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Expatriate Evacuation Amid a Nuclear Crisis

March 31, 2011 by MSI

The Wall Street Journal has recently reported that many expatriates have left Japan after a devastating earthquake and tsunami followed by trouble at damaged nuclear power reactors. According to Japan’s police figures, the official death toll is at more than 11,000, but the final death toll is expected to exceed 18,000.

Aside from the horrifying humanitarian disaster, the crisis at the power plant has continued with workers fighting fires, explosions, radiation scares and miscalculations in an attempt to prevent a complete meltdown.

In light of this disaster in Japan, human resource (HR) practitioners realize the importance of having an emergency safety and business continuity plan in place. The plan needs to be structured so that it can be well executed, effectively and efficiently, should such a crisis occur.

The most critical role HR can play during a crisis or disaster is to keep communication open with all the employees in the organization. Information share must be current and updated constantly. Mick Sharp, regional security director in Asia Pacific for a joint venture between International SOS and Control Risks commented, “Information is critical, and staff have to understand the reality of the threat.”

A report released by The Chapman Consulting Group found that not only did most companies in Japan previously stock their offices with emergency rations and supplies, but their HR teams also had “well-defined roles” for such emergency situations. The report also revealed that some companies in Japan are only relocating their expatriate staff either back to their home country or to a third country. Evacuation of both local and expatriate employees can be a complex issue. Organizations have to be aware of local restrictions and communicate to their staff any analysis of moving only expatriate employees out of these situations. 

The Chapman report added that it hoped “more companies will think about regional contingency measures, so that regional and global HR teams can have the option to do the most for their employees’ well-being from the secure distance of their regional headquarters.”

In the event of a disaster, HR has to develop, communicate and train the crisis plan to all of the staff, and ensure they are a continued part of any crisis management plan. It’s a daunting task and one I wish we never had to face, but it is a reality and preparation, as exemplified by those in Japan, saves lives.