Crisis Communication- Jeddah Flood
Crisis Communication:
Jeddah Flood
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Crisis Communication:
Jeddah Flood
The following article presents a blog on crisis communication management. Accordingly, it will be a combination of what has been taught in the coursework, as well as, real life events in the society today. The main purpose of the blog is to identify some of the common crises that have occurred in society, as well as, the different responses that have been embraced for these crises. Before jumping on to the issue at hand, it is my responsibility to help you, the readers, understand the meaning and importance of some of the concepts to be presented in the blog. Firstly, the term crisis defines an unpredictable event that threatens the wellbeing of a particular society. Crises may impact performance in society, and in turn generate numerous negative outcomes for those involved. Crisis communication, on the other hand, is the process through which a message is passed concerning a particular crisis that is of interest. It allows the prevention of the negative consequences of crises by encouraging prevention, preparation, response and revision of the crisis. Because it is normal for things to unexpectedly occur, there is a need for the acknowledgement of these crises and the methods through which they can be dealt with.
Today’s topic is centered on the Jeddah Flood that has been a common occurrence in Saudi Arabia for the last few years. Year after year, this flood has climbed the lives of many Saudi nationals, with the combined death tolls reaching up to thousands. What is interesting about this flood is that it continually devastates one of the world’s richest countries, and cosmopolitan countries in the world. With such a description, one would expect that the state would have established a proper crisis management strategy to prevent the occurrence of the flood. Characteristically, government officials have embraced the blame gamein defense of their poor crisis response and communication activities. They constantly go into a state of denial then followed by blaming the victims for their lack of adherence to the rules regarding the response procedure in the event of a flood in the area. All government initiatives such as the formation of committees for the establishment of apposite response procedures and the use of contractors for the reconstruction of the city to prevent the negative consequences of the floods have been a total failure, thus illustrating an underlying problem in the state’s ability to manage crises. For that reason, the flood keeps occurring every year, with the same disastrous effects preventing the state from growth and development.
Having identified the Jeddah flood as a crisis with the potential for reoccurrence, the next articles will present reflections on people’s reactions towards the crisis of the Jeddah flood. I will discuss some of the lessons learnt from the Jeddah flood, as a way of identifying the successes and failures of the crisis response. Because the Jeddah flood is likely to occur again, I believe that it identifying some of the mistakes that were made during this response will be the next step towards the prevention of another similar crisis. The subsequent articles will act as learning tools for readers on the different ways that organizations and professionals communicate messages in the events of crises.
