FEMAs Primary Objective - Research Paper Example

Table of content A) Introduction B) Legislative ity of FEMA C) The Federal Response Plan D) Objective scope and methodology of FEMA E) FEMA’s preparation for imminent disaster F) Conclusion A) Introduction The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security . This agency was created by Presidential Reogainzation Plan No. 3 of 1978. FEMA’s primary role is to coordinate response to any national disaster that has occurred within the United States (Bea 67). Once the disaster has occurred, the governor of the state in which it has occurred must declare a state of emergency and formally request help from the president to involve FEMA and the federal agencies respond to the disaster. There are different types of disaster that can warrant a response from FEMA. These include: A hurricane blast through South Florida causing more than $ 25 billion in damages, Bombing in the World Trade Center that results in the death of six people and hundred of injuries and the evacuation of 40,000 people. A blizzard spill shuts much of the East Coast for days, More than 150 lives are lost and millions of dollars in damage incurred. Every year, emergencies take their toll on business and lives. FEMA has a step by step procedure to maintain a comprehensive emergency management program. When disasters take place, FEMA coordinates with the Local, State and Federal authorities to respond to the emergency. The Individual and Household Program (IHP) under FEMA will provide money and services to people who are not covered by insurance and property has been damaged or destroyed (Hecker 89). B) Legislative authority of FEMA The Robert T . Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act forms the basis for FEMA’s disaster relief activities and also provides for the legal authority for a Presidential declaration of major disaster or emergency (Marzilli 87). This Act defines a major disaster as any emergency or any unplanned catastrophe that can cause deaths or significant injuries to the public. This can also have an adverse effect on business, disrupt operations and cause physical or environmental damage. FEMA regards the following examples as types of emergencies. Fire Floods, Huricane, Winter storm Earthquake, Hazardous material incident, Civil disturbance and Explosion (Bea 79). In the unlikely even of a natural disaster, the president is authorized to declare a major disaster and instigate an effective response. Emergency management is the process of mitigating, preparing for or responding to an emergency. This is a dynamic process. Planning, though a vital, is not the only component. Other procedures include training, conducting drills, testing the equipment and coordinating the activities with the community (Hecker 41). The Stafford Act provides broad authority for the President to use Federal resources to deal with the threats to life and property and be able to alleviate suffering and damage (Clinton 56). It clearly outlines the specific programs for helping the affected individuals, governments or private organization. Most of the provisions of the Act have been delegated by the President to FEMA (Bea 89). Its primary intent is providing recovery programs in fairly “routine” disasters where local governments and American Red Cross that are able to meet the immediate needs for shelter, food, Medicare and search and rescue. There are other Federal Department and agencies that have disaster responsibilities under the Act and other statute. This Act authorizes FEMA to direct other agencies to use their resources. FEMA also has the delegated authority to appoint a Federal Coordinating Officer who is able to prepare for disaster, emergency operation , training and exercise, coordination of Federal and Local preparedness programs (Nicholson 67). C) The Federal Response Plan The Federal Response plan was established in 1992 to provide a framework for Federal response assistance to areas impacted by significant disasters (Marzilli 56). In conjunction with 26 federal departments and the American Read Cross, it is the duty of the federal response when a disaster overwhelms the capability of the state to carry out an emergency operation necessary, to save lives and property (Clinton 32). It provides pre -assigned missions for Federal coordinating in order to expedite response and emergency support function. The emergency support functions and primary agencies include: Communication – National communication systems Transportation – Department of transportation Mass care – American Red cross Rescue support – General services administration Health and medical services – department of health and human services Food – Department of Agriculture This organization of all these departments by the director of FEMA was undertaken so as to ascertain a standardized FEMA plan and operations for the Federal response (Bea 52). The Federal response plan shows a significant achievement for FEMA and other federal departments towards their response to emergency preparedness. D) Objective scope and methodology of FEMA This section of the essay will discuss the following 1) whether the critical features of FEMA are able to manage extraordinary disasters 2) whether some of the support systems are critical to an effective emergency program for the past emergencies like Hurricane Andrew 3) whether the FEMA activities enhance state and local government are effective 4) lessons learned from previous natural disasters and what has been put in place. 1)The critical features of FEMA use to manage disaster There has been some progress that has been made towards improving the capabilities of the Federal Government in a bid to prepare for and respond to disasters like Hurricane Hugo (Hecker 38). Nonetheless, much work still remains to be done so as to meet the requirements of bigger disasters like Hurricane Andrew. When detecting the severity of an imminent disaster, FEMA’s approach has been based on a “wait and see” philosophy. Even if they get advance warning and accurate forecast, FEMA does not use systems to predict response requirements. The Federal response is to wait until the disaster occurs, then it will decide what Federal action is appropriate (Hecker 68). 2) Whether some of the support systems are effective This includes evacuating and sheltering the public. In the case of Hurricane Andrew, the local officials were successful in getting information about the projected strength and path (Ivan 77). They were able to issue evacuation order and provide shelter for the evacuated residence before the hurricane made landfall. However, FEMA also had a difficult time in dealing with Hurricane Katrina which caused destruction of property and numerous loss of lives (Bea 61). They did not clearly evaluate the scope of the hurricane and evacuation people on time thus, it had a difficult time dealing with this emergency. 3) Whether the FEMA activities enhance state and local government are effective This is done by activating the Federal Response plan which fundamentally creates a sound framework for organizing the federal response . FEMA is able to use its Mobile Aid Transportable Telecommunication system and Emergency Response support personnel and equipment in response to any disaster (Hecker 78). In most disasters, the local and state government in conjunction with other voluntary organizations help to manage search and rescue, emergency medical treatment and initial mass care to offer food and shelter to the displace people whose homes have been destroyed (Nicholson 79).Operational plans for personnel, supplies, material are offered to support Federal response activities that are needed in a disaster. For example, In Hurricane Andrew, there was uncoordinated logical support that resulted in the confusion of the emergency response. Additionally, the command and control structure in the Federal response plan that was handling Hurricane Katrina was inadequate and this lead to a longer time towards the response to the disaster (Miskel 73) . Nonetheless, this is something that the the FEMA support agencies have been able to coordinate in relation to other disasters. 4) lessons learned from previous natural disasters and what has been put in place. After every disaster has been contained and life has returned back to normalcy, It is the duty of the FEMA to conduct a very thorough review of the lessons learnt after a disaster such as Hurricane Hugo or Hurricane Katrina and release tat report for public knowledge (Bea 103). They are also obliged to state the recommendation that they will undertake in case of a future disaster. However, from a closer analysis of this remark, no recommendations have been undertaken as they are still faced with the same challenges when a natural disaster occurs. This was witnessed by the uncoordination of events by FEMA during and after Hurricane Katrina. E) FEMA’s preparation for imminent disaster In this section of the paper, three of the initial response activities of FEMA and other Federal agencies will be discussed. First and foremost , detecting and scaling severity of Imminent disaster :this will discuss the significance of projecting the path and severity of the disaster and its likely effects (Nicholson 41) . This is done to convert these projections into requirements for an appropriately scaled disaster response. Secondly, evacuating and sheltering the public- this will address the effectiveness of efforts to remove people from danger and mitigate the problems on health or the well being of the individuals in the affected population. Thirdly, activating the federal response plan which will include: mobilizing and prepositioning resources, establishing an early presence at the disaster site, using prearranged tasks, assessing damage, providing communications support and using FEMA mobile assets (Marzilli 49). More often than not, many disasters offer no warning. In such situations, planning, predetermined arrangements, stockpiling of resources are the only the preparations that responders and potential disaster victims will have (Ivan 62). Nonetheless, disasters such as hurricanes usually can be detected prior to its landfall. In order to increase the the benefits of such warning time and to increase preparation for an imminent disaster, it is necessary to detect a disaster’s strength and path to estimate the likely effects so that response efforts can be effective. The local, state, Federal officials commence to mobilize resources for a rapid response. With regards to the extent, the path, and severity of a disaster can be projected, other factors such as the population density and urbanization can be compared with the storm data to estimate the assumptions of the disasters consequences (Bea 123). In an ideal system, which is capable of taking the advantage of warning time, a sophisticated network of meteorological and seismic experts should be in place. The United States and its territories have enormous capability in the National Weather Service, Severe Storms Warning Centre and River Forecast Centre (Marzilli 62). The National Earthquake Information Service also serves as a crucial information resource. For FEMA to be very effective in the preparation of an imminent disaster, the forecasting capability must be linked and have a ready response at local, state and federal levels. In the event of an imminent disaster, emergency warning and notification procedures are required to get specific information about the disaster to the parties responsible for responding and managing the consequence (Nicholson 69). Furthermore, the system must be up to date and robust so as to provide continual updates on the specifics, for example, path and intensity and potential disaster event. With a source of reliable data the has been accredited and established, emergency respondents at all levels of government should be able to project damage and disaster consequences for any location. Damage projection models are available and their usefulness has been greatly enhanced through geographic information system technology. Using damage projection models, emergency responders can begin to scale and project the requirements for a disaster response. For disaster with low damage projections, local and state government may conclude that their own resources can manage the likely disaster consequences. This can be labeled as a category C response which might equate to a category 1 or 11 storm on the Saffir – Simpson scale, or perhaps an earthquake of low level intensity or in the lightly populated region (Nicholson 74). The next level of response, is category B, which may be equated to a category 11 or 111 storm. Damage projection model for a storm or earthquake of moderate intensity may indicate that effects and management consequences are beyond the planned capability of the affected local and state government (Marzilli 109). In such situations, the local and state officials can begin to intensify coordination with FEMA and discuss Federal response assistance and strategies for rapid mobilization of Federal resources. FEMA would begin to notify other federal agencies of the projected damage and other types of requirement this would generate. The staging and other logistical operations would be activated. The crisis command structure would be designed and deployed. The third and highest level of response many be equated to category 111, 1V, or V storm also regarded as severe earthquake. The communication between Federal, state, and local officials should be intensified. The operating principle would be necessary that all Federal resources can be deployed before the actual disaster to ensure an immediate reply to the emergency needs of disaster victims (Hecker 62). In response to Hurricane Andrew, responsible agencies successfully detected the storm and predicted its path and severity, including the the increasing in its severity as it came closer to Florida. They were able to provide information to the public and all levels of government (Marzilli 78). The National Hurricane warning Centre was frequent contact with FEMA officials. The center provided storm progress updates for several days prior to the storm making the landfill. In addition, there were instantaneous updates that were made by Cable News Network and other media weather forecasts. The local government evacuation orders were followed to the latter and early preparedness measures were successfully relocated so that much of the threatened population from harms way and provided information on measures to protect them (Hecker 110). However this was not the case with Hurricane Hugo or Hurricane Katrina. The Meteorological department underestimated the intensity of the Hurricane and the coordination of the different levels of government did not coordinate in the evacuation of the highly prone areas of the landfall (Irving 63). The Federal Response Plan was not well coordinated as it did not give specific details for necessary action to be taken. Identification and tracking of any hurricane prior to the landfall should be carried out intensively. FEMA should be able to investigate the use of a system or models to project the effect of significant disasters. The damage projection models and geographic information system technology currently in use in FEMA’s National Preparedness Directorate and Federal Insurance Administration should be evaluated for applicability and usefulness (Marzilli 91). Greater Federal response timeliness and efficiency can be realized by more specific planning and by earlier actions to scale the response during the pre disaster warning period. The lack of planning for scaling to the likely consequences of disaster is due to FEMA’s and the Federal Government inexperience in responding to large scale disaster like Hurricane Hugo (Bea 143). The national Security emergencies should be more effectively prepared for such disasters. Conclusion FEMA’s primary objective is to coordinate the response to any national disaster that has occurred within the United States that has overwhelmed the local and state resources. FEMA should be able to coordinate all its activities to be able to handle any kind of disaster. FEMA regards the following examples as types of emergencies. Fire Floods, Huricane, Winter storm Earthquake, Hazardous material incident. Mobilizing Federal forces and prepositioning resources involves identifying personnel and other resources needed in Federal response, acquiring resources in advance and positioning them in strategic locations for rapid shipment into a disaster site. The mandate of the Federal Response Plan is to coordinate federal response team when a disaster overwhelms the capability of the state to carry out an emergency operation necessary to save lives and property. Work cited Bea, Keith, and JoAnne OBryant. Fema and Disaster Relief. Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2005. Print. Clinton, Bill. Appropriations for Femas Disaster Relief Program: Communication from the President of the United States Transmitting Notification of an Appropriation of Budget Authority for the Federal Emergency Management Agencys Disaster Relief Program. Washington: U.S. G.P.O, 1999. Print. Hecker, JayEtta Z. Disaster Assistance: Federal Aid to the New York City Area Following the Attacks of September 11th and Challenges Confronting Fema. Washington, D.C: United States General Accounting Office, 2003. Print. Marzilli, Alan. Disaster Relief. New York: Chelsea House, 2007. Internet resource. Miskel, James F. Disaster Response and Homeland Security: What Works, What Doesnt. Stanford, Calif: Stanford Security Studies, 2008. Print. Nicholson, William C. Homeland Security Law and Policy. Springfield, Ill: C.C Thomas, 2005. Print. Irving, Susan J. Disaster Cost Estimates: Fema Can Improve Its Learning from Past Experience and Management of Disaster-Related Resources. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2008. Print. Ivan, James . k Inquiry into Femas Proposed Disaster Relief Regulations: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight of the Committee on Public Works and Transportation, House of Representatives, Ninety-Ninth Congress, Second Session, July 23, 2006. Washington: U.S. G.P.O, 2006. Print. Read More