National Commission for Risk Prevention and Emergency Response (CNE)
and CANARA signed a new agreement Costa Rican Radio:
The Official Medium in Times of Emergency

As Part of the current Institutional Communication Plan, a new agreement was signed in Costa Rica between the National Commission for Risk Prevention and Emergency Response (CNE) and the National Chamber of Radio Stations in order to create, along with the 9-1-1 emergency system, a National Preventive Radio System, which will provide authorities with a highly credible medium with broad coverage for the immediate transmission of official information bulletins regarding emergencies, disasters, or prevention-related issues.

In an agreement signed in March of this year, the National Chamber of Radio Stations (CANARA by its Spanish acronym) agreed to provide the National Commission for Risk Prevention and Emergency Response (CNE), and the Costa Rican population at large, with a national radio platform as a means for guiding actions during emergencies and disasters.

The agreement, titled “Broadcast System for Emergency Prevention and Response”, consists of simultaneously linking all radio stations to broadcast official messages from the CNE during emergencies, such as warnings issued in case of an earthquake.

According to Daniel Gallardo, head of the CNE, Costa Rica is at the forefront regarding these initiatives, especially because the public and private sectors have joined efforts not only to keep the population informed, but also to use this medium to educate people and reduce existing risks within the national territory.

In 2005 alone, the CNE, jointly with the other institutions that make up the System, responded to nearly 75 major emergencies, mostly related to flooding.

Javier Castro, president of CANARA, stated that despite the latest advances in technology and information, radio continues to be a vital means of communication for those who are most exposed to disaster risks. For this reason, CANARA has provided the country and the CNE authorities with a highly credible medium with broad coverage for the immediate transmission of official information bulletins regarding emergencies, disasters, or prevention-related issues.

There is another partner involved in this project: the 9-1-1 emergency system, which offers a system called “interactive voice” to simultaneously link all radio stations so that they can broadcast live official messages via telephone.

Forty radio stations will participate in the first phase of the project, ten of which have national coverage, seventeen have regional coverage, and thirteen are part of the Cultural Broadcasting Network.

Because of its location and its geographic and geologic conditions, Costa Rica is exposed to natural destructive events such as earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, and floods, which frequently cause disturbances among the population, and serious socioeconomic and environmental damage.

For further information, please contact:
Rebeca Madrigal
Head of Institutional Communication
CNE-Costa Rica
rmadrigal@cne.go.cr