Editorial

Citation

Wilson, H.C. (2010), "Editorial", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 19 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.2010.07319eae.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Disaster Prevention and Management, Volume 19, Issue 5

As I come towards the end of my tenure as editor of this esteemed journal I have been reflecting on all of the disastrous occurrences that have occurred over the past 20 years, reviewing what has, or should have, been learned. I have come to the conclusion that we, as a species, we do not learn very fast. I will give some examples from recent events to illustrate the point.

Heavy rain in mountainous regions produce flooding events in the plains below – fact – water flows from high ground to low ground – and never uphill. Take for example the recent flooding in Pakistan – why did they not move the people out of the way as the floodwater progressed down the river. What we can say is that is not a unique event – it happens every time – it rains in the mountains and the water flows, sometime with increasing speed, down towards the flood plains. Why do we insist on letting people build their homes in floodplains? – the very name “floodplains” describes accurately the environmental occurrences that happens to these areas, i.e. they flood. This is not just a problem of the under-developed nations, but is prevalent in developed nations such as my beloved UK where the argument for such building is that it is cheaper, and more convenient for those who will live there with flatter roads, etc. Certainly, I can see the rationale for such an argument, but it flies out of the window when the flooding, sometimes on an annual basis, destroys possessions and in certain instances there is a loss of life. The resultant action is then to build flood protection barriers in the area at an increased cost compared to building them in at the housing development planning stage.

Human beings have had a love affair with oil since its large scale extraction process made it a cheap source of power, which has increased the demand forcing the oil exploration and extraction companies to search in more remote and more difficult areas of the planet. When I was studying health and safety the question I was taught to ask was “What if?” and if I could not give a satisfactory reply, then the process was considered as highly dangerous and should be avoided wherever possible. Did anyone ask “What if?” when drilling for oil one mile below the surface of the ocean? This is an area where you cannot put a team of divers down to solve the problem or shut off a leaking valve, and whilst I admire the technology, you have to ask that question. What should not be allowed is the reply of “we will deal with that if, and when, it happens,” the problems encountered by BP were foreseeable and should have been prepared for, if only as a paper exercise. As you will see in the News section of this edition, errors that were made during the Exxon Valdez spillage were made again in the Gulf clean-up. One has to ask “Why?”!

Next I would like to look at the public response to the recent volcanic ash cloud arising from the eruption in Iceland. Aircraft can be susceptible to ingress of volcanic ash into the engines. The ash melts due to heat of the engine and then solidifies as it passes through causing catastrophic failure of the engines. There have been several major aircraft losses, with loss of lives of crew and passengers, over the past 20 years, so I appreciated the authorities bold step to close the flight paths. What I did not expect was the reaction of the travelling public who were quite prepared to fly despite the high level of risk. I was amazed at the hassle that airport staff were subjected to by the potential passengers even after being given the correct information about the high level of risk. It appeared that not disrupting their travel plans was more important than the potential loss of their, and other passengers, lives, and also those of the aircraft crew.

In conclusion, we, humans, have a lot to learn about remembering the events of the past and how to put into practice the lessons we have learned. We need to educate the public to make them realise that disaster prevention and management is not just a function solely of the experts and politicians, but they, the public, have a very important role to play as well. They have to learn that they need to be risk adverse and avoid hazardous situations whereever possible. We have developed a blame culture that far exceeds what is necessary or acceptable. We have to look at our lives and ask whether or not our actions and behaviour patterns have contributed to the disaster or have increased the intensity of the effects of the event.

So, are we, as human beings, part of the problem, or part of the solution?

H.C. Wilson