Introduction
Disaster is anything that can cause negative impacts on people, society, and the whole community when it occurs. A crisis can take two major forms, which are natural or human-made. It is important to recognize the crisis and the measures that can be taken to handle them. Based on the emergency planner, writes a report to the organization’s senior managers to inform them about the impacts that the disaster has on people, infrastructure, environment, and reputation of the organization (Quiroz-Palma, del Carmen Penadés and Núñez 2019, 567). The other reason for writing the report is to inform the organization about its role in any given disaster. The following is a disaster management plan that will be discussing some of the important considerations in crisis management.
Aims and Objectives
There are several targets and objectives that this report will achieve. The first one is to inform the senior management about the impacts that a disaster may have on the general society. The report aims to analyze important organizations and their roles in disaster management. Lastly, the report is to analyze the plans that were used in resolving the incidence. Such objectives would be achieved by assessing the relevant reports from the airport emergency plan and plans used in handling the disaster.
Description of the Disaster
A passenger aircraft was involved in a crash at Hamad International Airport (HIA). The aircraft was carrying a total of 198 passengers on board, and it was close to the Terminal Building, Concourse B (Cantos no date). When it was nearing the sky bridge, the front tires disintegrated and resulted in the aircraft’s nose dropping and impacting the ground. Furthermore, the wings of the aircraft were damaged, leading to massive fuel spillage.
An aircraft incidence can have wide-scale impacts depending on the place that such has occurred. In this particular incident, the aircraft was carrying a total of 198 passengers, and at the same time, others were around waiting to board other flights. When caution is not taken to address such an issue, it will be riskier for other individuals who have come to board other similar flights from the same company. Furthermore, it is a short-term disaster because of its human-made nature.
Impacts on People
The disaster will profoundly impact people whereby would result in the loss of lives. When the disaster has occurred, it would cost the lives of people inside the plane and the surrounding individuals. In most cases, plane crashes are among the worst forms of accidents which may happen within an environment surrounded by people. The other impact is that the plane crash would lead to mental problems, especially for the victims who survived the incident. Any form of incidence resulting from accidents and deaths of individuals would cause psychological problems to the survivors (Butler et al. 2020, 4). Anytime they remember the incident and whatever happened. It would also take them a lot of time to forget about such incidences. When they will remember what happened, it will affect them mentally making it hard for them to lead a normal life.
The victims of the airplane crash are needed by many people as they are parents and relatives to many. The psychological impacts would be felt by those people who are even not directly involved in the incidences. It increases depression because the family members would lose people who are supportive, increasing the life burden (Butler et al. 2020, 4). Similarly, those parents who succumb to the crush will leave behind small families and children, who will later lack financial support and end up doing what they are doing. When they are out, they will be more likely to consume drugs and increase the level of crimes as they have nothing left in their lives. The impacts of the incidence on people should, therefore, be understood from a wider perspective. It indicates that individuals are affected directly or indirectly. This causes long-lasting impacts on people because most of them will never board an airplane again. Such emotional change requires therapy to be done for the individuals.
Another impact that the crash would likely cause people is the long-lasting physical injuries. Aviation accidents will often cause catastrophes where they will be required to incur high costs in the process of treatment. Furthermore, the victims will spend in hospitals a long time looking for medical attention and healing from the injuries they sustained in the incident. It will affect their normal life, making it difficult for them to get back to their previous financial status. It causes many financial hardships, leaving the suffering more, as the prolonged periods in the hospitals will result in them losing their jobs.
Impacts on Infrastructure
The incident of the airplane crash will have negative impacts on the infrastructure of Hamad International Airport. During the incident, the plane was cabbing on the pinafore close to the Terminal Building, Courtyard B. also, the plane crashed, leading to damages. Such are some of the important infrastructures that Hamad International Airports owns to make sure that it is attaining its objectives. The infrastructure was destroyed, which indicates that the company will have to incur additional costs of reconstruction and even replacing the same airplane (Cabinet Office 2011, 1). Infrastructure in the aviation industry is always a capital-intensive investment, indicating that a company has to incur many costs.
The crash of the plane also destroyed the sky bridge that is used by the planes when taxiing. This is one of the most dangerous structures as its impacts extended to many people in the surrounding. The organization’s destroyed infrastructure reduced its level of operations because it cannot work without the availability of such important amenities (Cabinet Office 2010, 1). Infrastructure assists the business organizations in carrying out their intended daily operations in the company. Any absence or inadequate infrastructure will mean that the company will limit its operations and risks, closing down if mitigation efforts are not in place. Hence, for a continued unknown period, Hamad International Airport will cease its operations, waiting for a management’s responsive action (National Infrastructure Security Information Centre 2004, 8). The lack of important infrastructure that will enhance the operations of the company will hinder its general activities. Therefore, the senior management should put the issue of infrastructure into consideration and be ready to have some capital budget to handle the given situation.
Impacts on the Environment
The crash of the airplane also had an impact on the environment. The major impact on the environment was oil spills, which came from the damaged aircraft wings. Spillage is one of the serious impacts that affect the general environment. When the water flows, oil spills will cause negative impacts on the animals that live in the water. They will hinder oxygen supply, a condition that will suffocate most of them to death. Furthermore, the oil spills will degrade the surrounding environment. Oil is one of the substances that are highly combustible, meaning that it catches fire so easily. Therefore, such will negatively impact the whole environment.
The combustion that will be eliminated from the burning fuel and other inorganic materials will have adverse impacts on the plants and animals. It will be contributing to air pollution, which is extremely dangerous for the survival of people and plants within their environment. When the burning substances are released into the environment, there would be high chances of leading to acid rain and possible causes of global warming. The increased environmental pollution will increase the company’s costs when trying to achieve its corporate social responsibilities.
One of the corporate social responsibilities of a company is minimizing the pollution rate. This is to ensure that the company is enhancing the safety of society. But through the impacts that such incidence has caused on the environment, it would be difficult for the company to accomplish its sustainable goals. The oil spills will affect the plants and make the environment dirty and not attractive. From this particular explanation, the company will have to incur many costs to ensure that it complies with environmental sustainability. Furthermore, more costs will be incurred in such a process, meaning that the company’s revenue will be negatively affected.
Impacts on the Reputation
A company’s reputation is determined by how well it offers satisfactory services to its clients. The existing customers are always loyal to the organization and will be willing to come back again. The airplane crash completely affected the reputation of the organization. The existing customers started losing faith in the services that the company provided (Polater 2018, 369). When the incident occurred, most of the customers were in the building waiting to board other flights. When they saw the incident happening, their trust and faith in the company’s services were affected negatively.
Customers can only establish faith in the organization when it is delivering quality and timely services to them. Therefore, when the incident happened, inhibits the new customers from getting the services of the company. The senior management has to know that the ability to attract new clients is nearly impossible, hence the need to devise a plan that will help restructure its true picture to the public. When the incident happened, it is clear they believe that the company’s services are not effective from the customer’s viewpoint. Hence, they will seek alternative service providers, as in contemporary society, customers value the safety and quality of the services they get from an organization. The senior management needs to put such factors into consideration because they would determine future performance.
Impacts on the Economy
Aviation is one of the economic determinants because of the huge revenues they make. The aircraft crash is a clear indication that the economy would suffer a lot of losses. First, it is one of the industries that provide employment opportunities to people. When the company is incurring costs in constructing infrastructure and correcting other losses, it will have to lay off some of the employees who work for the organization (Polater 2018, 367). This will raise the level of unemployment in the country, hence negatively affecting economic development.
Furthermore, when the organization is not making revenues, it means that no taxes will be paid. The aviation industry is a great source of tax revenue for the government, considering the luxury services that it provides to people. Such taxes are always used to develop other sectors of the economy and improve the country. Furthermore, the taxes paid by the company employees are used to develop the sectors of the economy. When the government authorities collect fewer taxes, it is clear that the economy’s development will deteriorate. The company also plays a crucial role in developing the countries through its participation in different activities. When it is low and not making profits, it indicates that the economy will lack the company’s support.
The costs that are involved in the disaster that has been caused by aircraft are so high. One of the reinsurance companies has considered the economic losses resulting from natural and human-made in the year 2010 indicating that 218 billion were used (Cantos no date, 3). Similarly, many people died in most of the catastrophes in the same year (Cantos no date, 3). The most affected are the developed countries that have not developed well economically.
Key Organizations Involved and their Roles
Two key organizations will be involved in such a particular case. The first one is Hamad International Airport. The major role of the organization will be to establish a response to mitigate such disasters. The airport emergency plan has been developed to ensure that all the responses are coordinated with other services and the related agencies in conjunction with the state and any other relevant plans for dealing with an airport emergency (Cantos no date, 4). The company identified various challenges and devised a plan to ensure that the disaster was addressed to the fullest concern. It has encouraged partnerships in its emergency response plan to ensure that any possible disaster is addressed without any form of limitation (Cabinet Office 2010, 1). The company requires coordination, communication, and cooperation to ensure that it is maintaining the flow of people. Baggage, aircraft, cargo, and information are needed anytime when an aviation crisis occurs. Such will also help determine the degree to which the crisis has affected everyone and ensure that every victim is compensated as required.
To strengthen the emergency plan, the company has established a support center with a list of telephone numbers conducted in a crisis. When the agencies are called, they must respond following the type of emergency they are to handle (Quiroz-Palma et al. 2019, 567). The emergency department is involved in different activities to ensure that the company can handle any form of crisis. Mainly, the accident site comprises various services such as saving lives, firefighting services, and containment. The major responsibilities are to ensure that anyone involved in the crisis is traced and other accidents addressed with the fullest concern (Cantos no date, 3). The QCAA Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting Services are the major parties responsible for carrying out such services.
To enhance a quick response to such crises within the organization, it has introduced emergency facilities where external and internal emergency response agencies assemble for the smooth deployment of responding vehicles. This is a crucial point within the organization because it will help avoid any confusion that may arise. The response agencies first gather together to break down the activities when responding to a disaster. Moreover, it helps enhance efficiency within the company as the responsibilities are broken down according to the responsible agency.
The second organization associated with the particular incidence is the Qatar Red Crescent Society, one of the voluntary entities. Voluntary entities are those that aim at providing services without expecting any return. They help in providing improved services to a group of victims who have survived the incident. They will have varied roles in responding to the incidence. It would help bring the required resources to assist the community and individuals who have suffered from an incident. They will arrive at the point of incidence first and in the right position to give an immediate response to the victims. Such will include giving the victims first aid, shelter, and removal of such individuals and families from the point of incidence. They have all the necessary resources to help them deliver their intended services to the victims.
Another important role they will help in providing is mental assistance. The mental assistance role is enhanced through the voluntary communities’ goal to focus on the communities’ long-term goals. It means that it will have mental effects on people on a long-term basis when an incident has happened. The voluntary organization will organize mental advice for people and give them the required therapeutic assistance. In their activities, they have been trusted by the public due to various reasons. They have individuals who are well-trained to give support to the unique needs of the affected community. They are also considered good stewards of resources and donations. Such assist the victims’ families to have moral support and a place they can start to reduce the impacts of a certain incidence.
Voluntary organizations are well-known for providing different skills and expertise when responding to a disaster to help in the recovery efforts. There are many such organizations to enhance quick and efficient responses to the victims who have suffered from aircraft disasters. Every individual has developed skills and specialized expertise in different areas of service. It means that it is able to handle every need of the people within an incidence. They assist the survivors of the incident.
Effectiveness of Multi-Agency Working
Resolving the incidence required working with various agencies. Hamad International Airport recognizes the collaborative efforts and decided that working with other organizations would be a great step in responding to the issue. The collaborative efforts assisted in providing quick responses through the division of roles among the organizations (Tobisová et al. 2018, 146). Furthermore, there were no specific areas of conflict at the levels of command. This is because the company has a response facility, where all the response levels meet to divide duties and get the response vehicles. This enhances efficiency within the organization (Wilkinson, Cohen‐Hatton and Honey 2019, 308). The plan was to divide the response teams into various areas to resolve the disaster with the voluntary organization’s assistance (HM Government 2010, 1). They gave the required support following the legal requirements. Multi-agency is required for the effective handling of crises in the aviation industry.
Conclusion
Various lessons have been learned from this particular incidence. The first one is the importance of collaboration and dividing the duties among the departments. The division of duties saw a quick response to the incidence, hence saving many victims from severe injuries. Another lesson learned from the incident is that a disaster can cause a lot of negative impacts on people, the reputation of the company, the economy, and the environment. When an aircraft accident occurs, it causes a lot of damages that extend to the area of occurrence and the country at large. The disaster was successfully dealt with because of the involvement of various agencies and the company’s efforts.
Recommendations
It can be recommended that the company always do mechanical checks to ensure that the aircraft is in good condition. The background checks should always involve many issues, such as the weather conditions and the plane’s mechanical conditions. This will ensure that the passengers who are boarding the plane are safe and free from any form of injuries that they may incur on the way. The other recommendation is to apologize to the public for any mistake. The incident affected the reputation of the organization. It is therefore important to make sure that measures are in place to mitigate the plans. In future events, a quick plan should be implemented, which will reduce the impacts on people.
References
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