Thomas E. Drabek, disaster researcher and prolific author of disaster literature, has been my favorite in both of those categories since I was introduced to his work in one of my first Crisis and Disaster Management (CDM) courses at the University of Central Missouri. His disaster research work and writings have motivated and inspired me to entertain the idea of becoming a disaster researcher. Prior to reading Drabek’s work and especially his book, The Human Side of Disasters, (Drabek, 2010), I was uncertain about my future role in CDM. As I worked towards completion of my undergraduate degree in CDM I had hoped that along the way I would discover a particular passion in the field that would in turn lead to a vocation. My interests have always leaned toward human behavior and the reasons for it and the processes involved in its evolution and I wondered how I would integrate that into the work of Emergency Management.
Upon exposure to Drabek, my interest in disaster research was sparked. His approach to research as explained in Chapter 5, “Following Some Dreams”, in Stallings’ Methods of Disaster Research, is worthy of emulation:
Always, my work has been guided by three goals: (1) to test and extend sociological theory related to human response to disaster; (2) to identify insights relevant to emergency management practitioners; and (3) to communicate the results to both the academic and practitioner communities. (Stallings, 2002, p. 127)
For over 4 decades, Drabek’s goals have been driven by his curiosity, facilitated by his flexibility in the use of research methods and have propelled him to contribute voluminously to the knowledge base regarding the diverse aspects and conditions of human responses to disaster. His adv...
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...l of Mass Emergencies and Disasters 1: 277 – 305.
Drabek, T.E. (1987). The Professional Emergency Manager: Structures and Strategies for Success. Boulder, CO: University of Colorado, Institute of Behavioral Science, Program on Environmental and Behavior.
Drabek, T.E. (1990). Emergency Management: Strategies for Maintaining Organizational Integrity. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Drabek, T.E., Hoetmer, G.J. (eds.) (1991). Emergency Management: Principles and Practice for Local Government. Washington, DC: International City and County Management Association.
McEntire, D.A. (Ed.) (2007). Disciplines, disasters, and emergency management: the convergence and divergence of concepts, issues and trends from the research literature. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
Stallings, R.A. (Ed.) (2002). Methods of Disaster Research. International Research Committee on Disasters.
Waugh, William L, and Gregory Streib. "Collaboration and Leadership for Effective Emergency Management." Public Administration Review, 66.6 (2006): 131-140.
Drea Knufken’s thesis statement is that “As a society, we’ve acquired an immunity to crisis” (510-512). This means that humans in general, or citizens of the world, have become completely desensitized to disasters, we think of them as just another headline, without any understanding of their impact upon fellow
middle of paper ... ... The. “Hurricane Andrew: The Human Side of Recovery.” Disaster Recovery Journal, System Support Inc. 1 Sept. 2001. Web.
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.
Emergency management was institutionalized in 1979 with the creation of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It purposes is simply the creation of plans through which communities can reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Five Federal agencies that dealt with many types of emergencies consolidated to form FEMA. Since that time, many State and local organizations have changed the names of their organizations to include the words: “emergency management”. The name change indicates a change in orientation from specialized preparedness for single or narrowly defined categories of hazards toward an all-hazards approach that includes potential threats to life and property through environmental and technological hazards,
Context: Success and failure of any organizations or professions rises and falls on the leadership. Thus, the need for good leadership remains critical for organizations’ efficiency and growth. Leadership and team-building are essential and is the key to the success of organizations or professions. Emergency management leaders should judiciously use leadership, effectively and productively to influence people in all phases of disaster management (FEMA, 2005). The list provides a guideline to top-ten competencies that make up professional emergency management.
Disaster: An Opportunity to Progress September-Eleven is an event that has left behind a monumental mark in the history of the United States and of the world. It was a day where thousands lost their lives, thousands’ lives were transformed and changed, and millions of the global community were stunned by the catastrophic event that has occurred. What occurred on September 11, 2001 was one of the most significant and devastating disasters that took place in the modern Digital Age. The definition of disaster commonly holds a negative connotation and conjures up imagery of chaotic mobs of panicking people screaming in fear and running for their lives from the catastrophic event occurring with the earsplitting sirens of police cars, fire
Although the FEMA NIMS and NRF are very resourceful, the emergency management profession is still uniquely challenging and complex while also being nonlinear. Additionally, the Emergency Management Programs and Standards (i.e., the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP), Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Accreditation and Certification Program (PS-Prep), National Fire Protection Association, Chemical Manufacturer Association, and others do provide some direction and standards of corrective measures, and “communication and planning” for the Whole Community (FEMA IS 230.D). Conversely, can the state and local emergency management systems be perfected without dependency on DHS-FEMA responsibility for events that do not qualify for the Safford Act Relief? Yes. The readers may be curious to know how?
Background Emergency management, also known as EM, is the function of government charged with creating the framework to cope with disasters and reduce the vulnerability of hazards . To accomplish this mission, DHS has created an emergency management cycle – a series of pillars used as an outline to handle disaster scenarios. The cycle is as follows: preparation, prevention, response, recovery and mitigation. Hypothetical Disaster A strong, category five hurricane is headed toward the gulf coast of Alabama and Florida.
Wherever a disaster occurs and whenever humans are involved, a disaster management is put into place using a...
Every emergency incident that occurs varies in size and complexity based on the elements involved. However, through effective planning and use of comprehensive emergency management involved agencies can prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate incidents as part of the all-hazards approach. First, an examination of the preparedness phase will be conducted. Then, we will discuss the response phase. Next, we will analyze the recovery phase.
Introduction Natural disasters include flood, wildfire, earthquake, tornado, extreme heat, hurricanes, landslides and mudslides, lightning strike, tsunami, volcano, winter weather, and windstorm (CDC, 2014). They affect thousands of people every year and give little or no warnings. These natural disasters come with many risks and preparation efforts by individuals, families, communities, cities, and organizations are needed to properly survive, combat, and be ready for them. Steps should be taken before, during, and after the disaster (CDC, 2014). There are steps that apply to all disasters, such as assembling a supply kit and developing a family emergency plan, that will be effective in being prepared and assist with recover (CDC, 2014).
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.
The increase in unpredictable natural disasters events for a decade has led to put the disaster preparedness as a central issue in disaster management. Disaster preparedness reduces the risk of loss lives and injuries and increases a capacity for coping when hazard occurs. Considering the value of the preparatory behavior, governments, local, national and international institutions and non-government organizations made some efforts in promoting disaster preparedness. However, although a number of resources have been expended in an effort to promote behavioural preparedness, a common finding in research on natural disaster is that people fail to take preparation for such disaster events (Paton, 2005; Shaw 2004; Spittal, et.al, 2005; Tierney, 1993; Kenny, 2009; Kapucu, 2008; Coppola and Maloney, 2009). For example, the fact that nearly 91% of Americans live in a moderate to high risk of natural disasters, only 16% take a preparation for natural disaster (Ripley, 2006).
Of the four phases of emergency management, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery, perhaps the place that individuals can make the biggest difference in their own state of resiliency and survival of a disaster is in the preparedness phase. Being prepared before a disaster strikes makes sense yet many people fail to take even simple, precautionary steps to reduce the consequences of destruction and mayhem produced by natural events such as earthquakes, volcanos and tornados (see Paton et al, 2001, Mileti and Peek, 2002; Tierney, 1993, Tierney et al, 2001).