Page 26 - Crisis Communication Practical PR Strategies

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1 No thrillers, but

hard reality

Crisis in all its forms

Peter Frans Anthonissen (Belgium)

Introduction

Crises have always been with us. They take companies and organiza-
tions by surprise, and they take on a host of forms. If we relive and
review a series of noteworthy crises, we are able to draw up a list of
general rules to act by. That arsenal of principles must be followed
absolutely if – once you’ve been confronted with a crisis – you want to
stand a real chance of surviving.
Unfortunately, we have an embarrassment of riches when it comes
to examples of crises. The world has been hit by a remarkable number
of crisis situations over the past few years. The tsunami that issued an
unmistakable wake-up call to the world on 26 December 2004, for
example. That enormous tidal wave, originating close to the island of
Sumatra, claimed approximately 225,000 victims. The northern point
of Sumatra was particularly hard hit, with 60 per cent of the city of
Banda Aceh being destroyed by the tsunami, killing more than
200,000 people in that city alone.
Hurricane Wilma in October 2005 destroyed large sections of
Mexico and Cuba, killed 62 people and caused more than r20 million
in damage. In August of the same year, Hurricane Katrina, which
ravaged the city of New Orleans and large portions of the state of
Louisiana, killed more than 1,600 people. Hurricane Rita, one month
later, raged over Louisiana, leaving approximately 120 people dead.
The Norwegian oil tanker Tricolour, which collided with a container
ship near the coast of France in December 2002, dumped approxi-
mately 178,000 litres of heavy oil into the ocean.