Introduction
A tornado is a naturally occurring phenomenon. The capability a tornado has for destruction can create a major disaster event requiring a response from local, state and federal agencies. This paper will examine the May 22, 2011 tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri. It will identify and compare the response from local, state and federal perspective. This paper will also identify specific emergency management functions that appear executed well and those that may not have been.
The Disaster
May 22, 2011 a supercell thunderstorm spawned the tornado that “roared through Joplin at 5:45 PM Central Daylight Time (CDT)” (Masters, 2011). This mile wide, two hundred mile per hour winds EF-5 tornado killed one hundred and fifty eight while injuring over a thousand people. It spent thirty-eight minutes on the ground while traveling twenty-two point one miles. Along the way, the tornado swept away homes or crushed them with debris. Debris from this tornado included cars, steel reinforced porches and driveways or debris carried from other destroyed buildings.
The Response
Locally, Joplin, Missouri prepared for such an event as this following the Whole Community Approach. Following Presidential Policy Directive 8: National Preparedness, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) supports the idea that government agencies should not be the only entity to respond to large-scale disasters. This policy demonstrates that FEMA believes that a government response is a single spoke in a much larger wheel. Therefore, creating and supporting the Whole Community approach the “larger collective emergency management team includes, not only FEMA and its partners at the federal level, but also local, tribal, state and territorial part...
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... response from local, state and federal agencies. This paper examined the May 22, 2011 tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri. It identified and compared the response from a local, state and federal perspective. This paper also identified specific emergency management functions that appear executed well and those that may not have been.
References
Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA]. (2011). The response to the 2011 Joplin, Missouri, tornado. Lessons learned study. Retrieved from https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=715443
Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA]. (2012). Whole community. Retrieved from http://www.fema.gov/whole-community
Masters, J. (2011). Deadliest U.S. tornado since 1953 rips through Joplin, Missouri, killing 89. Retrieved from http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/deadliest-us-tornado-since-1953-rips-through-joplin-missouri-killi
The history-making documentary footage made available by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer has been subjected to careful analysis. As noted by Grazulis (1993; pp. 879-880), the tornado in question was part of an outbreak in Kansas on that day, including a violent killer tornado near Clyde, Kansas, and a "barn shifting" F1 tornado in Rooks county. It seems that shifting human structures was a common feature of tornadoes on that
In the article by Jeff Piotrowski and the article on the Joplin Tornado: Evil Swirling Darkness, explains that the Joplin tornado took out the city of Joplin, Missouri. The tornado came into the town of Joplin on May 22, 2011 and was about a mile wide. Fires were attacking the city and homes from broken gas lines, and many people were buried alive in their houses. The fire department was gone and no one could find any police to help. Neighbors helped neighbors, pulling each other out of the ruble. Over 125 people had died all from being trapped and suffocated, to be cut open by sharp objects that fell. In the end many people had died and were injured during the tragic tornado that came through and left Joplin in horror and terror.
In conclusion, the deadliest and most devastating U.S. tornado outbreak of the 20th century was the April 3–4, 1974, “Super Tornado Outbreak.” It lasted 16 hours and at least 148 twisters tore up 2,500 miles of Earth through 13 states over a 24-hour period, according to the National Weather Service. The "super outbreak," as meteorologists now call it, left 330 people dead and 5,484 injured. Property losses were placed at $600 million and only ten of the thirteen states that were hit, were declared a disaster area.
In 2003, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was rolled into the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. FEMA’s responsibilities are to prepare, protect, respond, and recover from diminish all hazards. There was a mass coverage about the failure for FEMA to act immediately to Katrina, but once they were able to get things organized such as giving food and water, and setting up the tent and shelters communities can be strong and move on.
Regina was hit by its first ever tornado on June 30, 1912, but it is still the deadliest tornado in terms of human lives lost to have occurred in all of Canada to date. The tornado was estimated to have been an F4 in magnitude, with wind speeds of 333-418 km/h, and struck without warning to many. It spawned 18 km to the south of Regina and cut northward through the city, passing through it in roughly three minutes. In the event, a total of 28 lives were lost, more than 200 were injured, more than 2500 were left homeless, and $1.2 million of primary monetary losses was incurred at time, which left Regina in debt from reconstruction costs for 40 years.
The Robert T. Stafford Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, or the Stafford Act is by far the most important federal law when it comes to disaster management (Hunter, 2009, p. 189). The purpose of this paper is to provide an argument is support of the Stafford Act. I will address how the Stafford Act has been modified to support large scale devastation, as well as the federal government’s responsibility to reimburse local entities. Additionally, I will discuss how the Act has improved its catastrophic disaster housing plans to meet community needs. Finally, I will describe the changes made to reduce the bureaucratic red tape.
On May 4, 2007, the town of Greensburg, Kansas was devastated by an exceptionally strong tornado. With maximum winds estimated to be in excess of 205 miles per hour, and leaving a damage path as wide as 1.7 miles, the storm would go on to be rated a rare EF5, the first recorded in the United States since 1999. When the storm finally subsided, 95 percent of Greensburg had been destroyed, killing eleven people.
...clearly communicate with one another in the periods before, during and after the storm combined with confusing organizational jurisdictions and bad policy severely hindered the federal government’s response to Katrina. In order to prevent a repeat of those mistakes, the federal government needs to put into place new procedures for disaster response and recovery. These procedures must be clear and concise with minimal bureaucracy so that response time will be maximized and leaders will know exactly what authority they have. Federal, state and local governments need to increase preparation and prevention measures while gaining a better understanding of the relationship between physical geography and city planning. This combined with improvements in resource management and communication, will go to show that the government has truly learned from the lessons of Katrina.
B. Relevance: Illinois rests on the boundary of what tornado researchers call tornado alley. This is the area of the country that receives the most tornadoes every year. According to a 1995 brochure distributed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Illinois averages 27 tornadoes a year. Also, nearly 5 people die every year in Illinois as a result of tornadoes [ AID]. In fact, according to Tornado Project Online!, a website hosted by a company that gathers tornado information for tornado re searchers, the deadliest tornado in U.S. recorded history occurred in Murphysboro, Illinois. In 1925 a violent tornado killed 234 people in this Southern Illinois town.
Federal intervention in the aftermath of natural disasters began after the San Francisco earthquake in 1906. This 8.3 magnitude earthquake killed 478, and left over 250,000 homeless. While the disaster itself was obviously unavoidable, the subsequent fires that burned throughout the city were a result of poor planning. (1, 17) In an effort to consolidate existing programs, and to improve the nation’s level of preparedness, President Carter created FEMA in 1979. Initially, FEMA was praised for improving communication between various levels of government, and multiple agencies during a crisis. (1,19)
Hazards pose risk to everyone. Our acceptance of the risks associated with hazards dictates where and how we live. As humans, we accept a certain amount of risk when choosing to live our daily lives. From time to time, a hazard becomes an emergent situation. Tornadoes in the Midwest, hurricanes along the Gulf Coast or earthquakes in California are all hazards that residents in those regions accept and live with. This paper will examine one hazard that caused a disaster requiring a response from emergency management personnel. Specifically, the hazard more closely examined here is an earthquake. With the recent twenty year anniversary covered by many media outlets, the January 17, 1994, Northridge, California earthquake to date is the most expensive earthquake in American history.
A systemic crisis is a crisis in which the breadth of impact reaches many individuals within the system; for example, schools, businesses, entire communities, regions, or it may be worldwide. The individuals involved in a systemic crisis can become overwhelmed with the enormity of the situation and need physical and/or psychological assistance to regain control. Systemic crisis interventions require a combination of strategies working cooperatively together across multiple agencies to effectively address all potential needs of the victims. However, not all systemic crises are the same and require interventions that are specific to the systemic crisis category. The following paragraphs will give a brief description of a natural disaster
A tornado struck Joplin, Missouri on May 22, 2011 at around 5:40 pm. With a population around 50,559, it killed 161 people and injured approximately 1,100 people. The cost was an estimated $2.8 billion in damage. The American taxpayers had to give about $500 million in recovery money. This made it the deadliest tornado since 1950, which was when modern recordkeeping began. Since it was an EF5 tornado, it destroyed everything in its path. The city was ruined with only piles of debris left. It was a half-mile wide when it hit Joplin and grew to three-quarters of a mile wide. It destroyed nearly 7,000 homes in Joplin and damaged hundreds more. It covered over 1,800 acres of land. The warnings that the Joplin residents received were through three different ways. The tornado warning that was sent out for Joplin’s county was from Jasper County Emergency Operations Center (JCEOC) and they claim that the first siren went off at 5:11 pm. Two other warnings for the Joplin residents was they saw the tornado heading their direction, and the media coverage which was all local electronic media switched to wall-to-wall coverage seeing live footage of the tornado.
Perry, R.W., Prater, C.S., & Lindell, M.K. (2006). Fundamentals of Emergency Management. Retrieved from http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/fem.asp.
Tornadoes are one of the deadliest and most unpredictable villains mankind will ever face. There is no rhyme or reason, no rhythm to it’s madness. Tornados are one of the most terrifying natural events that occur, destroying homes and ending lives every year. April 29th, 1995, a calm, muggy, spring night I may never forget. Jason, a buddy I grew up with, just agreed to travel across state with me so we could visit a friend in Lubbock. Jason and I were admiring the beautiful blue bonnets, which traveled for miles like little blue birds flying close to the ground. The warm breeze brushed across the tips of the blue bonnets and allowed them to dance under the perfectly clear blue sky. In the distance, however, we could see darkness. A rumbling sky was quickly approaching.