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Federal Involvement In Emergency Management

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This is a review of Emergency Management: The American Experience 1900-2000 by Claire B. Rubin (2012), chapters one and two. Over the past two centuries, there has been a remarkable series of disasters that have shaped the field of emergency management. In these two chapters, Rubin (2012) presents the overview and evolution of significant disasters that have collectively shaped the United States (U.S.) government’s emergency management and response. Additionally, Rubin (2012) specifically focuses on the response of emergency management. Historically, the earliest and most significant instance of federal involvement in emergency management dates back to 1803, when the New Hampshire town of Portsmouth was devastated by fire. In response …show more content…

The functions and forms of emergency management have virtually changed with every presidential administration (Rubin, 2012). With both positive and negative effects, these changes in policies, federal programs, and grant requirements have motivated and guided state and local emergency management to the roles they play today. Today, with a significant increase in notable disasters, not only in the U.S., but globally, the federal government plays an essential role in emergency management. According to Rubin (2012), Americans expect the government to play a greater role in disaster response. This has led to unrealistic expectations of the federal government, which consequently has led the federal government failing to meet the needs of those affective. Rubin (2012), believes the cause for concern by the public is justified. The past ten years of disaster response by the federal government has cast doubt of the effectiveness and adequacy of the current emergency management system (Rubin, 2012). Many issues have arose, among those issues and most notably, is the lack of smooth and effective interagency relationships and communication on all levels after a disaster strikes. In addition, organizational and logistical issues, as well as, the quality and quantity of personnel and resources needed to respond effectively to an event (Rubin, …show more content…

In the nineteenth-century, the U.S. became increasingly urban and populations more concentrated creating more destructive events. These events marked the first American Red Cross (ARC) response, which resulted in the federal government creating a formal charter to provide disaster response and recovery (Rubin, 2012). Founded in 1881, by Clara Barton, the ARC plays a unique role in disaster management. The ARC is not the federal government, it is independent, nonprofit, tax-exempt, charitable, and unlike any other congressionally chartered organization, it has the legal status of “a federal instrumentality”, which means it is bound by the charter to carry out responsibilities that have been delegated down by the federal government (Rubin, 2012). These responsibilities currently include providing support and communication for U.S. military and their families, fulfilling the provisions of the Geneva Convention, in which the U.S. is a signatory that is assigned to national societies for the protection of victims of conflict, and lastly, maintaining a system of international and domestic disaster relief, which mandated responsibilities are defined in the National Response Plan (NRP) (Rubin, 2012). Today, the ARC responds to approximately 70,000 disasters in the U.S. annually, providing shelter, food, health, and mental health services (ARC,

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The Stafford Act was enacted in 1988 and determines how and when the federal government is allowed to intervene in a natural disaster. It also defines the type of assistance to be provided as well as the distribution of funds among the federal, state and local governments. FEMA is responsible for coordinating the assistance identified in the Stafford Act. However, FEMA has to answer to the Secretary of Homeland Security rather than making their own decisions. The authors describe how our current governmental system isn’t well equipped to deal with major devastation such as Hurricane Katrina.

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There became an obvious need for immediate assistance from the National Guard and the Active Duty Army to stop looters, crime, and other chaos that ensued shortly after the flood. Gaining assistance from state controlled National Guard units was not overly difficult. Unfortunately, use of Federal soldiers comes with the stipulation that “the Governor of the affected state must request use of the resources of the DoD”. (Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance) The Governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Blanco and her staff were already failing to control and lead emergency efforts.

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Before the First World War, the Red Cross introduced its “first aid, water safety, and public health nursing programs” (Who is Clara Barton, 2008) In regards to natural disasters, they provided relief for the Great Depression during the 1930s and also the during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 which was the largest Red Cross Response in it’s history. Here they provided millions of people with food, shelter, and money to get back on their feet, emotional support, etc. Their first congressional charter was received in 1900 and the second in 1905. Then their third was adopted in May 2007 which “restates the traditional purposes of the organization” which includes being a form of communication between those in the American armed forces and their families as well as providing an international and national disaster relief and mitigation (Who is Clara Barton, 2008).

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Personnel and equipment come into the devastated area from all over the country, as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands” (Bell, 2006, p. 26). 2005 brought the largest national response to natural disasters. Hurricane’s Katrina and Rita affected numerous states. The states affected were unable to help themselves, as would be responders were now victims. In addition to the lack of responders, the local infrastructure was decimated and local and state officials were unable to respond.

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Emergency Management is a complex system that is used to protect the lives and property of human beings all over the planet. In the United States and within the Department of Homeland Security lies the Federal Emergency Management Agency. According to the FEMA website this agency is responsible for supporting the citizens and first responders in building, sustaining, and improving their capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards (FEMA.gov, 2015). One of the processes that FEMA focuses on is the four phases of Emergency Management. These phases are the quintessential actions taken during involvement of an emergency incident.

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Homework 7 Gaven D. Crosby Pennsylvania College of Technology Homework 7 This paper will discuss the way that the Mississippi River, and the New Deal have affected emergency management. The Mississippi River is a river that floods quite often, almost every year. The lower portion floods more than the upper portions, and affects more people. This is due to the terrain of the areas surrounding the lower Mississippi.

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The American Red Cross (ARC) was founded in 1881 by Clara Barton, and is an organization which is supported by financial donations from individuals and businesses. The ARC was put into place to provide emergency relief for individual which has some type of disasters has caused them displacement or family emergencies. The ARC also helped prepare for disaster and sometimes even prevent disasters. The American Red Cross was highly criticized for the way they handled the emergency reliefs of the 2001 terrorism attack which happened on 9/11 in 2001 and New Orleans flood Katrina in 2005. Even though the ARC has did a lot of good work they have had many allegations of fraud, and theft brought up against them.

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Although storms like Hurricane Katrina occur once in every one hundred years, being prepared and storing water, food, medicines, and other supplies keep families ready for any disaster. Natural disasters can leave communities without power for days and even for weeks. Being prepared in the event of severe weather and disasters like Hurricane Katrina, can reduce fear and anxiety that accompanies disasters. A crucial element of self-sufficient living is survival. Our government does not have all the resources to be totally prepared to take care of the vast numbers of people in a disaster.

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Every eight minutes, the American Red Cross responds to an emergency. The staff assists the victim however possible. Helping the community is the main goal of the association. Shelter, food, and clothing are provided during natural disasters. The International Organization all began with the work of Clara Barton.

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More and more authorities continue to be taken away and have been spread across many agencies within DHS. “FEMA no longer manages a comprehensive emergency management program of mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery and the agency function that President Carter and the Governors envisioned in 1979 no longer exists” (FEMA, 2013). The sole focus has turned to terrorism disaster preparedness and FEMA has become somewhat dismantled and lost its ability to provide the command and control that it had prior to the move to DHS. This will prove to be a major flaw and will again, show the failure of FEMA in the next occurrence of natural disaster the United States faces. There are other agencies within the DHS that need to be scrutinized as

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Introduction This informational interview was conducted with Dr. Pamela Aaltonen, a Homeland Security instructor at Purdue University, and active member at the Tippecanoe Board of Health. Her role here is to frame issues in the concept of Homeland security and emergency management. Dr. Aaltonen holds a key role in Homeland Security, as many disasters contain human health issues, such as mass causalities, pandemic outbreaks, and sanitary issues following natural disasters. Dr. Aaltonen’s flavor of Homeland Security differs from the work that I normally see, but as displayed during the interview, Homeland Security is a multi-disciplinary field that requires cooperation across all fields.

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In my opinion a president should be expected to prepare, provide, and respond to all citizens/situations during a natural disaster. Disasters already leave citizens distressed so, we need someone who will respond to these situations as soon as they occur. In my opinion a president is obligated to not only protect the country, but to also to seek help to all citizens in need. In the II Article of the Constitution it is said that the president is commander and chief of the armed forces and, with the consent of the Senate, appoints judges and other federal officers and makes treaties of other nations (Heritage 1). Therefore, the president has the power to seek help for these citizens and should.

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129 Words | 1 Pages

The Federal Emergency Relief Act provided state assistance for the unemployed and their families. Rather than having large numbers of workers on the dole, Roosevelt believed in payment for the work performed to help maintain morale of recipients. This program, while being more costly, did provide work for 20 million people. Roosevelt knew that most of the government 's relief efforts got canned due to the fact that they got held up by politics.

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967 Words | 4 Pages

Emergency management describes the process of preparing for disasters, responding to their occurrence and putting in place both structural and nonstructural measures to mitigate against them. Emergency management has come a long way in terms of evolution in the United States of America. In terms of evolution, there have been a number of changes with evidence in shift from state to federal and local involvement in disaster management. This paper will thus discuss the evolution of emergency management as well as the lessons that have come as a result of this evolution. The evolution can be traced back to the biblical times, Moses himself tried to manage floods by splitting the Red Sea (George et al, p. 1).

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520 Words | 3 Pages

FEMA’s mission and priorities were changed so that, “terrorism prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery became central to the emergency management mission” (Haddow 325). As a result of the terrorist attacks on 9/11 the country’s focus shifted completely from natural disasters to an outright major assault on all things terrorism with no second glance at the potential emergency’s natural disasters presented. There might be a possibility that because of the nation’s extreme obsession with terrorists and terrorism that Hurricane Katrina was not given full priority nor given as much thought as it should have been because the whole focus of the government was on terrorism. When an agency and governmental structure, such as the defense agencies, undergoes an extreme shift within the course of a few years brought on so suddenly, there are bound to be weaknesses. Hurricane Katrina was the most challenging threat that tested the DHS as well as FEMA’s preparation and mitigation of natural disasters since the shift of focus.

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