Leadership in times of natural disasters

Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wrote in her memoir that she regretted going to see a musical and shopping for shoes in New York while Hurricane Katrina was ravaging New Orleans. On leave at the time, she wrote, "I was the highest-ranking black in the administration and a key adviser to the president. What had I been thinking?"

She was not the only high-ranking official on leave. Vice President Dick Cheney and White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card were also on vacation. The George W. Bush administration came under heavy public criticism, seeing its approval rating falling below 40 percent for the first time. It heralded the beginning of the lame-duck president for Bush.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard also suffered a blow in her leadership due to a series of floods that hit Queensland. After news broke that she watched a cricket game between her country and England on a day that saw heavy rain, her Labor Party saw its approval rating plummet. The party also came under criticism for having opposed the construction of new dams. A sense of crisis prompted her to act quickly. She pushed for a flood tax to help rebuild affected areas, and this helped her approval rating to recover.

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who came to power thanks to the influence of her exiled brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, is being tested in her ability to run the government. A novice in politics, she failed to set up an emergency task force until a third of the country was flooded, with some 350 people killed. She hesitated to mobilize the military for fear of a coup that overthrew her brother`s government, causing a delay in building embankments around Bangkok. She is also criticized for failing to declare a state of emergency in time, leading to further damage.

A leader`s abilities and quality are shown in times of natural crisis such as the event of a flood, drought, earthquake, tsunami and wildfire. Though humans cannot prevent a natural disaster from happening, their leaders must strive to minimize the damage and overcome a crisis. Japanese people were enraged over their government`s failure to cope with the devastating March 11 earthquake and ensuing tsunami early this year.

According to the Annals of Korea`s Joseon Dynasty, not a single year passed without a drought or flood during the reign of King Sejong the Great. He did, however, take all responsibility for the natural disasters and did his best to help the people. A captain`s ability is shown when the ship struggles against the wind and waves.

Editorial Writer Chung Sung-hee (shchung@donga.com)