Disasters usually don’t give any advanced notice to allow people or agencies to prepare. There are some events that allow for preparation such as weather event but there are other that are completely reaction based. Typically disaster preparation is completed well before a disaster hits through training, exercises and planning. When there is a disaster notifications will be sent out over communication systems that are in place. Once there is a notification the appropriate agencies will respond based on protocols and procedures that have been established. When it is necessary to respond incident command will be set up by the primary responder in accordance with NIMS and ICS guidance. If there is a need an area command or unified command can be established as required. Initial response may be enough to manage the situation but there are times when it is not. The incident commander is responsible to assess the situation and request additional responders and resources when initial response is not sufficient. Additional support will be requested based on mutual aid agreements and intergovernmental agreements. It is possible that the local responders may have to manage the situation on their own before back up can arrive. In some case it may take additional responders a few days to arrive and offer their …show more content…
The economic impact must be correctly measured and integrated disaster planning. During a disaster the can be a large economic impact. The impact can be on individuals, businesses and the government separately and collectively. The time used, money spent and collective efforts to respond to a disaster impact everyone. Even if a person is not directly involved they are impacted by government offices or businesses being closed. and recover from these emergencies and disasters divert public resources and attention from other important programs and
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.
Hurricane Katrina shift the position of the Department of Homeland Security from making natural disasters an equally as important as terrorism. This even showed that disaster planning requires a great deal of collaboration. The Department of Homeland Security who swallowed up FEMA where not quick to react to Hurricane Katrina because all their focus was spend on planning for a prevent terrorist attacks. The failure of the disaster response system resulted in over 1,200 lives lost in Louisiana and Mississippi. FEMA failed to work closely with its State and local counterparts and communications between these partners and the public were strained at best.
They are also involved in emergency relief efforts providing security, medical supplies, and humanitarian
The major impact is the cost to rebuild things effected by nature. Rebulding homes can be used as one example. As the community knows, storms of any kind just come and go. The major storms though, cause quiete a comosion. They destroy houses, building, anything they lay their eyes on.
When a disaster occurs the federal, state, and local governments contact the military for help and support due to the their advantages attached to military operations and response which could benefit in them in manpower with specific qualifications, skills and expertise, strategic and rapid mobilization, updated technology and a variety of equipment (helicopters, aircraft, earth-moving machinery, respirators, medical supplies, power and lighting equipment, under-water capability, etc.) that most emergency organizations are unable to acquire on a moment notice (Kapucu, 2011). Besides, the military’s bureaucratic structure with hierarchical rules in place are effective in command, coordination, and control of manpower, authority, and regulations, is beneficial in providing effective response actions during the time of emergency (Anderson 1970; Schrader 1993; Sylves 2008; US House of Representatives 2006) (Kapucu, 2011). This advantage cut time in half because the structure is already set up without questioning who is doing what or who is in charge. Additionally, the military supports in sheltering the homeless, the construction of temporary housing and restoration of minimal critical infrastructure (water, electric, sanitation, communication infrastructure, etc.), (Miskel 2006; Schrader 1993), (Kapucu, 2011).
Garnett, Jeffrey D., and Melinda Moore. 2010. "Enhancing Disaster Recovery: Lessons from Exemplary International Disaster Management Practices." Journal Of Homeland Security & Emergency Management 7, no. 1: 1-20. International Security & Counter Terrorism Reference Center, EBSCOhost (accessed October 23, 2015). American Red Cross.
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.
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
In Katrina’s Wake: National Guidance Throughout the history of the United States Military, historians recorded the heroic actions of Soldiers, Airman, Sailors, and Marines that won countless battles in various conflicts around the world. In modern times, the role of the military changed drastically, especially in regards to the military’s role within natural disasters. Therefore, a National Guidance of Preparedness was developed, which reinforces response readiness and provides guidelines for the sharing of responsibility between all levels of government. After a review of the actions in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2006, federal, state, and local governments aided in the development of the guidelines, which shape and support preparedness
At their peak hurricane relief shelters housed 273,000 people. Later, approximately 114,000 households were housed in FEMA trailers” (“Hurricane Katrina”). Even the Governor of Louisiana projected the downfall of the safety camps. “The shelters will end up probably without electricity or with minimum electricity from generators in the end (United States et al.). Consequently, countless numbers of people needed to look for help elsewhere, whether it meant to uproot and settle down within another state, fend for themselves in a harsh and dangerous time or even wait it out and hope for
The road is being repaired temporarily by security officers who have come down from the state. The whole team reports to the incident commander. The shelters will be constructed as the other rescue activities go on. It is advisable to get help from locals who are still
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.
They should also find out the community’s warning system. A warning system can include a special sirens that the community has put together to warn everyone that the natural disaster is on its way (Ready.gov, 2012). People should also store enough food and water for at least 3 days (Wicker, 2015). Then, people should remain in their safe rooms or wind shelters until the tornado is confirmed to be over (Ready.gov, 2012). When the tornado is confirmed to be over, people should help look for
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.
UNIDSR (2009) defined disaster as a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected