6 Crisis Management Lessons From the Florida Condo Collapse

From Devin Partida, writing for Worth…

The tragic condominium collapse that occurred recently in Surfside, Fla., has shed light on the importance of crisis management. Identifying threats before they arise can be a challenge. Emergencies can be difficult, if not impossible, to anticipate, but how to respond to them can be thought out beforehand. Proper planning is the first step in handling a crisis.

The concept of crisis management is not new. There have been plenty of instances where disruptive events impacted businesses, the economy, the environment and the people living in the surrounding areas. It’s critical to understand that crises tend to snowball, where one small mistake turns into a more significant issue.

Through this tragedy, corporate leaders, real estate corporations and any business or individual involved in the communications industry can learn valuable lessons. Crises can happen to anyone or any company; staying in front of them is the ultimate goal.

Some of the lessons to be learned are already emerging. Identifying them and understanding their importance will assist companies if they experience a crisis and inform how they’ll respond to it.

Lessons in Crisis Management

There’s still a lot of confusion surrounding the 13-story condominium collapse that left at least 97 people dead. Many are pointing to major structural damage as the root cause of the collapse, but investigators plan on reviewing the scene after search crews complete their work to identify the actual cause. Tragedy followed by liability in cases of poor workmanship or slipshod maintenance is, unfortunately, nothing new.

Engineers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) were sent to Miami-Dade County to gather evidence and determine what triggered the collapse. People in the area and families of the residents are searching for answers, and it’s challenging to determine when the general public will learn how this tragedy occurred.

Below are six lessons in crisis management that we can learn from how the the Florida condominium collapse was handled.

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