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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assists states and localities overwhelmed by, or at risk from, disasters as discussed by the authors, and co-ordinates emergency management activities and planning for the continuity of government should national security be threatened.Abstract:
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assists states and localities overwhelmed by, or at risk from, disasters. FEMA also co-ordinates emergency management activities and planning for the continuity of government should national security be threatened. Since 1979 FEMA has administered a range of authorities that enable the agency to serve as the primary source of federal, technical, and financial assistance for emergency management. Among the types of aid provided through FEMA programs are grants and material to help disaster victims meet pressing needs such as food and shelter, education and training programs to improve the response capabilities of non-federal officials, and mobile communications equipment. FEMA exercises little regulatory authority, but directives that underlie the agency's mission authorise the agency to establish standards for reconstruction of buildings after a disaster declaration is issued, for the construction of federal buildings in earthquake-prone areas, and for the operation of first responder equipment. FEMA has responded to, and has helped communities prepare for, terrorist attacks in the United States. The Office of Homeland Security (OHS), established by President Bush subsequent to the attacks in 2001, has a similar, but more encompassing, mission related to disasters caused by terrorist actions. Congressional debate on the contours and framework for federal administration of homeland security might include consideration of FEMA's mission, the extent to which that mission overlaps with the assignments given the new OHS, and a new structure or set of authorities for that agency.read more
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Journal ArticleDOI
Have State Comprehensive Planning Mandates Reduced Insured Losses from Natural Disasters
TL;DR: Multivariate analyses indicate that insured losses to residential property over the period studied could have been reduced by 0.52% if all states had required local comprehensive plans and by a further 0.47% if, in addition, they had required consideration of natural hazards in local plans.
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Application of Energy Balance Concept in Seismic Evaluation of Structures
Sutat Leelataviwat,Sutat Leelataviwat,Sutat Leelataviwat,Winai Saewon,Winai Saewon,Winai Saewon,Subhash C. Goel,Subhash C. Goel,Subhash C. Goel +8 more
TL;DR: In this article, a seismic evaluation procedure based on an energy balance concept is presented, where the skeleton force curve of the structure is converted into an energy capacity plot that is superimposed over the corresponding energy demand plot for a given hazard level to determine the expected peak displacement demand.
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Probabilistic seismic demand analysis of a slender RC shear wall considering soil–structure interaction effects
Yuchuan Tang,Jian Zhang +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors presented a comprehensive probabilistic seismic demand analysis of a typical mid-rise slender shear wall in western US with a flexible foundation and evaluated the significance of soil-structure interaction (SSI) effects on their damage probability.
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Cyclic Behavior of Steel Wide-Flange Columns Subjected to Large Drift
James Newell,Chia-Ming Uang +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, cyclic testing of nine full-scale W14 column specimens representing a practical range of flange and web width-to-thickness ratios were subjected to different levels of axial force demand (35, 55, and 75% of nominal axial yield strength) combined with up to 10% story drift.
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Is Precipitation in Northern New England Becoming More Extreme? Statistical Analysis of Extreme Rainfall in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine and Updated Estimates of the 100-Year Storm
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate the presence of trends in extreme precipitation (denoted MAXP and defined as the annual maximum daily precipitation depth) time series for coastal northern New England and assess changes in the magnitude of the so-called 100-year storm MAXP depths from 48 stations with long, continuous records in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.