JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (TrustMedia) - Flash floods, a deadly disease outbreak and an explosion at a toxic chemical plant were just some of the catastrophes facing Saudi journalists and disaster management authorities on a four-day course in Jeddah that combined journalism training with crisis management.
The scenarios were fictitious but designed to be as realistic as possible – right down to the unrelenting stress of the fast-developing crises and the confusion caused by rumours and contradictory information.
"Sometimes the journalists have difficulties in reaching officials and getting information from them, and on the other hand, some officials have their complaints when dealing with journalists," said Abdul Badua Yusuf, a press officer with the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME), where the bilingual course was held.
"The course was a good chance to get to know each other and see what the difficulties are for each other, and what we need from each other."
A dozen local officials with remits as diverse as civil defence, border control, weather forecasting and civil aviation came face to face with a dozen print, TV and radio journalists in the high-tech surroundings of PME's new media centre.
But as temperatures topped 45 degrees Celsius outside and dust clouds blew in from the Saudi desert, the interior of the PME was transformed into the make-believe Republic of Arkadia, "the world's most disaster-prone country".
Arkadia lived up to its reputation as flash floods in the west created a refugee crisis compounded by a cholera outbreak. Then a 7.4-magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami caused devastation along the east coast.
As if that wasn't enough, a mutated form of the deadly X1A1 virus – better known to Arkadians as “chicken flu" – threatened to create a pandemic unless contained, even as an explosion at a chemical factory spewed lethal chemicals into the air.
The result? Information chaos. And two dozen course participants running through the halls of the PME, frantically making and fielding phone calls and tapping away on their laptops.
From packing their survival kits to interviewing traumatised survivors and grilling the authorities for the real story behind the press releases, the journalists honed their skills over four days of exercises and discussions.
The officials, meanwhile, practiced staying on message and distilling technical jargon down to language accessible to non-specialists.
"First we learned the skills, then in the second stage we learned more about it in real practice," said Abdulrahman Al Baladi, a journalist with Jeddah state radio.
"These are essential skills, and very important for anybody."
"Reporting Disasters and Environmental Crises" was held jointly by Thomson Reuters Foundation and twofour54, June 18-21, 2011. Instructors were Tim Large and Isa Mubarak.
(Editing by Rebekah Curtis)
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