned out better than expected” — and not “it was worse than we feared.”

Forecasting weather is simply not an exact science. This particular storm ended up skewing 50 miles to the east, which is why New York City only got 7 inches — and Boston/Providence got slammed. But if the storm tracked just 50 miles to the west, DiBlasio would have been a hero.

Contrast that to the mayor of Atlanta a year ago when he didn’t similarly warn the public – and tens of thousands were stuck in their cars for 24+ hours and elementary kids had to overnight in their schools because the parents couldn’t get to them. Yes, millions of New Yorkers were inconvenienced, but, again, based on the available intel, DiBlasio made the right call in the correct manner.

Disaster preparedness expert Howard B. Price, Director, Business Continuity for ABC Television, agrees. He wrote that even though parts of the Northeast escaped the dire predictions of Winter Storm Juno, it’s better that people were overprepared. For those upset with officials for shutting down roads and, in some cases, entire cities, Price says, “No one should EVER blame the messengers for decisions governments and businesses take based on scientific facts that were trumped – as they sometimes are – by the forces of nature. Better to plan for what turns out to be unnecessary, then to be caught flat-footed when circumstances are worse than you anticipated.” You can read more from Price here.

By hpadmin | January 29, 2015 | Accidents and Threats, Crisis Communications

How Do You Think NYC Mayor DiBlasio Handled the Blizzard Warnings?

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