The Natural Hazards Center (NHC), in the Institute of Behavioral Science, at the University of Colorado, Boulder, was established in 1973 to enhance and contribute to the knowledge base of the then young, academic field of disaster research and to help reduce the destruction caused by disasters. The NHC has contributed decades of continuous service to communities, and to all levels of government, by sharing information from its “all-hazards approach for dealing with environmental extremes” and promoting cooperative and “integrated activities among researchers, practitioners and policy makers from around the world” (NHC, 2011).
The Center receives it’s funding primarily from United States Federal level agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the US Geological Survey (USGS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), among others. NHC is guided by a National Advisory Committee with committee members representing federal agencies and from members of local and state governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), academia, and the private sector (NHC, 2011).
To accomplish its mission the NHC publishes books, papers and reports on disaster research and emergency management (EM), as well has maintaining one of the largest collections of literature regarding natural hazards. The Center also publishes a monthly newsletter, Natural Hazards Observer, and a biweekly e-newsletter, Disaster Research. In fact, the NHC has a very visible Internet presence and maintains a searchable online database, HazLit. From their website many publications are available including Quick Response Reports (from a field research program going back to 1986), Research Digest Articles, which are abstracts of articles available in the NHC Library categorized into 24 topic areas, and numerous links to other publications. Visitors can also purchase copies of NHC publications off the website (NHC, 2011).
Another core program at the NHC is research. The Center engages students in research activities to give them hands-on training in disaster and social science research and allows them to participation the multidisciplinary projects undertaken by the renown staff.
Kathleen Tierney, NHC Director, and Dennis S. Mileti, Senior Research Scientist, are at the helm of the Center and both have published extensively on various aspects of disaster management prior to, and during their tenure at NHC. Both have also been the lead authors of books published by the National Academy Press, funded by the National Science Foundation, which addressed “assessment of research on natural hazards” (Mileti, 1999).
Royer, Jordan. “Hurricane Sandy and the importance of being FEMA”, Crosscut.com, Crosscut.com, Web. 1 Nov 2012, 3 May 2014.
The National response plan outlines four key actions the disaster coordinator should take. They are gaining and maintaining situational awareness, activate and deploy key resources and capabilities, coordinating response actions and demobilizing. Throughout the response it is essential that responders have access to critical information. During the initial response effort the situation is will change rapidly. Situational awareness starts at the incident site. For this reason it is essential that decision makers have access to the right information at the right time. By establishing an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) all key responders are brought ...
Regina:The Early Years. (2014). Cyclone of 1912. Regina: The Early Years 1880 -1950. Retrieved March 7, 2014, from http://scaa.usask.ca/gallery/regina/central/cyclone.html
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.
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.
If you have been wondering what to do in the wake of all the natural disasters happening in the world, including hurricanes and storms, you will be interested in this program?
Bissell, R. (2010). Catastrophic Readiness and Response Course, Session 6 – Social and Economic Issues. Accessed at http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/crr.asp
Kim, Susan. Disaster News Network Best way to help? 14 August 2004. Web. 2 April 2014.
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.
The Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment need the whole community to pass on information, account for population-specific factors, and acknowledge the effects of a threat or hazard. Communities have to be educated and updated on threats and hazards that they may specifically face in order to accurately plan and prepare. All situations are usually handled starting at the lowest level, however, they will also have to discuss on how the federal government will assist if needed. “By providing the necessary knowledge and skills, we seek to enable the whole community to contribute to and benefit from national preparedness.” (FEMA, 2015). Local communities recognize their risks and conclude on how they will handle the significant amount of risks. Local governments discover and address their greatest risks by finishing the Threat and Hazard
Hurricane Hugo was a catastrophe that caused widespread residential damage, extensive lifeline destruction, and enormous timber destruction in South Carolina and was one of the most costly disasters ever experienced in the US in terms of damage to homes, infrastructure and local economies. The media reported accounts of incidents that were serious problems in South Carolina’s response and early recovery efforts which further initiated an exploratory research to gather information about recovery experience in four badly impacted counties and about the state response and recovery actions undertaken. Post hurricane response problems were both organizational and functional. The research reveals significant state deficiencies with state and county emergency capabilities and serious problems in two national disaster response organizations, the Red Cross and FEMA. Another concern was that most emergency management knowledge came from direct experience rather than from existing educational and training programs along with serious mitigation planning problems were found with hurricane. Deepen concerns we...
MNemours. (1999, December 5). Natural Disasters:How to help. Retrieved Febuary 26, 2014, from Teenshealth: http://kidshealth.org/teen/misc/natural_disaster.html
As public health professionals, community health nurses have a significant role to play in both disaster preparedness and response (Clark, 2008). Disaster preparation involves the public health personnel as a result of the knowledge of the community and its inhabitants. As public health personnel are knowledgeable of potential issues with patients and environment. Community nurses use their nursing process of assessing, diagnosing, planning, implementing, and evaluating. Prior to the disaster, the community is assessed by the nurse by identifying high risk residents like a ventilator dependent patients who would be affected by the loss of electricity. In addition, being aware which businesses or buildings can be damaged if a disaster should occur needs to be considered. For example, water treatment plant in Franklin County provided clean county water. It no longer has electricity and loss the ability to provide clean water. The publics’ water is at risk of contamination which easily harbor bacteria that lead to lead to epidemic like MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus). The possibility lead to 3 point public announcement to ad...
Tulsa, Oklahoma: Fire Engineering Books. Oliver, C. (2010). The 'Standard'. Catastrophic Disaster Planning and Response. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Communities throughout the country and the world are susceptible to disasters. The environment and location of a community often predisposes a greater susceptibility to the type of disaster. For example Central Pennsylvania would not be susceptible to an avalanche however communities in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado would have increase vulnerability. Understanding the types of disaster for which the community is susceptible is essential for emergency preparedness (Nies & McEwen, 2011). All communities are susceptible to man-made disasters; terrorism, fires, and mass transit accidents and emergency preparedness are essential. The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) is responsible for disaster planning.