FEMA The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an organization of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially formed by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and applied by two Executive Orders on April 1, 1979. The initial first response to a disaster is the job of local emergency services with the nearby help of the surrounding sources. A major disaster can be a result of tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods. The event must be absolutely more than the state or local governments can handle alone. If confirmed, funding comes from the President's Disaster Relief Fund, managed by FEMA and the disaster aid programs of other joining federal agencies. A Major Disaster Declaration would most likely follow these These same tropical storms are known as cyclones in the northern Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal, and as typhoons in the western Pacific Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean’s hurricane season points from mid-August to late October and averages five to six hurricanes each year. Hurricanes begin as tropical disturbances in warm ocean waters with temperatures of at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit. These low pressure systems are served by energy from the warm seas. If a storm reaches wind speeds of 38 miles an hour, it is known as a tropical depression. A tropical depression becomes a tropical storm, and is given a name, when its sustained wind speeds top 39 miles an hour. When a storm’s sustained wind speeds reach 74 miles an hour it becomes a hurricane and earns a category rating of 1 to 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Hurricanes are enormous heat engines that generate energy on a staggering scale. They draw heat from warm, moist ocean air and release it through condensation of water vapor in thunderstorms. A current hurricane that occurred was Big Sandy. FEMA became involved with the issue when the hurricane hit Rockaway, New York. President Obama declared a major disaster on October 30, 2012. According to what President Obama said, “We're going to have a lot of work to do. I don't want anybody to feel that somehow this is all going to get cleaned up overnight. We want to make sure that people have realistic expectations. You know, we go through tough times, but we bounce back. And the reason we bounce back is because we look out for one another and we don't leave anybody behind. And so my commitment to the people on this block, the people in this community, and the people of this state is that that same spirit will carry over all the way through until our work is done. In this country, we look out for one another.
Firstly hurricanes, otherwise known as tropical-cyclones, are formed over warm ocean waters of at least 26.5ºC through depths of at least 45m. There must also be a high Coriolis Effect present such as there is just north and south of the equator. (Moran, 2011) Hurricanes begin as smaller storms called tropical disturbances, if the storm experiences a sufficient loss in surface air pressure coinciding with a strengthening sustained wind the storm is then upgraded to a tropical depression. As the storm continues to intensify and the wind speeds reach 63km/h it then becomes a tropical storm and is finally given a name. When the storm continues to grow in strength and reaches wind speeds of 119km/h it then becomes a hurricane. (Moran,2011)
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.
Both man-made and natural disasters are often devastating, resource draining and disruptive. Having a basic plan ready for these types of disaster events is key to the success of executing and implementing, as well as assessing the aftermath. There are many different ways to create an emergency operations plan (EOP) to encompass a natural and/or man-made disaster, including following the six stage planning process, collection of information, and identification of threats and hazards. The most important aspect of the US emergency management system in preparing for, mitigating, and responding to man-made and natural disasters is the creation, implementation and assessment of a community’s EOP.
Executive Office of the President is comprised of his staff. Responsible for a lot of communications, some to the American people, some to foreign nations, and some to the Executive Branch.
Hurricanes are born over the warm waters of tropical oceans and are formed by a low-pressure system caused by the heating of water. The heat causes the air to rise and form lower pressures in a feedback loop, making the hurricane stronger. Heavy rain results from a condensation of water and strong winds develop from warm air rushing to the eye of the hurricane. Essentially, greater storms and winds occur when the hurricane feeds of the rising temperature of the water. In addition, researchers studied disturbances and intense thunderstorms in the atmosphere over Western Africa and believe they are partly to blame for extreme hurricanes affecting the United States and Canada. While these are all the main ingredients of a perfectly natural process, they were not the primary causes of the damage done by Hurricane
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)
These hazards can range from hurricanes, to tornados, to mass shootings, and to terrorist attacks. FEMA is there to grant relief to those affected by these tragedies. FEMA makes funds for organizations to create dams, flood gates, and shelters. FEMA helps before a disaster strikes by evacuating homes, and warning people of the imminent danger. The agency works with the Red Cross to help the citizens who were injured in earthquakes, and other disasters. The agency also works with terrorist attacks. If an act of terror were to happen in the United States, FEMA would be there to help the citizens. The main job of FEMA is the welfare of the people. They will do everything in their power to prevent disasters from happening. They will limit the loss of life, and homes from
After the attack, the United States hastily constructed the Department of Homeland Security and downgraded FEMA, whose main duty was civil protection. This attracted criticism from some public administration experts that the U.S. government concentrated too much on terrorism…[After Hurricane Katrina] Critics… charged that too many government officials were not familiar with the “National Response Plan” which was implemented in December 2004 after 9/11 terrorist attack. Planning and training for large natural disasters were insufficient after the implementation of the plan. In short, too great a focus on counter-terrorism undermined capacities for natural disaster mitigation, response, and recovery in the post-9/11 United States (para. 7,
A hurricane is a low pressure area that forms over a warm ocean in the early summer and in the early fall and. the two biggest factors of causes of a hurricane is water and moist air because the water surface rises and then gets mixed with cooler air to condense and form storm clouds. When a hurricane starts in the Atlantic it starts when a thunderstorm off the west coast of Africa drifts up towards the Atlantic. A minimum distance of at least 500km, from the equator, is needed because it is too humid near the equator for a hurricane to start.so that’s why hurricanes form above the equator it where it’s cooler. Wherever the hurricane forms (on the water) it needs to be at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit (the water), that’s how you get water vapor which, because the water is warm, which powers the hurricane (the water vapor releases latent heat of condensation to power the hurricane).the water vapor acts like a fuel source. Strong winds also play a big role in causing a hurricane because it helps bring up more water vapor. These winds also spiral inwards so the hurricane canes get its spiraling motion. Th...
Hurricanes form over the ocean. Easterly waves, what hurricanes develop from, are long, narrow regions of low pressure which occur in ocean winds called trade winds. At first, these easterly waves can grow into something called, a tropical depression. A tropical depression occurs when winds are up to 31 mph. Then tropical depressions can be upgraded into a tropical storm if the winds reach speeds of 74 mph or less. Then finally a the storm can be bumped up into a hurricane if the winds reach 75 mph.
The mission of FEMA is “to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from and mitigate all hazards.”[1] FEMA intends “to lead America to prepare for, prevent, respond to and recover from disasters with a vision of ‘A Nation Prepared.’”[2]
In the hurricane the mixture of the water and winds can be extremely damaging. The winds are extremely dangerous and usually don’t go faster than about 75 miles per hour but have been documented to go as fast as 85 miles per hour. Due to the fact that hurricanes need water to survive they cannot go too far on land, but that does not stop them from causing billions of dollars in damages. Hurricanes are so dangerous that they were listed number 1 on the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Hazard and Disasters list.
For a hurricane to form, the ocean temperature must be warmer than twenty-six degrees Celsius, or eighty degrees Fahrenheit. Also, the air near the oceans surface must be filled with moisture. The seawater that is warmed by the heat from the sun evaporates to form vast storm clouds. As the warm air rises, the cooler air replaces it thus creating a wind. The rotation of the earth bends the wind inward causing it to rotate and spiral upward with a great amount of force. Around the Equator, the spin is the fastest. There, it can be faster than six hundred miles per hour.
A tropical cyclone is a warm-core, low-pressure system producing high winds that spiral counter-clockwise (in the northern hemisphere) and inward, with the highest winds near the center of circulation. The large counter-clockwise and inward flow is characteristic of the nearly symmetric structure of tropical cyclones as they are comprised of rain bands spiraling toward the center. These warm-core storms typically form over the tropical and subtropical oceans and extract their energy from the heat content of the oceans. Tropical cyclones are organized into three main states, depending on their overall structure and maximum wind speed. The three main categories are: Tropical Depression • Closed low-pressure system • Winds must rotate fully around the closed low-pressure center • Maximum sustained winds of up to 39 mph Tropical Storm • Appear more circular than a Tropical Depression, indicating more organization • Clearly recognizable rotation • Maximum sustained winds from 39 to 73 mph Hurricane • Well-organized, often with a distinct eye • Pronounced, strong rotation • Maximum sustained winds greater than 73 mph • Large range in intensity is described by the Saffir-Simpson Scale
A hurricane is a type of natural disaster that can be harmful and destructive to anything in its way. Every year five to six hurricanes are formed, damaging and destroying people’s homes, landmarks, and anything in its path (“Hurricane”). Before a hurricane is developed it is known as a tropical storm. To be a tropical storm wind speed must be at least thirty eight miles per hour (“Hurricane”). Once wind speeds reaches seventy four miles an hour it can then be classified as hurricane (“Hurricane”). Large scale storms, like hurricanes have a variety of ways to measure the sev...