“Public broadcasting isn’t just about popular programming, it’s also about saving lives and infrastructure.”
—John McCoskey, Eagle Hill’s technology, media, and entertainment industry lead executive
“The government should invest in an earthquake early warning system.”
“The public broadcasting system should help provide an early warning when an earthquake strikes.”
“It is important that emergency warnings be accessible to everyone at the same time, including individuals with disabilities and those in rural areas and low-income communities.”
Americans Reached by Public Television
“It’s important to keep in mind that more than 143 million Americans across the nation are exposed to potentially damaging ground shaking from earthquakes. Leveraging the vast public broadcasting infrastructure can serve as a highly effective means to deploy life-saving advance alerts for all Americans, including those with disabilities, living in rural areas, and for low income communities.”
—John McCoskey
Benefits of an earthquake early warning system include:
- Issuing public warnings to individuals
- Notifying first responders to open fire station doors for rapid deployment
- Notifying surgeons and dentists to protect patients
- Safeguarding energy sector grid and other utilities infrastructure with warning alarms
- Preventing fatal collisions on mass transit
- Promoting workplace safety by encouraging evacuation to employees
Methodology
The research was conducted by Ipsos in March 2018 as a survey of 1,005 interviews across the US adult population, and 503 respondents in California. The results were weighted to reflect U.S. demographic factors, including age, income, the four national census regions, and gender.
