Surface Ripples

Preparing for Disaster

The tragic losses in the aftermath of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, along with victim reports from other natural disasters, highlight one problem very clearly: government response to disasters is slow.

Go on any “prepper” website and one of the things they’ll tell you is not to expect any kind of relief for at least two weeks. Allowing for difficulties posed by not knowing where relief is needed, what relief is needed or difficulty in accessing remote areas where relief is needed, one might need to add more time.

Expecting “the government” to respond swiftly is, quite frankly, unrealistic.  Put yourself in their shoes: you hear that there is an earthquake, flood, or other natural disaster in a particular area. What is the information you need?  Who can get it to you and how?  If phone lines are out, there will be no direct means of communication, except for sending an aircraft relying on the “mark one human eyeball” to assess the situation.

Added to this, weather conditions may make matters worse, preventing air rescuers from getting through or flooding vital roads. In Syria, we hear tragic tales of people with no shelter, out in the cold, because towns and villages have been all but destroyed. In this case, an additional handicap seems to have been government reluctance to allow international aid in.

When I was a small child in the 60s, I lived in Pakistan, where my parents were posted. At the time, civil riots and commotions were common and we were advised that we should keep a two-week supply of food, drink and the means to prepare it. This served my parents well following the 1986 hurricane that devastated the South of England. My parents lived in a remote part of the countryside, surrounded by trees. Three fell across their driveway, cutting off electricity and phone. A local farmer came with power saws and tractors and was able to clear away the trees, giving them access once more from the house to the road. Even luckier, I had borrowed my father’s car to stay with friends elsewhere that night and so we had one vehicle on the “right side” of the trees until they were cleared. With my parents’ two-week supply of food, the means to cook it and our own transport, we managed. 10 days later, electricity and phone had been restored (broadband internet didn’t exist in those days!)

The solution, unfortunately, is a high degree of self-reliance. The more remote a location, the longer it may be before aid in any significant amount arrives. One is therefore left with the task of “stockpiling” the essentials that will enable one to survive for at least two weeks. Just to add to the complexity of the situation, these stockpiles must be stored. What happens if that storage is compromised or destroyed by the natural disaster?

In business, whilst some of us may not run the risk of our business being swept away by floods or burnt to the ground by wildfires, we still need to have a plan in the event that things go wrong. Each business can assess for itself where the highest risks are. I remember discussing with one client what they would do in the event of heavy snow preventing them from getting to their place of work. Luckily, after that conversation, they all had a meeting and worked out for themselves what they could, would and should do.

What are the likely scenarios for your business, your staff, and your family? Are they likely to be the same or different? How well prepared are you (even at the most basic level) to carry on?

I’ve spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With a wealth of international experience in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management.  I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.  For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.

Labels: Crisis Management, Leadership, Risk, Strategy

posted by William Martin @ 22:01