Coping with disaster: perception vs reality
The first Queensland floods, associated with Cyclone Tasha, swept down river valleys near Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, on 27th December 2010, when this picture was taken. Photo: Emma Cabot
Just one day later the same land was dry again; but, since this picture was taken, far worse flooding has hit the region around Toowomba once again, and reached the Queensland state capital of Brisbane, with events in both cities making front page headlines and leading stories on news bulletins around the world. Photo: Emma Cabot
The recent inland flash floods that have hit the Australian state of Queensland during the 2010/11 cyclone seasonhave emphasised the scale of the inundation to have affected ‘an area larger than France and Germany combined’.
Even the first floods immediately after Christmas (pictured above) were bad enough to be described by Queensland state Treasurer Andrew Fraser as a “disaster of biblical proportions”.
Last week, first Toowoomba, the state capital of Brisbane, and many other communities in the centre and south east of the state have been hit by further major flooding events almost surpassing landmark 1974 floods.
The death toll has already reached 20; but many more are still missing, so the final toll is expected to rise futher.
Queensland Flood Disaster appeal
The Queensland Government has launched an appeal to help people affected by the central and south east Queensland floods. With many communities devastated and some families losing everything, everyone can help make a difference by donating to the official Flood Relief Appeal
SCAMwatch is warning consumers to thoroughly check the legitimacy of charities when donating to help flood victims in Queensland. I was impressed to find information about the SCAMwatch service in Australia, and its work to help prevent unscrupulous fraudsters from cashing in when they see an opportunity to rip people off, especially in such unfortunate circumstances. Other countries take note!
Bringing reality home
There are several aspects to the story of disaster that I want to explore; but firstly I have to declare a personal interest, because we have family in the area, so I’ve obtained permission to use some of their photos, and can quote from personal testimony. I’ll be travelling to Queensland myself later in the year, so although I’ll be able to see the reality for myself in due course, I’m talking now about my perceptions of the situation, as seen from afar.
Reading about the unfolding situation, first in increasingly worrying emails from relations, and then seeing the reality in their photos and watching newsreel videos in the media, has helped bring the full horror of natural disaster into our living rooms and onto computer screens far way, my own included.
As I worked on the draft of this post, I’ve found myself re- writing it almost daily over several weeks as the story unfolded. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
As a family we’ve watched ghastly footage of people stranded on car and house roofs; and seen live action of cars, boats, furniture and trees being tossed about and crushed in raging flood water like mere toys. We’ve watched desperate and dramatic rescues, and heart rending interviews with people who’ve lost everything, and seen horrific sights; but at least are alive.
Not everyone has been so lucky. One can only imagine the reality and horror of actually being there and experiencing it in person. Only this morning we heard from some relations that ‘it’s been horrible’, that they were ‘intact’; but that ‘that is a lot more than can be said for lots of other poor people, and lots and lots of animals of all kinds, wild, commercial and domestic.’
Suffering in such circumstances extends far beyond human beings, something that this disaster has really brought home to me personally. What’s really impressed me and everyone I know is the amazing resiliance and stoicism shown by the people of Queensland in coping with their exceptional recent circumstances.
How news editors interpret disaster
While it’s the job of news editors to make sure the news stories they cover provide accurate and reliable information to accompany arresting images that make people sit up and take notice, it’s quite another matter when you consider what individuals and business people think about being the focus of high profile international media coverage that has an immediate impact on their life or livelihood.
It’s a commonly used device by the media to explain the scale of a disaster with the aid of an analogy, illustrating the size by comparing it to an equivalent more familiar to the audience. In the case of Queensland flooding the BBC in the UK talked about ‘an area the size of France and Germany combined’ being affected.
While this may be useful for the authorities to help people understand the scale, it can potentially be misleading because, certainly in the case of flooding, the worst damage is rarely evenly spread over a landscape. In Queensland this was the case. So in disaster situations, authorities might take more care over selecting apparently convenient soundbites about broadscale damage. With hindsight exaggeration can prove to be particularly unwise, especially when effects are localised, and many areas escape unscathed.
From aerial views I’ve seen, although the worst of the Queensland flooding in the south east of the state was confined to river valleys, an additional problem was that the flow resulting from extremely heavy rainfall brought additional hazards by carrying many objects not secured in advance down intervening slopes from higher ground in uncontrollable torrents, that took the quickest route downhill irrespective of what was in their path, and areas previously thought safe suffered significant damage. See aerial views of Brisbane at the height of the flooding contrasted with the same view before the floods struck.
I fear that the general impression that the majority of television viewers took away from recent news coverage in the UK though, is that the entire state of Queensland was similarly affected to the places shown on screen. This is because the majority of people haven’t made a study of hydrology, and don’t have a detailed knowledge of the geography of places on the other side of the world from the UK, such Queensland, Australia.
The effects of natural disaster on tourism
There’s no denying that tourism in Queensland has taken a severe battering this year, and I’m sure that it will take a very long time indeed for the worst affected places, and people, to recover, especially in places like Rockhampton, Ipswich, and Grantham, as well as in Toowoomba and Brisbane.
However it’s pleasing to see the upbeat approach on the home page of the official Queensland tourism website, which acknowledges the flooding with links to up to date factual information , but doesn’t make a huge issue of it.
There’s a lot at stake for the Queensland tourism industry which is an important contributor to the state economy. Read more about the effects of 2010/11 flooding events on tourism in Queensland.
With many people planning holidays in Queensland looking at dates a long time in advance, it’s important to present a positive face to the outside world. I like the idea that, in a new initiative, there are now live webcams on the official Cairns tourism website, in the almost unaffected tropical north of the state. Just bear in mind the time difference when tuning in, as they don’t all work when it’s dark!
Even in adversity, it’s important to try and look on the brighter side of things. Now lots more people in the world have heard about Queensland, perhaps for the first time(even if for the wrong reasons), or at least have been reminded about it: their curiosity may have been piqued. There really is a window of opportunity available for proactive PRs, to start beavering away to change back any negative perceptions, and remind people about the usually more favourable weather that can be expected in ‘the sunshine state’ of Australia at other times of year.
One of my favourite media relations tips is to never be afraid to tell the truth; but also to keep in mind this quote from Oscar Wilde, about the importance being selective:
‘the pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple’
Disaster recovery for accommodation providers
I have no wish to re-invent the wheel. In a recent article on the Hospitality Trends website about recovery from floods, fire and earthquake, Ken Burgin provides a range of practical tips about disaster recovery and contingency planning.. I dont want to sound trite in the context of Queensland floods, but it provides food for thought, perhaps!
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