How you must report in case of natural disasters

The natural disasters are the type of coberages whwhen the whole technical and technological abilities of press crews are tested, especially the fact-checking protocols and the precission which the journalists and hosts treat the issue. But maybe one of the biggest challenges during those events is acting with enough serenity to have perspective at the time to report and provide useful data to our audience.

And here it comes the first lesson: the journalistic coverage in time of natural disasters must take as a main purpose to clarify the view of everybody and to be a a processes conduit between authorities and community, not a booster of fear and panic that ends to create chaos.

It is also true that press and media crews  are joined by persons which reactions are influenced by their individual experiences dealing with this kind of events. Then, is it possible to form an accurate response when they break? Theoretically yes, and that implies to work preventively before the disaster, proactively during it, and sustainabily after it happens.

Before the disaster

1. The basics is to see what the conditions of our work space are and how much it is prepared for having any type of disaster. Our work space must not be safe, it must be highly safe for a simple reason: if something happens, the audience will trust we are on the air or online for knowing what to do. Then, request the authorities or reliable specialists to inspect your facilities and guide you how to set them up or improve them for they to response adequately before any event.
2. Learn what type of disasters are frequent in your community or your region. Look for all the information you can, study its nature, and the existent data about how it happened in previous times. In general, the land uses to react the same way like how it reacted years, decades, or centuries ago. So, it is possible to prevent which the potential damages could be and how you are going to react about them in informative terms.
3. Organize and participate actively in simulations summoned by the authorities. Use not only your meddium to release or promote them. Make your medium to turn the disaster-mode and and have an evaluation form for how much prepared your crew is for reaction. Organize internally scheduled and surprise simulations for training your crew and teach it constantly about how to act if it could happen.
4. Order before everything. Your whole crew must know where each thing is when the disaster happens and who are vital during the coverage. So, you guarantee the safety of everybody and the information flow.
5. In the same way, assign responsibilities  those active authomatically when the disaster occurs. So, you will not improvise at the last moment, or you will improvise only if the case urges it.
6. Have all your protocols and evaluations written, and in quick-access documents. Then, your crew can review them constantly, beginning with you. It’s not a bad idea you share them to your audience for educating and enriching the knowledge and the positive attitude, especially.
7. Work out physically and mentally focusing in the moment of a disaster. In one hand you have enough agility and strength for passing through the exigence of covering it, but you also have to neuroprogram for keeping calm and handling a huge breaking information amount, or what to do if there is not enough information. Remember that the ghost doesn’t scares when you are aware of how it is and how it uses to scare.

During the disaster

1. Calm over everything!! It is the time to apply all your plans and protocols, as well as accomplishing the assigned responsibilities during the simulations.
2. Strictly only if it’s safe, go into the studio or the newsroom and have in touch to your audience. The first message you have to launch is a call for tranquility, open your lines for receiving the information and questions those will begin to break.
3. Unless your source be highly reliable, doubt of the first fact you receive and cross-check it right before releasing it. In case of disaster, the certainty is above the scoop or the exclusive.
4. Your breaking coverage has not to be limited in providing facts. This is the time you must give orientation, advising your audience what it must do. Now you are their leader, so your reliability and knowledge are useful for everybody.
5. Go to the official source. Every government assigns an office to release the exactfact, or the official one at least. Distrust the data from others, don’t share them neither, especially if they seem incredible. In fact, many use to be hallucinations or panic expressions.
6. Hold free phone lines at you medium, those don’t be known by the public, for you to guarantee inmediate information with your crew or sources. Ever have your cellphone with full battery because it is going to be pretty useful during the emergency. If you are a ham, know the emergency frequencies where verified information is shareduseful for you and for your audience (some countries have emergency frequencies in AM, FM and even SW).

After the disaster

1. Against your bosses could claim you, don’t monopolize the statements of the authorities. Despite, they should have press conferences where the whole media have access, so the most quantity of possible public knows what happened, how to act. What you can demand from your authorities, indeed, is their briefings have a known periodicity (the ideal should be each six hours at least) in order to serve all your time targets.
2. Help from the medium with the damages report. Don’t struck it with wrong data or fake news. That means you cross-check even the facts from some authorities who are not official spokespersons, and give them to you for having exposure to the public.
3. Collaborate with other local or abroad media. During a disaster, the information is not the property of anybody, but a right the people have to take better decisions.
4. Educate about the post-thraumatic stress syndrome (PTSS) and use the medium for the people to detect it and look for urgent professional help. An audience with this condition trends to believe easily in fake news, not on your verified fact although it is buzzing on their face. Identify this condition in yourself and treat it with Clinic Psychology. If a person ouside the media prones to response with panic, a PRSS-diagnosed journalist or host is dangerous three times: misinforms, breaks fear, causes more damage.
5. Plan future coverages for analyzing the response of everybody in case the disaster happens again. Keepn intelligently the issue in the best interest of your audience.

Let’s share more tips? Let’s use the comments box for a dialogue, or we also can do it on my Twitter account.

RPRS – The next trendy professional career

Many people are pleasing wondered by the way Peru’s President Martín Vizcarra is managing the crisis caused by Covid-19, the new corona-virus’ strain, at the point that everything seems to be under control. Seems. Well, the fact is all the decisions and protocols are not Vizcarra’s creation, not Ministers Board’s, not the prospective team’s, not advisors’, not shamans’, not gurus’.

The Law 29664 was passed in 2012, that instructs how to manage and to prevent the risky scenarios nationwide. Also, it creates the National Center for Prevention, Estimation, and Reduction of Disasters Risk, Cenepred ias in Spanish, that depends on the Prime Minister’s Office, PCM as in Spanish, that also manages the National Institute of Civile Defense, Indeci as in Spanish. Those three organizations have contingence plans, stores full of relief, and money coming from different social programmes, that was saved for emergency cases.

It’s not about I’m undeserving Vizcarra. Unlike, we are lucky about Peru has already warned to design an action plan, and what the President is doing now is to follow it up. In simple words, that’s called forecast, the action to fast forward the facts, skill we are not made ours, judging our reckless attitude at the time to measure future risks, attitude that becomes bothering beggar when we realize to be amid them.

“Peru comes preparing for different types of disaster 8 years ago,” one of my followers underlined while explaining this fact. The issue, and here it comes the apparent sensation of disorder and annoyance, is that Cenepred activates even provided the regional or local governments request it. My source assured me that none of them has staten nor consulted how to perform it as the crisis has happened. And when I’m talking of performing, I’m not meaning to perform like a costumed soldier even, when I were a mayor )a civile authority).

That would explain why everybody has the impression that Vizcarra and his crew are the action heroes, while our nearbiest authorities are appearing as the most uncapable never chosen. Well, they do, don’t they? Talking on a posible reason for the regional and local governments have not claimed to Cenepred, my source said the answer is simple – they mostly ignore it. I confess I’m also dismissed this detail, but… I’m not an authority.

Each quake, a new institution

Just to make history, Cenepred was created after the fiasco meant by the Fund for the South Reconstruction, the controversial Forsur as in Spanish, founded after the Pisco’s Earthquake, August 15^th, 2007, that left 550 casualties. And it seems somebody has to shake us the soil for we to shake our brain. If not, let’s get back a little more.

May 30th, 1970 – A terrible earthquake erased Yungay, Áncash, out of the map, left around 70,000 casualties according to the official toll. As a consequence, the military government  created Indeci (then, the National System of Civile Defense), and since that time, a doctrine was established – the top local officer, or state’s (regions today), or nation’s turns into the chief of every civile defense system, according to the geographic extension of the emergency. That was in 1972.

And as every rule has an exception, the South Vulcanological Observatory, OVS as in Spanish, depending on the Geophysical Institute of Peru, is a management example that would be worthy to study and reply. It has pages after pages with risk maps, action protocols in case of some volcano between Arequipa and Tacna decides to erupt. The most active ones are under 24/7 surveillance (that can be followed real- time on an open-access website), and it constantly moves local authorities through simulations and contingence plans that currently are used in the eruptive processes of Sabancaya and Ubinas Mounts.

In this point, I dreamed this week of an El Niño Warning Center located in Paita, Piura, like the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii Islands, or the Hurricane Warning Center in Florida, both in the U.S. The first entity is the reference for the Asia-Pacific Rim when a 7-magnitude or larger quake breaks and can cause troubles in our shores, while the second one is the mandatory information source every summer across the Atlantic and the Caribbean. Our warning center could be worldwide because El Niño impacts around the planet, and the reason why Paita is because two large water flows of our enormous ocean, warm and cold, meet very near there. I hope that comes true. Let’s continue.

Then, if our frame-protocol gathers almost half a century old and the most specific one is going to be a decade old, why do the mayors and regional governors suffer from nervous collapse and subsequent rigor morbidus every time they have to manage a disaster to prevent or to mitigate? Short answer: a lot of ego, a few neurone.

More than guessing, it’s about forecasting

And that is the ethernal Peruvian error – a mostly reactive instead of proactive system because it doesn’t know to read the past at the point it becomes to convince it will never happen anymore, but it also doesn’t know to fast forward the future and the multiple choices it represents, even the weirdest. Look at the crisis created by the Covid-19 pandemic: we have usually live next to in-progress diseases, but any strucked us fully as a country, discounting to hold us inside our homes for a month and a half.

But as every crisis means and opportunity, this is the time a career I don’t know if exists, and if not we can create it here, should raise bonds – Response Planning for Risk Scenarios, or RPRS, what its name says, it’s in charge of think pretty detailed how we mitigate, avoid, and manage every bad it could happen because of measurable or unmeasureable contending situations .

The RPRS Officer has to be a person with a pretty wide vision but also a teaching ability to explain easily everybody, especially the authorities, about what could happen if nobody acts and how to act for it happens the less or null damage as possible. It’s not the person who avoids a black cat or eludes to pass under stairs, but it’s capable to anticipate how the cat will react and has got available stairs just in case of going to rescue it.

But nota all remains in vision and teaching, it has to be a person whom gets not boring to research in the reality of territory to serve (yes, knowledge on geography, history, statistics, sociology, and psychology are just part of the profile) and write everything down in a compulsively sequential way. Definetly, if you never learned to make flow diagrams, you won’t work on this career.

And the better of RPRS comes here – it will not be only a key career in public management, which the authority’s decisions –theoretically—influence on the life of thousands or millions of people. It also will be required by the private sector, non-profit or commercial, to guarantee if any investment faces unseen potential peril as well as to evaluate if the development projects are actually going to develop something or they will be another money waste just for granting a job to a hand of people.

And still beyond, taking the New Peruvian’s paradigm launched by President Vizcarra, it has to be a person with much empathy and creativity to promote the solidarian spirit among pairs and dispairs. Yes, it has to be a leader with a wide recognizement among the community, but also to be anyone else amid all the persons.

If you see your profile fits this one I describe, go preparing because you’re going to be required in the short-term. If you’re reading me from an university, an institute, a school, or similar, go considering to launch this course, that mixes humanism and science, hard work and pedagogics, communicability and reflection capability.

As I said to a colleague, the future of many proffessions, the mine one included, is they are going to upgrade new setups what are not that we used to know, and that’s a signal of times. Everything changes, and this crisis is underlining it and marking light yellow to us every hour, every minute, every second, and it demands an answer from us. Not asking it would be committing suicide… or another genocide.

And talking about colleagues, I leave you my tutorial for covering news during natural disasters that you can adapt to this crisis for good. Meet me on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn for continuing to talk about.

Lobitos One Year On: Oil, Waves and a Coastal Gem at Risk

By Nelson Peñaherrera Castillo | Originally published at https://nelsonsullana.blogspot.com/2025/12/lobitos-un-ano-despues-petroleo-oleajes.html

 

 

 

On the Pacific coast of Northern Peru lies Lobitos, a small beach town beloved by surfers worldwide for its world-class left-hand waves and laid-back coastal culture. Just 18 km north of Talara, in Piura Region, Lobitos has built a reputation as a destination where long rides, warm waters and desert winds create unforgettable surf experiences. (Wikipedia)

 

The community itself is small—about 1,646 residents call the district home—and many visitors are drawn here not by city lights but by the ocean’s pull. (repositorio.upao.edu.pe) But a year ago, Lobitos’ future as a pristine surfing destination and coastal ecosystem was challenged by a harsh reminder of the risks of fossil fuel dependency and weak environmental safeguards.

 

Where Lobitos Fits on the Map

Lobitos sits on the Pacific coast of Peru, about 961 km (597 miles) northwest of Lima by air. (Geodatos) For international travelers:

• From Lima, the capital and major flight hub in Peru, it’s roughly a 1h45m flight to the Talara airport, followed by a short road transfer. (exploortrip.com)
• From Piura, a regional center, the drive to Lobitos takes around 2–3 hours by road. (Ruta Distancia)

These distances matter: Lobitos is remote enough to feel like a true coastal escape, yet close enough that its health and accessibility affect national tourism and local livelihoods.

 

The Spill That Changed the Tide

On 20–21 December 2024, a spill occurred at the maritime terminal of Peru’s Talara Refinery during pre-shipment operations. The release of crude oil quickly spread along at least 10 km of coastline, contaminating beaches important for surfing, fishing and recreation. (Wikipedia)

 

Marine life, from crabs and small fish to birds along the shore, was seen coated in oil. (El Oriente) This incident was neither an isolated anomaly nor a minor industrial hiccup. It revealed institutional weaknesses, vulnerabilities in coastal infrastructure, and the profound ecological risks faced by a region that depends on both the ocean and tourism.

 

Seven months later, in July 2025, another spill from an inactive well added to the sense of alarm, raising questions about prevention, oversight and accountability.

 

Surf, Culture and Coastal Livelihoods

Lobitos is home to multiple surf breaks—including Lobitos Point, El Hueco and Piscinas—that have attracted surfers from Australia, the United States and Brazil seeking high-quality left-hand waves. (Surf Atlas) The Pacific swells that break on these reefs are part of what makes Lobitos a destination with global appeal: fast left rides, open faces and winds that can kick up consistent barrels suitable for intermediate and advanced surfers alike. (Surf Atlas)

 

Tourism, fishing and hospitality have become key to the local economy, yet the oil infrastructure that once powered the region’s industrial past remains visible—and risky—alongside these recreational treasures.

 

A Year of Waves, Weather and Worry

In the months following the spill, Lobitos and its neighboring districts have faced not only the aftermath of petroleum contamination but also the natural extremes that define the Pacific coastline. Powerful swell events and anomalous wave patterns have tested coastal defenses, disrupted fishing and tourism, and complicated cleanup efforts.

 

To surfers and ocean lovers, these waves are a draw. To communities trying to rebuild after environmental stress, they are a reminder that coastlines are dynamic, sensitive and easily altered by human impact.

 

Putting Lobitos in Global Perspective

When juxtaposed with the world’s largest oil disasters, the Lobitos event may seem small by volume. For example:

• The Deepwater Horizon spill (2010) in the Gulf of Mexico released an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil, making it the largest marine spill in history and deeply affecting ecosystems and coastal economies across a vast region. (Wikipedia)
• The Exxon Valdez spill (1989) released over 10 million gallons (about 38,000 m³) into Alaska’s Prince William Sound and contaminated 1,300 miles of shoreline with oil still detectable decades later. (Wikipedia)
• The Ixtoc I spill (1979) in the Gulf of Mexico lasted nearly a year, discharging millions of barrels and affecting hundreds of kilometers of coastline. (Wikipedia)

Compared to these giants, Lobitos’ spill may occupy a smaller footprint, but impact is not only measured in volume. Local ecosystems and economies can be devastated by smaller releases when they intersect with vulnerable coastal communities, recreational zones and vital fishing grounds.

 

Lobitos at the Crossroads

Surfing culture and environmental stewardship are deeply entwined. The ocean is not merely a playground for boards and riders—it is a living system that sustains communities, wildlife and coastal traditions.

 

For surfers in the U.S., Australia and Brazil, Lobitos is not just a dot on a map: it is part of a global network of waves that connect oceans and cultures. What happens there matters not just to Peru but to anyone who loves the sea and seeks to protect it.

 

A Call to Action

A year after the spill, Lobitos stands as both a memory and a warning. The region’s natural beauty and surf heritage contrast sharply with the realities of energy infrastructure and environmental risk.

 

Protecting this coastline requires more than cleanup after the fact—it requires proactive governance, stronger safeguards for ecosystems, and global solidarity from citizens and visitors who value the ocean as a shared resource.

 

By remembering what happened here, surfers and coastal communities worldwide can push for better stewardship of the seas on which they depend.