A recent power outage across Spain and Portugal threw these countries into chaos causing widespread disruption and panic. Initially thought to be a cyber-attack, this proved unfounded, with fluctuations in energy sources and inconsistency of supply later deemed to be the cause. Some expressed concern that as renewables continue to be more widely implemented as energy sources, coupled with an increase in the frequency of natural disasters, these power disruptions may become more common.
The power outage caused disruptions to transport systems with train and airline services halted, hospitals forced to use generators as backups with some operations cancelled, schools and shops closed, with mass panic buying over a short period of time. Traffic was gridlocked, trains stopped working, people were stuck in lifts and nuclear power stations were automatically shut down.
A state of emergency was declared. The outage lasted 24 hours before power was restored. The end result was significant economic cost and widespread disruption.
Crisis Management – Are You Ready?
Crisis events rarely give notice of their arrival. Organisations need to be prepared to respond at a moment’s notice when crisis events unfold. This power outage happened with no notice and impacted two countries. This begs the question – if you turned up to work and there was no power, and you were then advised the outage could last a few days, how would your organisation respond? Would you have business continuity or would you need to cease operating for a period of time? If you needed to cease operation, what would this cost in both financial and non-financial terms? How would you support your people, your clients & customers and your communities?
As our world becomes less predictable and more volatile & disrupted, crisis management preparation is a “must do” for all organisations.
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