I was reading about the people still missing following the Maui fires, and some questions came to me. This would apply to many large natural disasters, such as previous wildfires in California, hurricanes, etc.
How do authorities compile lists of people who are missing? Do they consult census or taxpayer lists? Hotel registers? Just strikes me as quite a complicated process. As I read it, estimates vary from 700-1200 still missing. What do you think the best method would be?
How aggressively ought aythorities publish lists of missing? I read that Hawaii officials are reluctant to publish lists of missing, becauuse they may include people who are dead, and they do not want to publish before contacting next of kin. This strikes me as a curious concern - especially as more time passes. And it limits the possibility of people helping narrow down the list.
If you had escaped a disaster, how readily would you make your presence known? Not blaming any victim, just trying to get my head aroud this. If I were un-housed due to a disaster and living with friends/family, at some point I suspect it would cross my mind to let SOMEONE know I was alive and well. Whether I was contacting my bank/credit cards, seeking aid, etc. It impresses me many of these missing folk live more “marginal” existences.
I don’t know about taxpayer records, but they can’t use Census information, because Census returns have to kept confidential (for 70 years after collection, by which time it’s obviously valueless for these purposes) I’d guess the list of missing comes from people reporting that their loved ones are unaccounted for. “My brother Bob lived in Lahaina and now I can’t find him” Some people don’t have loved ones, so they don’t get counted as missing.
I would try to contact the authorities and let them know I am okay too, but that’s easy for me to say having never been in such a situation.
The USPS might have some idea of who lives at an address. And those commercial address lookup databases have some idea of who lives at a given address.
I would expect that the primary source of missing lists are sourced from family and friends that haven’t seen or heard from these individuals and they are reported.
I seem to remember that there were a few people that were initially listed as 9/11 victims but were located years later, simply because some people used the event to just disappear and reinvent themselves elsewhere.
Some may be wounded/unconscious but in safety and their name unknown to those around them.
Some may be isolated without mean of contact ( stranded on an island, out of phone range, without power,…)
Some may be incapable of saying their name (young children, old person, PTSD,…)
And some are alive but buried under a house.
Generally “missing” is for all that are not accounted for, and they quickly turn to either KIA or safe.
That’s my guess, too, and I’ll bet that, even in the event of disaster, authorities will wait a couple of days before adding the name to the official list of missing persons.
About question 2, just because authorities say someone is still missing doesn’t mean they’re saying that person is dead. So I think it would be a good thing, insofar as expediting the process of determining whether or not concern is warranted. In other words, the more widely known someone’s absence is, the more quickly the situation may be resolved.
Question 3: I’d let family/friends/authorities know as soon as possible.
Years ago I was at Presque Isle Beach in Erie with a friend who was arranging music for an upcoming festival. A town councilman took us up into a viewing tower so we could look out at the ice (it was winter). I saw someone way out on the ice, probably ice-fishing, who then disappeared suddenly.
I told the people I was with what I saw. We hemmed and hawed about it. The guy was way out, there was blowing snow, and I probably did not witness what I thought at first. We exited the tower and went out for lunch.
When we went back to the beach later to get my car, there were police, fire, and rescue vehicles. Turns out someone else had seen the disappearing fisherman. I felt horrible for not believing my own eyes earlier.
We returned home to Pittsburgh. I searched online to see if they’d found the fisherman’s body. Turns out he was fine. He had fallen through the ice, but he pulled himself out and went home to warm up. He saw the search & rescue workers on TV news and eventually realized they were looking for him. He called the police and let them know he was fine.
Thanks, all. I read a few more articles on-line. Here’s a decent discussion.. It isn’t entirely clear that there is a single “official” list. I believe some local officials are saying 850 missing, but other sources saying 1000-1100. I’m sure it is extremely challenging.
The article in my paper said something like local officials did not want to publish the list of missing, because it MIGHT include people who died, but that officials have not notified their friends/family. That seemed like an odd concern to me. I’m not sure I understand why someone would be upset if their loved one was on a list as “missing”, but they were later told they had died. Especialy weighed agaist the interest of making the missing list as accurate as possible.
The newspaper article also described a crowdsourced list - which migh be more creative and accurate.
I guess a lot of people are listed as tourists. Then they fly from Maui, but are reported as missing. If I were in that situation, I can imagine it might not cross my mind to phone/email someone to say “I’m fine!”
I’ve probably read too much pulp fiction, but, perhaps, another reason is that such a list could be exploited by someone wanting to assume a new identity or fake their own death.
Quite frankly, many if not most of the “missing” are, in fact, dead. I think we all realize that, so that line of reasoning doesn’t make sense to me. If I’m a family member, I need to see the name of my loved one on the Missing List, or I’m automatically going to assume the worst if I haven’t heard from them. Also, John Doe may be out of town for vacation or a business trip. If he sees his name on the Missing List, he can contact family members and the authorities so they can remove his name from that list.