The National Flood Insurance Program: the Goal of Mitigation - Essay Example

Managing Homeland Security Managing Homeland Security Goes Here al Affiliation Goes Here Explain the four phases of emergency planning (i.e. mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery) in detail. Practically speaking, which phases do you think most emergency managers spend time thinking about Which phases should they spend the most time thinking about How, if at all, has 9-11 changed where the emphases should lie Mitigation is the process of identifying the potential for a man made or natural disaster. The main goal of mitigation is to assess the possibility or probability of a natural or manmade disaster happening in a community. FEMA's mitigation division has the responsibility to administer the National Flood Insurance Program as well as other programs to deter future losses. The idea behind preventing future losses is to investigate natural or manmade disaster to determine the likelihood of the disaster recurring. An example of mitigation is the administering of the National Flood Insurance Program. This program assists those who have been flooded out of their properties. If the disaster (flood) is likely to recur in that area the National Flood Insurance Program will disallow future building in that area. The program reimburses holders of flood insurance for the cost of the property lost so that the owners can rebuild (if allowed) or move elsewhere. The mitigation division of FEMA reduces the likelihood of cyclic disasters by ensuring that flood plains are not used as residential or commercial property for rebuilding. Mitigation makes communities safer by reducing the possibility of loss of life or property.1 Preparedness in emergency planning consists of predicting the possibility of a natural disaster and planning ahead to respond. Preparedness involves pre-positioning assets required to help a community recover from a natural, or manmade, disaster. Those responsible for preparing for a natural or man made disaster train responders and hold exercises to test response time and ability to respond appropriately. For example: Florida is a hot spot for hurricanes. FEMA prepares for the possibility of hurricanes by propositioning supplies most needed after a hurricane such as water and baby formula. Response to a natural, or manmade disaster, is the activation of a plan to respond to the disaster. The response may consist of collecting and distributing of vital supplies, setting up a preplanned medical response, and setting up search and rescue assets. Response consists of the first efforts to assist the community in response to a disaster. Immediately following response is recovery. Recovery consists of taking measures to reestablish public services and bring back a sense of normalcy to the community. Recovery can be a local effort or as an extended response by a federal agency such as FEMA. In response to hurricane Katrina FEMA provided trailers to those attempting to rebuild their homes. The recovery effort uses available resources to restore a community after a disaster. Explain in detail the process of risk analysis In light of the readings and your own experience, how would you define risk How would you weigh it If you were the city manager or police chief in a small town with limited resources, how much effort would you put into risk analysis Would you simply "eyeball" risk and give it your best guess, or would you be inclined to conduct an actual assessment A risk assessment is commonly instituted to assess the current situation or area for dangers. It involves examining a situation for possible risks that may be avoided by modifying behaviors or removing the risk. An example of risk is a person's likelihood of developing diabetes because of being obese. The risky behavior in this case is overeating and remaining obese. By not addressing obesity the risk for developing diabetes increases. Risk can be best described as a situation that can be averted by responding and removing the risk factor. Reducing a population's vulnerability to risky situations reduces or removes the consequences of that risk. Another example of risk is living in a flood plain. If you live in a flood plain you are at increased risk of being flooded out of your home. Removing the risk in this situation would include moving out of the flood plain. The smaller a community is the easier it is to identify risks and take action to prevent problems. The larger the community is the greater the need is for a professional risk assessment. A professional assessment would consist of a customized plan to respond to the risk. In a smaller community the city manager or police chief may need to be more creative in evaluating and responding to a risky situation. It is much easier to communicate with the local community when it is a small community. Smaller communities are more apt to have people who would volunteer to assist with risk assessment and response planning. It is wise, though, to have a professional assessment done. How important to a community or an agency is an emergency plan If you were crafting or revising such a plan for your own agency or community, what components would you make sure were present in the plan and why What would you do to ensure knowledge of the plan's provisions Any emergency plan should involve the community as responders. The emergency plan should be professionally drafted to evaluate all possible scenarios that could affect the community. Worst case scenarios should be examined to include natural disasters, technological disasters, or social disasters. An essential part of any plan is educating the public. The worst thing to do with a plan is to shelve it until something happens. Preparing a community for disaster begins long before a disaster strikes. Planners should provide material to schools, senior centers, and other organizations that have contact with the general populace. Families should be educated about what to do in a disaster, what supplies to have on hand, and who to contact in an emergency. A well thought out emergency plan includes educating as many people as possible. A few years back the United States had a bad heat wave that put the power grids at risk of failure (air conditioners). During the heat wave it was discovered that the elderly were dieing in Chicago and St. Louis at a higher than normal rate (killer heat wave of 1995). There was no emergency plan in place to deal with this problem. City administrators used radio, TV, and news print to alert to general public to the problem and ask for assistance in checking up on the elderly. The administrators asked the public to assist in moving the elderly to cooling stations in lobbies and malls of local businesses. This example shows how these communities missed a worst case scenario but responded and dealt with the situation A well written emergency plan consists of2: Context - legislative framework, participating organizations Scenarios - hazard, vulnerability, risk, and impact Emergency needs - search and rescue, medical care, public safety, food and shelter, damage prevention and limitation Available resources (structure, items, competencies) - manpower (personnel), equipment, vehicles, and buildings and facilities Resource utilization - application of resources to problems posed by scenario, dissemination of plan, and testing, revising and use of plan What role, if any, should emergency managers play in ensuring emergency medical care for a mass-casualty incident In other words, what can emergency managers and disaster planners do to facilitate such care In what ways may public safety agencies or infrastructure agencies (such as the utility companies or public works) play a role in effectively responding to mass casualties The role of an emergency manager is to ensure that an emergency plan is implemented at the appropriate time. The plan should include appropriate contacts for different levels of emergencies. Emergency managers need to act as incident managers when a disaster strikes. The incident manager needs to deal with the three phases of emergency medical response. The first phase includes the loss or damage of medical facilities and medical personnel. The second phase is emergency and isolation3. In this stage local medical services are used and the dead appropriately taken care of (temporary morgue and burial). The third phase includes using the assistance of state and federal organizations. This is called the stabilization and recovery phase. The major role of the emergency manager is as coordinator of services. As manager he/she planned ahead how to most appropriately use available resources, educated the public about how to respond or care for themselves, and coordinated with service providers on how they would respond. Once a disaster is declared the manager becomes the coordinator of services by implementing the disaster response plan. As incident manager the emergency manager needs to act a liaison between different agencies. Interagency coordination is required to manage all the assets needed to deal with large disasters. Interagency coordination take the form of coordinating frequencies for agencies to effectively communicate with each other, coordinating flight paths for search and rescue helicopters, and coordinating law enforcement agencies response to crime or looting as a result of a disaster. Emergency managers are often the primary contact when organizations such as FEMA and the Red Cross move in to provide humanitarian aid. Infrastructure agencies can be of great help to the emergency managers. Mail carriers are often the first to notice if there is a problem with an elderly person. Unplanned piling up of mail and newspapers on a doorstep is often good enough reason for a mail carrier to knock on a door and inquire as to the wellbeing of a resident. During the winter months utility companies are often faced with cutting the power off to residents who can't afford to pay the bill. Oftentimes other agencies when contacted can assist the resident. These same utility companies can act as first responders when they contact a social services agency about residents unable to pay their bill. What makes for a good emergency manager or disaster planner What personal attributes would contribute to the success of such an official Also, what kind of resources and support must be available to multiply the effectiveness of the emergency management function in an agency or community To what degree do you think those resources are available to the emergency management profession today Most importantly the emergency manager needs to be a good coordinator and communicator. He/she needs to have a good working knowledge of assets within his community and at the state and federal levels as well. The emergency manager needs to have an outgoing personality and the ability to communicate effectively with all types of people. The emergency manager must be able to manage people during times of stress. This may include portraying a calm demeanor so as to keep all other staff calm as well. As the incident coordinator he/she must be able to handle unforeseen incidents as they arise and foster interagency coordination as needed. The emergency manager can use the emergency plan effectively while also adjusting the plan when necessary to deal with problems as they arise. Lastly, the emergency manager insists on prior planning and the use of training exercises so all know the role they play in the event of a disaster. An emergency manager typically has a bachelor's degree in public policy or (newest graduates) homeland security. The manager requires much training in many fields to appropriately manage all the assets available to him. In many small communities the emergency manager is a volunteer from the community with some emergency services training. In larger communities the emergency manager is hired by the city manager or elected into office. In larger cities and at state level emergency managers are competitively hired for the job. The requirement at the large city or state level requires a higher level of education and experience. Many emergency managers are former military personnel. They have much experience working under stress and coordinating assets in unfamiliar environments. Former military personnel are also aware (to some extent) of other prior service personnel in the area who could be valuable assets during a crises. Emergency services may be overwhelmed during a disaster and military personnel who already have first aid/first responder training could be of great assistance. To some extent after an emergency plan is put into place the emergency manager and other first responders become complacent. This is because we don't have a crisis every day in this country. We have isolated incidents such as 9-11, and the Oklahoma City bombing. These are not enough to keep the managers and first responders from becoming complacent. Any budget done by an emergency manager must include continued education and training for all involved in plan implementation. Emergency exercises are needed to continually practice interagency communications and required responses to emergencies. Unfortunately many areas of the country are not included in a sustainable emergency management plan. Any plan implemented is done so by local law enforcement or fire service personnel. Many rural areas are served by volunteer services only. References American Psychological Association (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. North Carolina Wesleyan College. 2007. "EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLANNING AND PREPAREDNESS." Retrieved 10/04/2007 from http://faculty.ncwc.edu/TOCONNOR/431/431lect02.htm Federal Emergency Management Agency. Retrieved 10/04/2007 from www.fema.gov. Read More