Showing papers on "Emergency management published in 2002"

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

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.

The Political Economy of FEMA Disaster Payments

Abstract: A central contribution of public choice theory to the analysis of government activity is in viewing the activities of government, not as determined by some single altruistic dictator, but rather as the result of a process involving individual political agents who react to the incentives they face. Federal disaster relief, administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is one activity that is ripe for political influence due to the process of disaster declaration and relief. After a disaster strikes a particular state, the governor makes a request to the president for disaster assistance. Following a governor’s request, the president then decides whether to declare the state or region a disaster area. Only after a disaster has been declared by the president can disaster relief be given. FEMA is in charge of determining the level of relief funding for the area, but additional appropriations are determined by congress in cases requiring large amounts of funding beyond FEMA’s allocated budget. The Act which governs the rules of federal disaster declaration and expenditures gives the president the authority to declare a disaster without the approval of congress.

Frail Elderly as Disaster Victims: Emergency Management Strategies

Abstract: Purpose :T o identify the vulnerabilities of elderly to disasters, and to develop strategies to address these vulnerabilities. Methods :A relevant literature search of journal articles, government training materials, news reports, and materials from senior organizations was conducted. Results: The vulnerability of the elderly to disasters is related to their impaired physical mobility, diminished sensory awareness, chronic health conditions, and social and economic limitations that prevent adequate preparation for disasters, and hinder their adaptability during disasters. Frail elderly, those with serious physical, cognitive, economic, and psycho-social problems, are at especially high risk. Conclusions: This segment of the population is growing rapidly. Therefore, it is important that emergency management recognize the frail elderly as a special needs population, and develop targeted strategies that meet their needs. Several management strategies are presented and recommendations for further action are proposed.

A Comparison of Disaster Paradigms: The Search for a Holistic Policy Guide

Abstract: The following article discusses the current emphasis and attention being given to the future of emergency management, as well as theoretical constructs designed to guide research and help practitioners reduce disaster. It illustrates that while the disaster-resistant community, disaster-resilient community, and sustainable development/sustainable hazards mitigation concepts provide many unique advantages for disaster scholarship and management, they fail to sufficiently address the triggering agents, functional areas, actors, variables, and disciplines pertaining to calamitous events. In making this argument, the article asserts that any future paradigm and policy guide must be built on—yet go further than—comprehensive emergency management. The article also reviews and alters the concept of invulnerable development. Finally, the article presents “comprehensive vulnerability management” as a paradigm and suggests that it is better suited to guide scholarly and practitioner efforts to understand and reduce disasters than the aforementioned perspectives.

Emergent Phenomena and Multiorganizational Coordination in Disasters: Lessons from the Research Literature

Abstract: Research on emergent behavior and response coordination has been a significant feature of the disaster studies literature. Through a detailed review of past and recent sociological research, the following paper summarizes what is known about multiorganizational coordination. After defining what we mean by emergence and coordination, a brief discussion follows about the process by which literature was selected for this review. The article then highlights the importance of coordination for response operations, explains why it is often problematic, and provides recommendations to improve multiorganizational collaboration in disasters. The article concludes with implications for the theory and practice of emergency management.

Catastrophe & Culture: The Anthropology of Disaster

Abstract: At a time of increasing globalization and worldwide vulnerability, the study of disasters has become an important focus for anthropological research-one where the four fields of anthropology are synthesized to address the multidimensionality of the effects to a community's social structures and relationship to the environment. Using a variety of natural and technological disasters-including Mexican earthquakes, drought in the Andes and in Africa, the nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl, the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the Oakland firestorm, and the Bhopal gas disaster-the authors of this volume explore the potentials of disaster for ecological, political-economic, and cultural approaches to anthropology along with the perspectives of archaeology and history. They also discuss the connection between theory and practice and what anthropology can do for disaster management.

Design Challenges for an Integrated Disaster Management Communication and Information System

Abstract: Disaster response and recovery efforts require timely interaction and coordination of public emergency services in order to save lives and property. Today, IT is used in this field only to a limited extent, but there is a tremendous potential for increasing efficiency and effec- tiveness in coping with a disaster. In this paper we sketch requirements and innovative technology for an integrated disaster management communication and information system, addressing in particular network, configuration, scheduling and data management issues during the response and recovery phases.

Coordinating multi‐organisational responses to disaster: lessons from the March 28, 2000, Fort Worth tornado

Abstract: Utilizes the March 28, 2000, Fort Worth tornado as a case study to examine how organisations collaborate in their attempt to perform multiple response and recovery functions. Identifies factors that inhibit and facilitate coordination among disaster‐related organisations. Concludes with implications for improving disaster response operations and management.

Bioterrorism and the People: How to Vaccinate a City against Panic

Abstract: Emergency management/Emergency preparedness; Emergency management/Public safety; Terrorism and threats/Biological terrorism; Weapons and weapon systems/Biological weapons; Vaccines

Designing a human-centered, multimodal GIS interface to support emergency management

Abstract: Geospatial information is critical to effective, collaborative decision-making during emergency management situations; however conventional GIS are not suited for multi-user access and high-level abstract queries. Currently, decision makers do not always have the real time information they need; GIS analysts produce maps at the request of individual decision makers, often leading to overlapping requests with slow delivery times. In order to overcome these limitations, a paradigm shift in interface design for GIS is needed. The research reported upon here attempts to overcome analyst-driven, menu-controlled, keyboard and mouse operated GIS by designing a multimodal, multi-user GIS interface that puts geospatial data directly in the hands of decision makers. A large screen display is used for data visualization, and collaborative, multi-user interactions in emergency management are supported through voice and gesture recognition. Speech and gesture recognition is coupled with a knowledge-based dialogue management system for storing and retrieving geospatial data. This paper describes the first prototype and the insights gained for human-centered multimodal GIS interface design.

A knowledge management framework for the support of decision making in humanitarian assistance/disaster relief

Abstract: The major challenge in current humanitarian assistance/disaster relief (HA/DR) efforts is that diverse information and knowledge are widely distributed and owned by different organizations. These resources are not efficiently organized and utilized during HA/DR operations. We present a knowledge management framework that integrates multiple information technologies to collect, analyze, and manage information and knowledge for supporting decision making in HA/DR. The framework will help identify the information needs, be aware of a disaster situation, and provide decision-makers with useful relief recommendations based on past experience. A comprehensive, consistent and authoritative knowledge base within the framework will facilitate knowledge sharing and reuse. This framework can also be applied to other similar real-time decision-making environments, such as crisis management and emergency medical assistance.

From civil defence to civil protection – and back again

Abstract: Civil protection, or emergency preparedness as it is known in the USA, has grown in response to the need to protect populations against natural and technological disasters. Over the past two decades it has partially supplanted civil defence, which is primarily concerned with civilian response to armed aggression. This article traces the evolution of both fields and analyses their often uneasy relationship. It discusses the probable long‐term effect of the US terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 on emergency management policies around the world and considers the implications of the probable changes in terms of citizen’s rights and expectations in disaster situations. With the new emphasis on anti‐terrorism measures, and a new spirit of authoritarianism, civil defense appears to be becoming resurgent at the expense of the more democratic forms of crisis management inherent in modern civil protection arrangements.

Disaster medicine in the 21st century: future hazards, vulnerabilities, and risk.

Abstract: The prediction of future disasters drives the priorities, urgencies, and perceived adequacies of disaster management, public policy, and government funding. Disasters always arise from some fundamental dysequilibrium between hazards in the environment and the vulnerabilities of human communities. Understanding the major factors that will tend to produce hazards and vulnerabilities in the future plays a key role in disaster risk assessment. The factors tending to produce hazards in the 21st Century include population growth, environmental degradation, infectious agents (including biological warfare agents), hazardous materials (industrial chemicals, chemical warfare agents, nuclear materials, and hazardous waste), economic imbalance (usually within countries), and cultural tribalism. The factors tending to generate vulnerabilities to hazardous events include population growth, aging populations, poverty, maldistribution of populations to disaster-prone areas, urbanization, marginalization of populations to informal settlements within urban areas, and structural vulnerability. An increasing global interconnectedness also will bring hazards and vulnerabilities together in unique ways to produce familiar disasters in unfamiliar forms and unfamiliar disasters in forms not yet imagined. Despite concerns about novel disasters, many of the disasters common today also will be common tomorrow. The risk of any given disaster is modifiable through its manageability. Effective disaster management has the potential to counter many of the factors tending to produce future hazards and vulnerabilities. Hazard mitigation and vulnerability reduction based on a clear understanding of the complex causal chains that comprise disasters will be critical in the complex world of the 21st Century.

Community vulnerability assessment tool methodology

Abstract: Communities must identify exposure to hazard impacts to proactively address emergency response, disaster recovery and hazard mitigation, and incorporate sustainable development practices into comprehensive planning. Hazard mitigation, an important part of sustainable development, eliminates or minimizes disaster-related damages and empowers communities to respond to and recover more quickly from disasters. The Community Vulnerability Assessment Tool (CVAT) is a risk and vulnerability assessment methodology designed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coastal Services Center to assist emergency managers and planners in their efforts to reduce hazard vulnerabilities through hazard mitigation, comprehensive land-use, and development planning. CVAT analysis results provide a baseline to prioritize mitigation measures and to evaluate the effectiveness of those measures over time. This methodology is flexible, as results may be achieved using a geographic information system or static maps with overlays and handwritten data. This paper outlines how to engage stakeholders and explains the CVAT process. Several case studies also highlight some of the challenges/problems and best practices/opportunities associated with applying the CVAT methodology.

Organizing for Homeland Security

Abstract: The events of September 11 have prompted vastly heightened scrutiny of many aspects of government functioning, as major wars and national cataclysms have done in the past. Few aspects, perhaps, have received more attention than the question of whether government in general, and the federal government in particular, has the right organizational structure to meet the requirements for homeland security. An initial determination was made by the president that sufficient organization was woefully lacking, and he established the Office of Homeland Security by executive order on October 8, 2001, less than one month after the terrorist attacks. The establishment of the office--headed by the new Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and involving the new Homeland Security Council--has not ended the scrutiny and debate over the appropriate organizational system needed by the federal government to meet impending terrorist threats. In fact, the debate over the appropriate organizational structure to combat terrorism preceded the events of September 11, with various proposals emanating from commissions and committees studying the problem. The Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction (the Gilmore Commission), established by Public Law 105-261, reported in its second annual report on December 15, 2000: "Over the past five years, there have been a half-dozen Congressional attempts to reorganize the Executive Branch's efforts to combat terrorism, all of which failed" (vii). It found, "The organization of the Federal government's programs for combating terrorism is fragmented, uncoordinated, and politically unaccountable" (v). The panel opined, "The lack of a national strategy is inextricably linked to the fact that no entity has the authority to direct all of the entities that may be engaged" (v). The panel recommended that the president establish a national office for combating terrorism in the Executive Office of the President and that he seek a statutory basis for the office. In the analysis that follows, this will be referred to as the "statutory coordinator" organizational option. The U.S. Commission on National Security/21st Century (the Hart-Rudman Commission), chartered by the Secretary of Defense in 1998, found that "the assets and organizations that now exist for homeland security are scattered across more than two dozen departments and agencies, and all fifty states" (2001, 10). It recommended a statutorily created national homeland security agency with responsibility for planning, coordinating, and integrating various U.S. government activities involved in homeland security. It would incorporate the Federal Emergency Management Agency, along with the Customs Service, the Coast Guard, and the Border Patrol, while preserving them as distinct entities (15). In the analysis that follows, this will be referred to as the "departmental" option. Although there has been much focus on the requisite powers of the president's Homeland Security Assistant and hearings have been held on the options for structuring a central homeland security headquarters agency, Congress appears content for now to see how the office created by executive order will work before undertaking legislative action. This wait-and-see posture undoubtedly will come to an end, and Congress will once again take up the issue in a more concerted fashion. Even though the issue of organization for homeland security involves the question of the organization of a headquarters under the president, it extends considerably beyond that. In fact, the organizational issue of homeland security implicates the organizations of various venues, including the organization of individual federal departments and agencies, state and local governmental organizations, and private-sector organizations, as well as their relationships with each other. The issues involved in the appropriate organizational structure for the presidential headquarters organization are embedded in organizational issues that pervade all of these organizations. …

Planning for the evacuation of new orleans

Abstract: Natural disaster planning for cities in the U.S. usually falls under the jurisdiction of emergency planning and law enforcement agencies. Historically, engineers have played critical supporting roles to these agencies by providing expertise in flood modeling and mapping and structural survivability. However, engineers have provided relatively little input to disaster preparedness in transportation planning and evacuation traffic management. In the past, evacuations were managed at a local level by emergency management agencies, and transportation professionals rarely incorporated evacuation needs into their day-to-day traffic planning, design, and analysis activities. The result of this lack of involvement was evident in several recent evacuations where the transportation infrastructure was not fully utilized when the need arose. Emergency management officials in the New Orleans metro area are now working to overcome this problem by teaming with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development to develop a comprehensive regional plan to evacuate the city in the event of a hurricane. This article describes this plan, and highlights the problems particular to evacuating New Orleans and the creative methods being considered to solve them.

Public health worker competencies for emergency response.

Abstract: Emergency preparedness is an expectation of public health organizations and an expectation of individual public health practitioners. Organizational performance standards for public health agencies have been developed during the last several years, providing a foundation for the development of competency statements to guide individual practice in public health program areas, like emergency response. This article provides results from a project that developed emergency preparedness and response competencies for individual public health workers. Documentation of the qualitative research methods used, which include competency validation with the practice community, can be applied to competency development in other areas of public health practice.

Developing disaster management capability: an assessment centre approach

Abstract: Fundamental to disaster readiness planning is developing training strategies to compensate for the limited opportunities available for acquiring actual disaster response experience. With regard to communication, decision making and integrated emergency management response, the need to develop mental models capable of reconciling knowledge of multiple goals with the collective expertise of those responding represents a significant challenge for training. This paper explores the utility of the assessment centre as a developmental resource capable of achieving this goal. In addition to providing multiple, expertly evaluated simulations to facilitate the development and practice of specific skills, the ability of assessment centre methodology to promote tacit knowledge and self‐efficacy renders it an appropriate vehicle for developing the mental models that underpin the core disaster management competencies of situational awareness and naturalistic and team decision making.

Theory on disaster science and disaster dynamics

Abstract: Based on two papers completed by the author including "Study on Theory of Disaster Research and its Practice" published in 1991 and "Theory and Practice of Disaster Study" published in 1996, the development of disaster science research in recent 6 years is reviewed, and the research frame of disaster science is brought forward. Moreover the theory system on "regional disaster system" is perfected further. Through the integrated analysis of resource exploitation and disaster formation mechanism and their dynamic change processes, disaster system dynamics in earth surface is analyzed. From the point of view of regional sustainable development, the regional development policy of "allowable disaster risk level" is defined to establish security community (region).

Prevention, Preparedness, Response, Recovery - an Outdated Concept?

Abstract: The rationale and policy surrounding the adoption and use of the Comprehensive or Prevention, Preparedness, Response and Recovery developed by the Commonwealth, also called as PPRR approach and challenges its relevance in contemporary emergency management. The PPRR approach seems to be a too constraining concept in contemporary emergency management due to change and developments in risk management standards and not proving useful to emergency managers.

Marketing of tourism destinations during a prolonged crisis: Israel and the Middle East.

Abstract: Disaster management for tourism has often focused on the post-crisis recovery phase. Unlike natural disasters, political crises can continue to impact on the image of a destination for months if no...

Valuing Mitigation: Real Estate Market Responses to Hurricane Loss Reduction Measures

Abstract: 1. Introduction Insurance companies have been hit hard in the last few years by claims from policyholders because of weather-related hazards such as floods and windstorms. Insured losses from Hurricane Andrew approached $16 billion (IIPLR 1995). However, estimates of potential damage for a storm like Andrew increase to $50 billion if the storm had hit Miami directly. These losses have prompted insurance companies, as well as state insurance boards, to explore incentives to property owners to install better protection for their property and demand construction techniques that minimize damage from storms. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has recently initiated programs to encourage voluntary mitigation by individuals as well as communities. The general consensus by disaster experts has been that home owners will not voluntarily adopt disaster mitigation measures.1 An early paper by Ehrlich and Becker (1972) (hereafter EB) provides a theoretical basis for evaluating mitigation decisions. The authors distinguish between two forms of mitigation: self-insurance and self-protection. The difference between these two terms is subtle but important. A self-insurance type of mitigation investment reduces the damage from a disaster but does not affect the probability of the disaster. In contrast, a selfprotection type of mitigation investment reduces the probability that the disaster will occur. Previous hedonic studies of household disaster mitigation, including those cited in this paper, have focused on self-protection. The agent is willing to pay more for a home that is located in a less dangerous area with lower associated probability of a hit. EB show that market insurance and self-insurance logically serve as substitutes. When market insurance is offered at an actuarially fair rate, there is no financial incentive to adopt self-insurance.2 Fronstin and Holtmann (1994, p. 388) provide evidence that supports this hypothesis. By examining the pattern of damage due to Hurricane Andrew, they find that newer homes suffered proportionately more damage than older homes. As an explanation of their findings, they hypothesize that "consumers have substituted homeowners insurance for structurally sound homes that are built to withstand hurricanes." Our study focuses on the value of a self-insurance type of mitigation in a location with a given historical probability of the disaster. The purpose of this study is to examine market price sensitivity of buyers to mitigation on existing homes. This information can assist policymakers in identifying effective incentives and provide necessary information to buyers in terms of the risk inherent with one property versus another. Our goal is to examine resale market price effects of voluntary mitigation measures taken by home owners to protect their property using market price data from a coastal city that is vulnerable to tropical storms and hurricanes. This paper is organized as follows. A short review of the relevant literature is outlined in the next section. This is followed by a description of our data set and the construction of a wind engineering-based structural integrity index. Next we specify the two models to be tested, one model with storm blinds as the mitigation focus variable and the second a construction index model that uses the structural integrity index. We then report results for both models and finish with conclusions and proposed extensions. 2. Review of Literature In a classic paper, EB examine a static model of insurance demand using a state preference approach. They consider market insurance and two forms of risk mitigation. Mitigation efforts can reduce the size of the loss or reduce the probability of the loss. The form that they call self-insurance reduces the size of a loss. Reducing the probability of the loss is referred to as self-protection. Some key results are the following: (i) The incentive to self-insure (loss-reducing mitigation), "unlike the incentive to use market insurance, is smaller for rare losses. …

Organizing the War on Terrorism

Abstract: The network of public agencies, private firms, nonprofit organizations, ad hoc groups, and individual volunteers that deals with natural and technological hazards and disasters did a remarkable job of responding to and helping us recover from the September 11th attacks. That national emergency management network, along with the national security and law enforcement networks, provides a foundation for our war on terrorism, helps us mitigate the hazard of terrorism, and improves our preparedness for future violence. However, coordinating the efforts of the networks will be a real challenge for the director of homeland security and his or her state and local counterparts. Coordination will necessitate using legal authority to assure compliance, economic and other incentives to encourage compliance, formal partnerships to encourage collaboration, informal understandings to encourage cooperation, and personal encouragement to influence appropriate action. A top–down, command–and–control approach to the war on terrorism, such as the proposed Department of Homeland Security is intended to provide, may be counterproductive.

A problem solving model for collaborative agents

Abstract: This paper describes a model of problem solving for use in collaborative agents. It is intended as a practical model for use in implemented systems, rather than a study of the theoretical underpinnings of collaborative action. The model is based on our experience in building a series of interactive systems in different domains, including route planning, emergency management, and medical advising. It is currently being used in an implemented, end-to- end spoken dialogue system in which the system assists a person in managing their medications. While we are primarily focussed on human-machine collaboration, we believe that the model will equally well apply to interactions between sophisticated software agents that need to coordinate their activities.

Factors affecting seasonal forecast use in Arizona water management: A case study of the 1997-98 El Niño

Abstract: The 1997-98 El Nino was exceptional, not only because of its magnitude, but also because of the visibility and use of its forecasts. The 3 to 9 mo advance warning of a wet winter with potential flooding in the US Southwest, easily accessible by water management agencies, was unprecedented. Insights about use of this information in operational water management decision processes were developed through a series of semi-structured in-depth interviews with key person- nel from a broad array of agencies responsible for emergency management and water supply, with jurisdictions ranging from urban to rural and local to regional. Interviews investigated where infor- mation was acquired, how it was interpreted and how it was incorporated into specific decisions and actions. In addition, technical and institutional barriers to forecast use are explored. Study findings emphasize (1) the need for special handling of tailored forecast products on a regional scale, (2) the need for systematic regional forecast evaluation and (3) the potential for climate information to directly affect water management decisions through integrating climate forecasts into water supply outlooks where appropriate.

Satellite remote sensing as a tool in Lahar disaster management.

Abstract: At least 40,000 deaths have been attributed to historic lahars (volcanic mudflows). The most recent lahar disaster occurred in 1998 at Casita volcano, Nicaragua, claiming over 2,500 lives. Lahars can cover large areas and be highly destructive, and constitute a challenge for disaster management. With infrastructure affected and access frequently impeded, disaster management can benefit from the synoptic coverage provided by satellite imagery. This potential has been recognised for other types of natural disasters, but limitations are also known. Dedicated satellite constellations for disaster response and management have been proposed as one solution. Here we investigate the utility of currently available and forthcoming optical and radar sensors as tools in lahar disaster management. Applied to the Casita case, we find that imagery available at the time could not have significantly improved disaster response. However, forthcoming satellites, especially radar, will improve the situation, reducing the benefit of dedicated constellations.

Protecting emergency responders : lessons learned from terrorist attacks

Abstract: : Just as it has for the nation as a whole, the world in which emergency responders work has changed in fundamental ways since September 11, 2001. Members of professions already defined by their high levels of risk now face new, often unknown threats on the job. At a basic level, the September 11 terrorist events have forced emergency responders to see the incidents they are asked to respond to in a new light. At the World Trade Center, 450 emergency responders perished while responding to the terrorist attacks about one-sixth of the total number of victims. Hundreds more were seriously injured. In this light, the terrorist events are also forcing emergency responders to reconsider the equipment and practices they use to protect themselves in the line of duty.

Belief in disaster relief and the demand for a public-private insurance program

Abstract: Producers' demand for a public-private crop insurance program in the Netherlands is surveyed. A novel aspect was the inclusion of the producer's belief in disaster relief. Despite emphatic assertions that future governmental involvement would only be directed at a hypothetical insurance program, the participation decision was negatively and significantly associated with the producer's belief about the availability of disaster relief in the future. So, if governments continue to provide (free) ad hoc disaster relief, an important incentive to participate would be severely undermined. However, the conditional decision about the amount was not affected.