Planning for Mass Evacuations
It is vital for companies operating in the less stable of overseas locations to have pre-arranged evacuation arrangements in place. Mass evacuations have occurred in a range of countries in recent years after political instability, civil unrest, terrorist attacks and armed conflict, but also after natural disasters and epidemics. Outsourcing the planning to a charter broker is not a robust solution. It is essential these preparations involve the right security, safety and logistics expertise in order to consider all the potential obstacles and risks.
The Security Committee of the International Oil and Gas Producers Association (IOGP) has published ‘Country Evacuation Planning Guidelines’ (IOGP report, No. 472). They say:
The trigger for evacuation could be due to a gradual deterioration in conditions. This allows for companies to conduct a gradual departure. A sudden deterioration, however, might mean that people might have to remain where they are while the situation is assessed and then respond accordingly.
The report includes sections on “operation concepts, threat levels, crisis command centres, communications, training and briefing, reception arrangements and post-crisis reviews”.
Recent Comments