It is important to recognize that following a major disaster, "Someone has to take the blame for when things go wrong." Just ask any number of emergency managers who have had bad things happen on their watch.
The latest casualty is the head of Chile's National Emergency Management Office While there is a transition of governments underway, the departure of the director was not under favorable circumstances.
Another person noted in the article linked above was Mariano Rojas, head of the office responsible for tsunami warnings. He was fired last Friday.
All of this reminds me of an Op-ed I did for the Seattle Times a number of years ago. They titled it Better Safe than Fired which I guess might be true. But my point was if I'm going to be fired it will be for attempting to do something, and not for a lack of effort. Something I learned from my own tsunami warning experience.
I think what you have to remember is that for the elected official there has to be someone to blame. Even if the disaster was so overwhelming that no one could possibly have done better--heads must roll. I use to joke that following the big disaster in King County it would be my head on a pike outside the entrance to the county courthouse as a warning to future emergency managers not to screw up, or else!
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The latest casualty is the head of Chile's National Emergency Management Office While there is a transition of governments underway, the departure of the director was not under favorable circumstances.
Another person noted in the article linked above was Mariano Rojas, head of the office responsible for tsunami warnings. He was fired last Friday.
All of this reminds me of an Op-ed I did for the Seattle Times a number of years ago. They titled it Better Safe than Fired which I guess might be true. But my point was if I'm going to be fired it will be for attempting to do something, and not for a lack of effort. Something I learned from my own tsunami warning experience.
I think what you have to remember is that for the elected official there has to be someone to blame. Even if the disaster was so overwhelming that no one could possibly have done better--heads must roll. I use to joke that following the big disaster in King County it would be my head on a pike outside the entrance to the county courthouse as a warning to future emergency managers not to screw up, or else!
