In the absence of official information, rumors often fill the void. Irresponsible “official” information is also unhelpful in times of disaster. Such was the case on the weekend when there were widespread reports of at least 30 deaths on Long Island as a result of Hurricane Joaquin, which roared through late last week.

For most of the day on Saturday, there was no response from any government, police or National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) officials as many people with loved ones on Long Island and other storm ravaged areas were unable to reach them. Incredibly, NEMA went the day without communicating any information to the public. The disaster assessment team did not fly out of Nassau until after 3 p.m. on Saturday.

On Saturday night, we received word from Commissioner of Police Ellison Greenslade that there had been no reports of loss of life due to the storm. During a trip to assess the damage, Greenslade informed the prime minister of such. But not long after, there was this tweet from the commissioner of police: “I am receiving reports that there might be fatalities in the extreme southern end of Long Island. This is NOT confirmed.”

While the commissioner was no doubt attempting to be helpful, he was irresponsible in his tweet. We recognize that in the aftermath of disasters information changes, reports are updated, etc. But as the chief of police, Greenslade should not put unconfirmed reports in the public domain.

Either he knows of fatalities or he does not. If he does not know of fatalities then he should keep his unconfirmed reports out of the public domain. Such reports create confusion and add to anxiety. They fuel hysteria.

In another tweet yesterday, Greenslade said: “Awaiting direct conversation with police on ground in Hamilton and Berrys on amount of casualties. Expected shortly.” Not long after, he tweeted, “Officers have gone door to door. No loss of life. No injuries.”

Early in the day on Saturday, there was a Facebook post from meteorologist Wayne Neely. Neely posted: “There are about 30 deaths in Long Island, eight confirmed.” Again, while Neely was no doubt attempting to be helpful in putting out information, his post was also irresponsible.
As a respected meteorologist, his word carries weight.

Saying that there are 30 deaths and eight are confirmed is terribly confusing. Were there 30 deaths, or were there eight deaths? We could not figure it out. Neely’s post also caused hysteria.

On Sunday morning, Neely — no doubt attempting to correct the information he had already put out — shared a post with an interview Prime Minister Perry Christie did with reporters during the assessment trip on Saturday.

Referring to the rumor about multiple deaths, Christie said, “The rumor seems to have emanated from eight persons who moved from their residence to safer premises.

“Those persons, I am advised by the commissioner, have been found, and therefore when you hear about eight persons dying, that is absolutely not true. The rumors have now been magnified where you’re talking about 30 people. That is absolutely not true, the commissioner says.”

Under that clip shared by Neely, someone posted: “Bahamians really need to stop. Whoever started this rumor needs to be dealt with. We are nosy people and don’t care how others feel.” At the time of Neely’s post, the information about 30 deaths was already floating.

On Saturday morning, a Cabinet minister told our news team that there were 30 deaths in Long Island, but the minister did not want to be named, so we held off on posting that information on The Nassau Guardian’s site. Long Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner said she had also received reports of multiple deaths, but again, there was no confirmation.

We still do not have a full report at this point. At the end of the assessment, we might get information that there were indeed 30 deaths. We certainly hope not. This should be official information. Officials should report only what they know.

When our news team arrived from south Long Island last night after a helicopter ride, team members reported to National Review that residents they spoke to had no tales of death.

Authorities connected to disaster relief efforts ought to make frequent reports to the media. They should dispel rumors. They should let the public know what they know. If they do not know much, they should say that. It is disgraceful that NEMA failed to provide regular updates over the weekend.

NEMA needs to work on its relationship with the media and recognize that it is an important partnership. We know the agency’s immediate challenge was getting to the islands for the assessment. But it is unacceptable that it failed to communicate over many hours.

Many people in New Providence, in Grand Bahama, in Abaco and elsewhere could not reach relatives in the storm impacted islands. Many took to social media for whatever information they could get. Much of that information was inaccurate and much of it worsened people’s anxieties.

We do not pray for more hurricanes, but we know there is no way of stopping them. We hope that in times of future crises, there is better communication and a more effective and responsible response from our officials. But all Bahamians also have a responsibility to be careful what they accept and what they circulate.

We have seen the rumor mill create panic in many other instances as well. People ought to depend only on confirmed reports from trusted sources. Those trusted sources ought not be so trigger happy that they post what they are hearing, and not what they know to be factual. Otherwise, we risk making an already dire situation a whole lot worse.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian