Page 146 - Crisis Communication Practical PR Strategies

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Negative Press and How to Deal with It 127
Case study

The picture beside the zoom lens or how to reduce
the impact on the image abroad of flooding in a
country – damage control in the Low Countries
Willem Buitelaar (The Netherlands)

It happened in January 1995. Due to torrential rain in the north
of France and in Germany, The Netherlands risked – and partly
experienced – a significant flood. During late January and the
early days of February an important part of the country risked
being covered with water and other parts were inundated.
Levees near the rivers Maas and Rhine risked collapse. Houses
and commercial buildings were up to their roofs in water. More
than 250,000 people had to move temporarily to safer areas
and 10,000 livestock had to be evacuated to farms in dry parts
of the country.
The national government rapidly installed an emergency
team, which controlled the areas and the rise of the water. It took
measures for a safe evacuation and for controlling the affected
areas with empty houses, farms and enterprises. It was a huge
operation that turned out well. Ultimately, the levees along the
Maas and the Rhine were strong enough to hold back the water
and did not collapse. However, in the province of Limburg, the
area of the river Ijssel and in the greenhouse district of the
Westland, the water did flood residential areas, market gardens
and industrial zones. Fire departments from all over the country,
the army and private companies did their utmost and worked
hard during the months after the floods to pump away the water.
The power of the zoom lens
At the time, the national and international media paid a lot of
attention to the situation. Cameras zoomed in, reporters inter-
viewed mayors, farmers and residents of the affected areas, and
talked to farmers looking after the evacuated livestock. The
media came from all over the globe: from the neighbouring
countries of Belgium, Germany and the UK, from the United
States, Canada and even Japan. Newspapers, television and
radio stations fed by their local correspondents and special
camera and radio crews, flown to The Netherlands for the occa-
sion, brought the news about the Dutch floods into the living
rooms of many millions of households, from Stockholm to Cape