Exploring the Emergency Planning Requirements: A Qualitative Research Study at the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

1. Introduction and Motivation

The complex process of managing disasters, as well as the rapid escalation of emergencies, requires an understanding of how to better plan and respond to such situations. This highlights the importance and necessity of emergency planning, which is a process that enables the development of the capacity for managing disasters that have the potential to escalate or those that could have a negative effect on residents, properties, and the environment.¹ As a result, in view of the losses caused by disasters, and their complex effects on the population and infrastructure, the literature on managing disasters continues to develop. In particular, the central role of emergency planning has increased significantly.²

The planning process is one of the factors for addressing the problem by identifying it, assessing the scenario, creating possible solutions, and reviewing alternatives.³ According to Friedmann, the tasks of planners are as follows: monitor situations, recognize potential issues, and gather the details required to determine the main problems; view and evaluate the data to create information; apply expertise in the creation and design of practicable solutions; assess options and strategies for decision makers who want a way to proceed to achieve results; examine the planning findings to produce new data; and following the steps iteratively starting with the first stage.

The Saudi National Plan for Natural Disaster Risk Reduction⁴ divided the management of emergencies into three distinct stages: before, during, and after. Preparedness lies within the pre-emergency phase and thus includes planning. The plan establishes six requirements for this:

First, conducting studies that show potential hazards and risks, their locations, and their implications. Second, taking appropriate measures that reduce the possible causes of hazards or diminish their risks, such as setting laws, legislation, regulations and safety standards for industrial facilities and buildings, and taking adequate measures to ensure the implementation of those laws. Third, public awareness through the media of the preventative measures that must be taken to reduce the hazard’s effects. Fourth, preparing appropriate emergency plans to deal with hazards and risks, including human capabilities and any available equipment, and identifying the tasks of all parties involved in the implementation. Fifth, a focus on group and individual training across each level to ensure they carry out their roles when hazards occur, in accordance with the plans that have been prepared. Lastly, executing virtual field experiments of the prepared plans, checking their effectiveness, performance, the preparedness of the implementing agencies, and the quality of coordination among them in implementing the plans.⁵

This study leverages a social constructivism perspective and cultural theory of risk perception to explore the emergency planning requirements for managing disasters from experts’ perspectives at the GDCD in the KSA. This study interviews participants regarding their perceptions of emergency planning requirements. The interview questions elicit participants’ thoughts regarding area emergency planning requirements based on their understanding and shared cultural experiences in the emergency management field.

The study and supporting interview questions facilitate an open and honest exploration of emergency planning requirements for managing disasters from the participants’ perspective. The results of this study may contribute to an understanding of the overall effectiveness of emergency planning in the KSA from an organizational perspective.

2. Methodology

The author found that the interpretive philosophy, the inductive approach, the in-depth descriptive survey, and the qualitative method are the most appropriate for achieving the study’s objectives and answering its questions. Thus, this study employed the literature review as a secondary data source and the interviews as a primary data source. Based on this, certain criteria were considered before the review of the literature was undertaken:

The literature review for this study was conducted on separate databases such as Google Scholar and Scopus since each database has different functionality. Furthermore, the research scope was expanded to include online database articles using keywords related to emergency planning and its requirements. The literature review considered the state of previous literature of both English and Arabic publications and was primarily taken from four major types of publications: books; peer-reviewed journals, articles, or papers; government documents; and national and international organizations’ publications, including documents and statistics from the GDCD. However, the key source was journal articles offering scientific data and analysis, derived from various fields represented by journals that illustrate the significance of emergency planning requirements. Each paper was evaluated on the basis of its link with emergency planning, each was reviewed and analyzed for examples of emergency planning that happened in the KSA, and any mention of emergency planning and its requirements were identified and explored. The findings from the literature review were evaluated using the analysis data steps suggested by Bryman⁶ and the themes of emergency planning and its requirements were processed and analyzed. Therefore, the research objectives were partially achieved through a review of the literature.

Literature reviews are the cornerstone for designing interviews, as the data gathered helps the author to form relevant questions and to decide what further information is needed from the participants. Therefore, the second data collection technique used for this study is an interview. It is the most common tool for data collection in qualitative research because it can provide an in-depth understanding of the subject being examined, assisting researchers in collecting valid and reliable data relevant to the research questions and objectives.⁷ Therefore, the semi-structured face-to-face interview is used to explore experts’ perceptions at the GDCD on emergency planning requirements for managing disasters. This kind of interview is valuable for exploring the research to figure out what is happening and comprehend the situation.⁶ The author has a list of questions to cover during the interview. However, open-ended questions were asked, allowing participants to provide in-depth answers and for the interviewer to probe deeper and ask further questions. These questions were developed within the theme to collect critical data regarding emergency planning requirements for managing disasters. The first section of the interview questions included personal information such as name, rank, region, email, qualifications, and relevant experience. The second section included a question based on the central theme: Expert perceptions of the emergency planning requirements in the KSA.

The author contacted potential participants via phone, email, and/or postal letter prior to the interview. Following this, each participant received the interview materials, such as a participant information sheet, as well as a participant consent form. They were also provided information about the research, its objectives, and the interview’s structure and ethics. Each participant was then asked to sign the consent form and give their approval for the interview to be recorded. The author’s contact information was provided in case the participants have any additional questions or concerns about the research, so they can be addressed before the interview begins. A mutually agreed date, time, and location were then set for each interview. Each interview lasted between 45min to 1h. The interviews were recorded, edited, translated from Arabic to English, and reviewed by the author and interviewees.

The transcripts of the interviews were analyzed using Microsoft Word. Each interview was read and examined, and groups of answers relevant to the study’s aim were identified, copied, and collated separately. Thus, any similarities between various answers were identified. Other opinions, perspectives, and views related to the interview themes were also noted and cited. Quotes and information from each interview were presented anonymously, with no names or personal information about any of the participants being included.

This study’s population consists of current employees at the GDCD in the KSA. However, the study seeks participants with expertise, experience, and knowledge of emergency planning. As a result, non-probability sampling is the most appropriate sampling technique. For interviews, the sampling technique most often employed is purposive sampling.⁷ Purposive sampling is a non-probability or non-random sampling technique in which participants are selected for a particular reason. This helps the author acquire a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the chosen topic.⁸ Purposive sampling requires the researcher to use their judgement to select participants to answer the study questions.⁷ Therefore, purposive sampling was adopted in this study because the desired participants have specific characteristics and knowledge to provide the most meaningful data for the study topic. The participants are top management at the GDCD with extensive experience in emergency planning. Therefore, they are able to explore emergency planning requirements. The KSA is divided into 13 Provinces, as shown in Fig. 1. Thus, a GDCD department exists in each Province. As a result, an expert from each GDCD department was selected to participate in the interviews, meaning that 13 participants took part in the interviews.

The author travelled to the KSA at the start of October 2022 to conduct the interviews for the study. Face-to-face interviews were conducted at the most convenient time and location for each interviewee. Each interviewee was given the interview guidelines, which included the interview invitation letter, the participant information sheet, the consent form, and a list of the interview questions. Furthermore, all personal information provided by the interviewees was treated with discretion and each participant remained anonymous. Each interview lasted about 60 to 90min. All interviews were conducted without any difficulties, and everything went as planned. The time spent collecting data for the main study took about two months. The saturation point was reached at the end of November 2022, after the author had conducted all 13 interviews. Once data collecting was finished, the next step was to analyze the data.

The author employed a qualitative analysis technique. Content analysis is a technique used for systematically classifying words, phrases, sentences, and other text units into a sequence of relevant categories, whether written, spoken, or visual (see Ref. 10, p. 105). As such, the categorization of words or phrases and the coding of any themes relevant to the research field are possible through content analysis.⁷ These aspects justify the use of content analysis in this research because emergency planning requirements need to be examined and verified. In this study, the secondary data were textual and qualitative in nature and derived from published literature and documents, which were analyzed using content analysis. Similarly, the primary data collected from interviews were analyzed using content analysis. Data from the interviews were transcribed electronically into a Microsoft Word document. The context was then carefully examined in order to reveal the key themes. In order to protect the participants’ privacy and anonymity, the interview participants were coded as “Expert”. These participants were represented using the codes shown in Table 1.

3. Results

The delimitations of the participants of this study included: (a) gender, (b) organization, (c) rank, (d) years of experience, and (e) qualifications. The targeted participants used in this study were high-ranking experts at the GDCD in the KSA. It was clear that all participants were males since there are currently no females in leadership positions at the GDCD in the KSA. Out of the 13 participants, 12 were major generals, and one was a brigadier. After collecting the data and analyzing the participants’ responses regarding their years of experience in emergency planning and disaster management, it was apparent that they all have over 30 years of experience in this field. All participants mentioned their post-college education. This includes continuous training on emergency planning and disaster management, which the GDCD imposes. Six of the 13 participants had earned doctoral degrees from an accredited university, four had obtained master’s degrees, and three had completed only bachelor’s degrees. Each interviewee is identified and described in Table 2.

The theme that emerged from the interviews relates to experts’ perceptions of emergency planning requirements for managing disasters. Therefore, the study’s results focused on exploring the emergency planning requirements in the KSA from the perspectives of experts at the GDCD. The participants stated that the emergency planning requirements that need to be met in order to achieve effective disaster management are the following: administrative requirements such as regulations and legislation; technical requirements such as equipment, devices, and tools; human resources; identifying, analyzing, and evaluating risks; determining the tasks and responsibilities of the relevant agencies; qualified leadership and management; determining the chain of command at national and local levels; determining staffing and technical capabilities; coordination and cooperation among all stakeholders; recruiting experts in the field; knowledge gained from local and international experiences; an updated database; availability of sufficient financial resources; completed infrastructure; conducting studies and research; and better training and practice.

To conclude, a summary of the emergency planning requirements that must be met to manage disasters effectively is presented in Table 3.

4. Discussion

This qualitative study generated valuable data and presented insights into the experts’ perceptions at the GDCD in the KSA on the study topic. The results of the study will be discussed and interpreted in this section. First, the results will be evaluated in the context of the cultural theory of hazard and risk. Second, the results of this study will be compared to those of previous studies.

4.1. Results in Light of the Theory

The study’s guiding theory was the cultural theory of hazard and risk. Using this theory, an author may study hazard and risk perceptions and ascertain how each member of a shared community considers hazards and risks.¹¹ This allows an author to presume that the same professional community members will have comparable hazard and risk perceptions if certain factors are met.¹² The participants in this study have training and experience in emergency planning and disaster management. Considering their links to the broader KSA emergency management community, learning about their perspectives on hazards and risks might shed light on how to better plan for emergencies in the country.

According to the cultural theory of hazard and risk, it stands to reason that those working in emergency planning and management roles will have a common understanding of what “preparedness and planning” mean when managing a disaster. Thus, this study was guided by the following research question: What are Saudi civil defense experts’ perceptions of the emergency planning requirements for managing disasters? The results that emerged from the data analysis were consistent with previous study findings such as Refs. 4 and 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. Due to these considerations, using the cultural theory of hazard and risk in emergency planning is a relevant explanation.

It was proved that employing the cultural theory of hazard and risk in the field of emergency planning for managing disasters is extremely useful, especially for employees in emergency agencies such as Civil Defence. All of the Civil Defence experts interviewed had high experience and academic qualifications in emergency planning and disaster management; for example, it was apparent that they all have over 30 years of experience in this field. In addition, they had completed extensive training courses in emergency planning and disaster management. Six of the 13 participants had earned doctoral degrees from an accredited university, four had obtained master’s degrees, and three had completed bachelor’s degrees, which provided them with sufficient knowledge of appropriate ideas that apply to the topic.

The bottom line is that all Civil Defence experts interviewed were knowledgeable of the emergency planning requirements needed for managing disasters, such as the relationship between climate change and disasters; hydrological, meteorological, and climatological studies; identifying, analyzing, and evaluating risks; cooperation and coordination among stakeholders; employing modern technologies; the availability of technical equipment; the availability of well-trained and qualified responders, which needs to be constantly updated and developed; continuously monitored and evaluated emergency plans; education of the community; and increased projects for preventing risks. In addition, the majority of these requirements were available in the provinces where the participants work.

4.2. Comparison of Results with Previous Literature

Previous studies on emergency planning related to the KSA are scarce. This study was the first to explore emergency planning requirements for managing disasters in the KSA. All previous studies on emergency planning have either focused on international or regional levels or have specialized in the medicine, trade, information technology, industry, finance, or business sectors. However, research studies that validated the results of this study were found in a review of the literature. Consequently, this study found that the perceptions of research participants and the previous literature on emergency planning for managing disasters were consistent with one another. Therefore, these results should be considered to completely comprehend what may be required of the organizations in charge of planning for emergencies, especially with regard to disaster management.

The participants’ responses highlighted a variety of emergency planning requirements for managing disasters. One of the key emergency planning requirements is the administrative requirements, which include laws, regulations, and legislation. Rong and Jia¹⁹ revealed that when an emergency breaks out, quick and effective command assignment is an important means for minimizing the losses. Emergency leaders and planners critically depend on relevant policy documents, such as emergency plans, laws, legislation, and regulations, to achieve quick and effective command assignments. There are many kinds of emergencies, and their related policy documents are miscellaneous, so when several emergencies occur simultaneously, a singular particular method has to manage these related documents.

The participants also emphasized that technical requirements, including equipment and tools, are crucial for emergency planning. Reddick²⁰ examined the impact of information technology on emergency preparedness and planning by analyzing a survey of U.S. state government departments of emergency management. The results showed that there had been a significant impact of information technology on emergency planning. Information technology has proven to be effective for all phases of emergency management. Numerous technologies are used in emergency planning, ranging from the internet, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and wireless technologies to more advanced hazard analysis models.

A study conducted by Lumbroso and Vinet²¹ on tools to improve the production of emergency plans found that tools such as checklists, guidance, and specialized software appear to be rarely used to enhance emergency planning effectiveness. An investigation was undertaken with emergency managers in England and France. The objective was to establish why tools that can usefully contribute to improving emergency plans are often not being used. They concluded that many emergency managers are unaware of the tools available to assist them in formulating emergency plans. Lumbroso and Vinet recommended that there is a need for guidance on the tools and how they can be used to help to improve emergency planning.

The participants also revealed that human resources, including staff and responders, are critical requirements for emergency planning. Chan et al.²² support this finding and concluded that a holistic strategy combining technical aspects, such as sustainable infrastructure, and human factors, such as employees and responders working in an emergency agency, is key to effective emergency planning in cities.

Identifying, analyzing, and evaluating risks is another requirement the participants mentioned. Hossain and Meng²³ used Birmingham, Alabama, USA, as the study area to assess potential damage risks due to hazard exposure of buildings and the population in urban areas. They found that by revealing the population’s and buildings’ risks and their geographic information, this risk assessment could help local governments and communities prepare better to take action against future hazards. Therefore, this method of integrating GIS and cartographic analysis in acceptable risk assessments can also be applied to other urban areas for hazard mitigation and risk assessment.

The participants also stated that determining the relevant agencies’ and stakeholders’ tasks and responsibilities is essential for emergency planning. Box et al.²⁴ examined the perception of the roles and responsibilities of four key stakeholders in risk management in Australia: local councils, the insurance industry, the State Emergency Service, and local residents. Key informant interviews were conducted in Brisbane and Emerald in Queensland, Dora Creek in New South Wales, and Benalla in Victoria. They found that understanding each stakeholder’s roles and responsibilities varied considerably between research participants. In the KSA context, participants stated that there is an urgent need for all stakeholders to familiarize themselves with the critical tasks for emergency planning in order to understand each other’s roles and responsibilities better.

Qualified leadership defining the chain of command at local and national levels is also a requirement for emergency planning identified by the participants. Abosuliman et al.²⁵ investigated disaster preparedness and management in the KSA. They found that in a rigid bureaucratic structure such as the KSA, decision making is slow, and the chain of command is so long that it lacks cohesion and breaks down quickly when under pressure. Thus, all of the emergency organizations that responded to previous disasters lacked coordination between them. Despite the valiant efforts of trained individuals in the emergency response teams, they could only assist within their assigned area of operations.

The participants also indicated that coordination and collaboration among stakeholders are significant emergency planning requirements. The literature supports this finding. For example, Ledraa and Al-Ghamdi¹⁸ concluded that coordination and collaboration among stakeholders can lead to quick decision making, improves resource mobilization, and manages emergency processes. Another study by Abosuliman et al.¹⁵ highlighted the need to identify and coordinate organizational responsibilities among stakeholders.

The participants also mentioned that knowledge gained from local or international experiences is crucial. McEwen and Jones²⁶ discussed building local risk knowledge into community resilience plans after a natural hazard in Gloucestershire in July 2007. The study placed emphasis on scale issues about knowledge types, suggesting that local knowledge can be to an “expert” level in the large-scale mapping of risk processes. It reflected how local risk knowledge could be captured, shared, harnessed, used, and assimilated into governance structures for resilience planning. It concluded that the 2007 UK experience has helped generate new understandings of the value of local knowledge and has shown how this knowledge might be successfully used in risk management practice.

In connection to this, Acharya and Prakash²⁷ argued that local knowledge should not be recognized purely for disseminating early warning information but also as a place for knowledge generation on hazard forecasting. Moreover, strengthening local knowledge systems on hazard forecasting could counterbalance the drawbacks of centralized hazard early warning systems. They found that the production and consumption of hazard forecasting knowledge need local and scientific communities to work together to reduce knowledge gaps. Likewise, Hartmann and Spit²⁸ examined the European risk management plan. It presented a spatial turn and a scenario approach in risk management and led to differentiated hazard protection levels. They concluded that risk management could profit from past experiences and approaches in spatial planning.

The participants also stated how important it is to keep the database up to date. Williams and Archer²⁹ discussed using historical hazard information in the English Midlands to improve risk assessment. The study concluded that historical hazard data provides a better basis for risk assessment and planning. Additionally, Barriendos et al.³⁰ argued that the database is suitable for use in multidisciplinary hazard analysis techniques.

The participants also expressed that having adequate financial resources is critical for emergency planning. Török³¹ focused on a qualitative assessment of Romania’s social vulnerability to natural hazards. The study revealed that the adverse effects of natural hazards are often associated with communities with high social vulnerability. Thus, the analysis provided a more comprehensive picture of communities in desperate need of financial resources in order to have the ability to reduce the negative impacts of natural hazards and to build a more sustainable community.

The participants also emphasized the need for completed infrastructure. Crespo et al.³² revealed that natural hazard protection is influenced by planning decisions such as housing development in hazard-prone locations. This result supports the use of guided planning strategies with regard to future natural disasters, such as the role of natural and built infrastructure in reducing the consequences of natural hazards and the impact on human health.

Similarly, Gaitan et al.³³ stated that urban areas must continuously observe the weather to reduce the effect of natural hazards. So, data describing climate change and environmental conditions at high spatio-temporal resolution is vital for responding quickly and avoiding loss. As a result, they suggested a secure, efficient, and inexpensive information and communication technology infrastructure that combines data from all relevant sources, sensors, social media, and user-contributed data into a single, cloud-based interface. The suggested infrastructure would increase the effectiveness of emergency planning for managing disasters, hence ensuring the community’s protection.

Finally, the participants also stressed the importance of training and practice for emergency planning. This result supports Rahman et al.³⁴ who investigated the vulnerability of natural hazards in Riyadh in the KSA. The study found that training and practice are essential in planning natural hazard mitigation and adaptation strategies. It concluded that higher training and frequent simulation exercises on natural hazard management for city residents and government officials are needed to improve disaster and emergency preparedness.

5. Conclusion

This study aimed to explore emergency planning requirements, focusing on disaster management in the KSA, from the perspectives of experts at the GDCD. Precise results were derived from the data collected through the literature review and interviews, which were analyzed through the content analysis technique. Therefore, the study’s aim has been achieved. The following conclusions can be derived from the results.

First, the study concluded that the participants were experts in the field of emergency planning and disaster management in the KSA. All of them had educational qualifications related to the research topic. In addition, all of them were top management at the GDCD who had extensive experience in emergency planning and disaster management and had access to high-level data. Therefore, the results of this study could help decision makers and emergency planners at government emergency agencies to improve, develop, and reinforce emergency planning, specifically concerning reducing natural hazard risks.

The second conclusion is that the emergency planning requirements that need to be met in order to achieve effective disaster management are the following:

This study has contributed to the theory by reviewing the emergency planning requirements. Thus, the outcomes of this study contribute to knowledge by improving and developing a better understanding of emergency planning and its requirements in particular. Additionally, this research will be an added value to the theory of emergency planning for all emergency agencies and countries that deal with such issues. Although these findings focus on emergency planning for managing disasters, especially in the KSA, it makes a contribution to a theory that may be applicable in an international context.

It also concluded that the emergency planning requirements in this study guide emergency agencies and local communities in the KSA on how and what they need to develop effective emergency plans for managing future disasters. However, emergency planning requirements should be developed carefully and consider each country’s regulations and legislation. According to this understanding, emergency planning requirements developed in this study were best set to contribute to the practice of emergency planning for managing disasters in the KSA.

The author encourages conducting research exploring the relationships, interactions, and contributions in emergency planning between government emergency agencies and the local community that could also be investigated. It would be interesting to compare the perceptions of government emergency agencies and the local community regarding emergency planning. Additionally, conducting a similar study in another country would be an interesting topic. Examining the perceptions of other government emergency agencies is also a worthy topic. Lastly, this research adopted a qualitative methodology for developing the emergency planning requirements for managing disasters. Thus, conducting studies using other approaches, particularly quantitative or mixed methods, would be valuable.

Finally, based on the above conclusions, it is strongly recommended that all emergency planning requirements developed from this study should be implemented simultaneously and as an integrated whole.

Acknowledgments

The study was approved and supported by the General Directorate of Civil Defence in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Arabian Cultural Bureau in the UK, and Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction (IRDR) at University College London (UCL), which provided logistical and informational support. I am especially thankful to my colleagues who contributed to the study’s improvement through their feedback, comments, and suggestions.

Competing Interests

The author states that he has no financial or personal relationships that may have affected his decision to write this paper.

Disclaimer

The author declares that the paper has not been previously published and is not under consideration elsewhere.

ORCID

Naif R Alrehaili  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7290-1869