Emergency Preparedness Document Analysis

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was created in 1979 from a series of disasters, which occurred in the 1960s and 1970s. FEMA is a federal agency that coordinates the response to a disaster in the United States. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall affecting many citizens in New Orleans, activating the response from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The common obstacles that the federal system of government encounters with are communications and funding.

According to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), there are many factors that will affect the direction of emergency management in the coming years. These can be classified as global challenges, global opportunities, national challenges, national opportunities, professional challenges, and professional opportunities. Global Challenges include some issues like global climate change, increasing population and population density, increasing resource scarcities, rising income inequality, and increasing risk aversion. Global Opportunities has to do with increased scientific understanding of the hazards and societal responses, as well as revolutionary technologies. National Challenges involves increasing urbanization and hazard exposure, interdependencies in infrastructure, continued emphasis on growth, rising costs of disaster recovery, increasing population diversity, terrorist threats, low priority of emergency management, legal liability, and intergovernmental tensions. Due to these factors that will affect the direction of emergency management in the coming years, there is need for us at emergency management division to adjust operational plans to meet these challenges and especially changes emanating from constant changes expected in technology and other threats we face.

As Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma successively lashed the gulf coast starting in late August 2005, nature’s fury exposed serious weaknesses in the United States’ emergency response capabilities. Not all emergencies pose this magnitude of challenge. In the United States, the initial—and usually major—responsibility for disaster response rests with local authorities. This “bottom-up” system of emergency management has a long history and continues to make sense in most circumstances. Core Challenges for Large-Scale Disaster

Throughout its history, FEMA has had two main missions. First, FEMA’s mission is to enhance the federal government 's capacity to deal with and survive foreign attacks. The main types of foreign attacks that FEMA is tasked to respond to relate to terrorist attacks and nuclear war. The second mission of FEMA is to assist state and local authori¬ties to respond to man-made and natural disasters that are to enormous for the local and state resources to respond to efficiently. While national security focuses more on civil defense, state and local authorities are more focused on natural disasters such as hurricanes, storms, floods and potential nuclear power accidents. These divergent focuses really presents FEMA with huge challenges since federal security authorities’ main objective is quite different from state or local authorities’ focus. Considering that FEMA designed the Federal Response Plan, the agency has the challenge of balancing these interests while working on its two key missions.

This chapter provides an overview that describes the basic types of hazards threatening the United States and provides definitions for some basic terms such as hazards, emergencies, and disasters. The chapter also provides a brief history of emergency management in the federal government and a general description of the current emergency management system—including the basic functions performed by local emergency managers. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the all-hazards approach and its implications for local emergency management.

Editor’s Note: This Chapter is the continuation of an adaptation of a state plan for disaster preparation and response. In total, the original chapter comprises Chapters 1, 14, 16-18.

State and local responders formulate the concepts within the FRP around disasters and emergencies that can be handled “the Federal Government is called on to provide supplemental assistance when the consequences of a disaster exceed State and local capabilities” (p.11). If assistance is required by State, and local agencies, the Federal Government has the ability to deploy a wide range of assets to aid state and local efforts during the disaster. The Federal Government has a large contingency of support personnel, teams, operating facilities, specialized equipment, and assistance programs that allow for disaster operations. “The FRP describes the major components of the system, as well as the structure for coordinating Federal response and recovery actions necessary to address State-identified requirements and priorities”

In its current form, the federal emergency management agency, commonly known as FEMA, represents a sizable federal agency employing approximately 7500 people located throughout the country, and among 10 regional field offices. Such extensions include national emergency training centers, and a domestic preparedness-training center. FEMA has associations with partnerships consisting of local, state, tribal, and other relevant federal agencies. FEMA associations can extend to private and

The national agencies involved in pre and post-disaster management and planning are The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in connection with The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and The Ready Campaign. FEMA was first implemented during President Jimmy Carter's term in 1979. Their mission is dedicated to nationally support and protect citizens throughout the country during natural or manmade disasters (Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2017). FEMA works closely together with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security along with local and state governments to provide extensive disaster relief efforts and necessary assistance during any crisis (Department Homeland Security, 2016). FEMA offers both pre and post-disaster

Application of deconfliction concepts. A basic expectation of citizens in developed countries is that their governmental agencies employed in the event of massive emergency situations or natural disasters are able to respond rapidly and effectively. The policy stance for building capacity to manage massive destruction threats and their aftermath rests on three pillars: Establish a common language (definitions), delineate and deconflict interagency functioning (plans, roles, and responsibilities), and establish a clearly defined and streamlined response channel. Not surprisingly, interagency response capabilities are not always sufficiently efficient or effective. The national experience with regard to Hurricane Katrina illustrates the difficulty of proving swift, comprehensive responses.

All functions vested in the President that have been delegated or assigned to the Defense Civil Preparedness Agency, Department of Defense, are transferred or reassigned to the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency” ( Executive Order NO. 12,148, 1979). In this executive order, director of the FEMA had given many other authorities as he was being asked to establish Federal policies for, and coordinate, all civil defense and civil emergency planning, management and assistance of the Federal agencies. In the Homeland Security Act of 2002, Congress decided to make department of homeland security to coordinate with other federal agencies to work in any disaster or law order situation. “Carry out all functions of entities transferred to the Department, including by acting as a focal point regarding natural and manmade crises and emergency planning” PUBLIC LAW 107–296—NOV. 25,

Our way of life in the United States and around the world changed on September 11th, 2001 after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centers in New York City, the Pentagon and on flight 93. One of the statements that President George W. Bush made in his Address to the Nation on Terrorist Attacks that night was, “Our first priority is to get help to those who have been injured and to take every precaution to protect our citizens at home and around the world from further attacks” (Bush, Para 6, September 11, 2001). Emergency management services across the nation and the world sprang into action to provide immediate aid to the response and recovery efforts that were in dire need in New York City. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was an instrumental part of providing aid in that process.

Prior to the creation of FEMA, the response to disasters was unorganized and faced several issues which federal agency actually was the lead responder. On June 19, 1978, President Carter transmitted to Congress the Reorganization Plan Number 3 (CFR 1978, 5 US Code 903). The intent of plan was to consolidate emergency preparedness, mitigation, and response activities into one federal emergency management organization (Haddow , Bullock, & Coppola, 2010, p. 6). The creation of FEMA gave the director the ability to report directly to the president in the event of a disaster. During an emergency the dependability and reliability of the Federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) can be the difference between life, death or destruction

Emergency management faces many challenges in today’s modern society. In the years prior to 9/11 emergency management was primarily focused on natural disasters. That has since changed; we now face a diverse variety of risks and hazards on a constant basis. As we continue to grow in population current and newer have compounded into more problems that emergency planner must face and find solutions for.

When a disaster has taken place, first responders who provide fire and medical services will not be equipped to meet the demands for many services. Several issues such as the number of victims, communication failures and road blockages will stop people from accessing emergency services they have come to expect at a moment 's notice through 911 emergency services. Individuals will have to rely on others for help in order to meet their immediate lifesaving and life sustaining needs. If access is blocked or the agency’s capacity is exceeded, it may be hours or days before trained help arrives. There is a four-phase model that organizes the events of emergency managers. This model is known as the “life cycle” which includes dour