Authorities cracked down on the tsunami – that’s how preparedness is today

Lottie Knutson was working as an information manager at Fritidsresor when the tsunami hit Southeast Asia. She and her colleagues understood early on that the disaster was bigger than the authorities announced.

– Quite quickly during the morning we understood that it was much worse than what the Swedish authorities had assumed, because they had said that no Swedes were injured. We knew even then that we had lost both guests and our own colleagues, she says.

Despite the alarming reports, Lottie received little response from the Swedish authorities.

– We sit and shout, why don’t they hear? Relatives called like crazy to various authorities. It was very frustrating. In the end we went out and said people are dying. Because that’s how it was.

During the first time after the flood, Lottie was the only one in Sweden who told about the situation.

– I said it as it was. But we were terrified ourselves, we thought we were going to have our throats cut. We did say something negative, that we had deaths both among our employees and customers. But in the chaos, people were relieved to be informed, says Lottie Knutson.

The preparedness of the authorities has improved

Swedish authorities have subsequently received sharp criticism for being late in dealing with the disaster. Today, the Norwegian Agency for Community Safety and Preparedness (MSB) believes that preparedness is better.

– We have much better ability today than we had then. We have practiced more and gathered much more experience, says Robert Wallén, head of the operational department at MSB and continues:

– Having said that, it is also the case that we do not know what the next crisis will be. Completely eliminating the consequences is difficult, but we can still do what we can to mitigate them.

MSB did not exist when the tsunami disaster occurred, but was formed after the event. If a similar disaster were to occur today where many Swedes are affected, MSB has a coordinating and leading role.

– There MSB has an important role to both be able to help with this coordinated management but also to be able to produce common situational pictures, situational perceptions so that we also understand what is happening and what may happen in the next step, says Robert Wallén.

The memories are still evoked

During the Christmas holiday 2004, 543 Swedes died and over 1,500 were injured. Hundreds of thousands of people from other countries were killed and injured. 20 years later, Lottie Knutson still brings back memories every December.

– Often this time of year I meet relatives who have been affected. Then you get a lump in your throat. I feel bad.