When I landed in Jeddah after an 18-hour flight from Los Angeles via Frankfurt, Germany, I was following the recent tornado disasters all across the United States (Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia. I was reminded that we as a nation are not perfect, and we still have much to learn in disaster response. A Saudi national asked me why we couldn’t protect our people from tornadoes, and I mentioned the science of predicting tornadoes was not perfect, especially at night. Getting people to react properly to the watches and warnings is a constant challenge, something every worldwide community faces. The United States is seen by other nations as a people who are perceived to know much about disasters. We may know a lot; but we also have a lot to learn. 

With my last trip, it was not the best time to be in the Middle East. On day two, U.S. Navy Seal forces killed Osama Bin-Laden. At 5 a.m., my phone and E-mail were ringing with warnings about personal safety and keeping a low profile. There were already extreme security precautions at my hotel: automotive (vehicle) IED barriers, no parking in the hotel entrances (no drop off), and bomb and metal detectors at the entrances. I knew I had to be careful. I was.

Societal Norms Affect Emergency Preparedness

I was able to see firsthand how culture impacts disaster planning, response and recovery. That is something we tend to forget or ignore in the United States. Sociology and culture should be part of the mandatory training we receive in the classroom. If only we had a standardized classroom, as well as a probationary and career certification process like the police officer or firefighter academies. Unfortunately emergency managers don’t.

Over the past week, I helped guide my Saudi hosts into developing a new emergency management program. The new emergency management office for the King Abdulaziz University (KAU) system would be a vice-presidential position on campus, in an independent structure (program director), reporting to the president of the university. I also outlined and made recommendations on how many emergency management staff
should be hired to support training, coordination and planning efforts throughout the entire university system. I also recommended business continuity specialists be brought in to develop business continuity plans (BCP), continuity of operations plans (COOP) and recovery plans for the entire university system.

The campus security and other affiliated programs would all be aligned side-by-side the new program. A dedicated emergency operations center (EOC) will be built, and the EM office will be housed in the EOC facility. Existing systems would be integrated into the new emergency center to establish situational awareness in future crises.

Saudis Seem to Be Doing It Right

This new structure ensures the emergency management position has the resources, accountability, authority and oversight needed to manage the campus and system resources, planning and organization. I was very impressed with this endeavor. The planning team at KAU took their roles seriously and had the luxury of not having to deal with any significant economic challenges, as there are basically no limits to the funding and support that will be provided to this program. Think about that; it made my mind wander at times with the myriad of possibilities that existed.

The emergency plans are taking shape. I developed an emergency plan crosswalk for the university, and we went through it line-by-line. From this plan, a departmental emergency plan will be established to guide the campus departments through their emergency plans, policies and procedures.

How special it was for me personally to participate in something very rare. It was an honor to be asked if I could design what I would consider to be a “perfect” or “near-perfect” emergency management organization and structure, from the ground up. How would you do it?  There is no a perfect answer in this.

Over my next several blogs I will examine some of the challenges we face in managing emergency management programs in higher education and try to answer how emergency management programs should be structured at our university campuses. I will also try to answer the question, if we could build the perfect program, what would it look like? How should culture and geography play a role in program development?

It is the decisions we make that champion or hinder our planning efforts; it is simply about choice. From here it just reinforces that we in the world all face the same or similar challenges, no matter where we choose to live or work. 

Related Articles:

• Why You Should Care About NIMS and NFPA Standards
• Is Your Campus Following NFPA 1600?
• What To Do When Severe Storms Strike
• Disaster Response Done Right

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