Discussion Board 2
Quandary 1 –Kilroy: Chapter 2:
After having read the assigned chapters and your own research do you agree
with an all hazards perspective or do you think the focus should only be on
terrorism? Why do you think that way? What is the number one hazard you
face in your community? Briefly provide a thought on what the Bible says
about hazards we face in life.
Quandary 2 –Ramsay, Kiltz: Chapter 7:
What are the top 5 takeaways regarding lessons learned or best practices
from your readings from the San Bruno Explosion and the 2010 Haiti
earthquake? List in order and briefly discuss each point.
HLSC 530 Homeland Security Capstone
Week 2 Discussion Board
Dr. Joahu Adams
January 25, 2024
Quandary 1
In my opinion, the U.S government should focus on all hazards perspective rather than only
focusing on terrorism. According to Kilroy, by using an all-hazard approach and focusing on the
common operational functions advocated by FEMA, local and state emergency managers were
able to plan for multiple separate disasters at once (Kilroy, 2018). All hazards approach is an
integrated to emergency preparedness planning that focuses on capacities that are critical to
preparedness for a full spectrum of emergencies or disasters, including internal emergencies and
a man-made emergency or natural disaster. All hazards do not mean being prepared for any all
hazards that might manifest themselves in a particular community, state, or nation. All hazards
do mean that there are things commonly occurring in many kinds of disasters, such as the need
for emergency warning or mass evacuation which can be addressed in a general plan for
mitigation and responding to unexpected events. If they just have one singular focusing on
terrorism incidents, they will not be prepared for other disasters which are not caused by
terrorism. Moreover, terrorism is a hazard of uncertain probability for most communities and
organizations. The question is whether terrorism is so different from other threats that the all-
hazards approach is inappropriate or ineffective. The terrorist incidents might even resemble
natural or technological disasters, the response may be similar. A bridge or building collapse, a
fire, an explosion, and a power outage might result from terrorist actions. In addition, the
response to the World Trade Center towers and Pentagon attacks in 9/11 were much like
responses to fires and structural failures. While law enforcement agencies were concerned with
the preservation pf evidence, the emergency responses were similar to a natural disaster. Thus,
the emergency planning may include some special responses, but the basic response
requirements remain. For instance, bioterrorist attack like COVID-19 may require quarantine,
special medical response, and other extraordinary measures.
Therefore, the all-hazards approach can contribute to the effort to deal with terrorism in its many
forms is a basic framework for structuring the emergency response, preparing for the response,
and recovering from attacks, as well as developing appropriate measures to prevent or reduce the
impact of the attacks. Also, it is important to remember that the threat of terrorism is less certain
than other threats. For example, the threat of earthquakes is much more certain than the threat of
terrorism, consequently investments in capacity to deal with risks to life and property should be
based upon that priority. Similarly, the threat of hurricanes is more certain than the threat of
terrorism. As Hurricane Charley recently demonstrated, the level of destruction may be even
greater than terrorism attacks. All-hazards planning does encourage a broader perspective on
risks and how to deal with them and a broader foundation on which to build effective programs
to manage hazards and disasters.
According to Bible, the mission of Department Homeland Security includes preventing the
nation’s security from terrorism attacks as well as protecting citizen from hazard and disasters.
Also, government have responsibility to protect human life following the God’s words. “The
Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him
be the glory forever and ever. Amen” – 2 Timothy 4:18. God loves and saves human life. 2
Thessalonians 3:3 – “But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the
evil one”. Planning is a good practice for managers to response to disasters quickly to mitigate
the damage. God make His plan to rescue human. “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be
dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my
righteous right hand” – Isaiah 41-10.
Quandary 2
Top 5 takeaways regarding lessons learned from San Bruno explosion and the 2010 Haiti
earthquake.
1. The emergency managers should have more planning for the worse scenarios so that the
incidents could be prevented. For instance, jurisdictions should consider pipeline
explosions as part of the threat and hazard identification and risk assessment (Ramsay
&Kiltz, 2014). By considering these threats, the emergency managers could be able to
prepare to response and recover the incidents that could occur.
2. Individuals and other agencies that would respond to an incident should be included in
the emergency planning phase of operations. By allowing all involved to be part of the
planning phase, emergency managers and planning can better prepare for issues in
coordination. Having those involved will greatly increase the response and recovery to
the incident. For example, in the Haiti earthquake, the lack communication between the
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) greatly inhibited the response to the incident.
It resulted in multiple duplicated responses to the incident. Thus, coordination of services
through the NGO’s would greatly assist in identifying resources needed and responding
accurately to the incident swiftly.
3. Understanding of the local government that the incident is not over at the conclusion of
the recovery phase. After the recovery phase of an incident there may be secondary and
tertiary results from the incident. This could require additional resources over the course
of weeks or months to resume normal activity in the community. This could be in the
form of rebuilding homes, emotional support, or investigations by city and community
officials.
4. First responders and others that responded to the emergency had to make up planning on
the fly in some instances. Planning is one of the greatest areas in emergency
management. This will show and allocate all resources to the incidents and will identify
recovery assets after the fact. In doing so, this will speed up the response and recovery of
the incident and result in normality resuming sooner than expected.
5. Understanding the health issues after the fact. Also, by understanding the culture and how
they interact on a daily basis, emergency managers can predict potential hazards that
could come up after the disaster is over. In understanding the cultural diversity and how
they operate daily, the NGO’s and government could have prepared for a potential
disease outbreak.
Reference
Holy bible. (2011). Zondervan.
Kilroy, R. J. (2018). Chapter 2. In Threats to homeland security reassessing the all hazards
perspective. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Ramsay, J. D., & Kiltz, L. A. (2018). Chapter 7. In Critical issues in homeland security: A
casebook. Routledge.
Sandler, D., & Schwab, A. K. (2021). Hazard mitigation planning. Hazard Mitigation and
Preparedness, 296–332. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003123897-12
Hello Sara,
Thank you for your opinion about the Department of Homeland Security missions including all
hazards and terrorism. I totally agree with you that the focus should be on all hazards rather than
only focusing on terrorism. However, I think that terrorism is still a type of hazard that
emergency managers should have a plan and ready to response to an attacking situation as well.
Also, there are four phases of emergency management including mitigation, preparedness,
response, and recovery that the managers can apply to protect the nation’s security as well as
community safety. Planning is a god function to complete the FEMA mission. Managers have to
make an action plan based on collecting and evaluating the incident information. During the
planning section, the managers have to update the information for all involved department know
about the incidents such rescuing people, goal of incident, safety for incident. Therefore, they
can achieve their goal if all agencies understand the plan to rescue and protect the community.
“The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom.
To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen” – 2 Timothy 4:18. Response to incident requires all
department personnel to work together to accomplish mission, and it cannot get done by
individual. Therefore, the manager must get a plan how to use all departments efficiently so that
they can save human life and mitigate the damage.
Reference
Holy bible. (2011). Zondervan.
Sandler, D., & Schwab, A. K. (2021). Hazard mitigation planning. Hazard Mitigation and
Preparedness, 296–332. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003123897-12
Hello Alex,
Thank you for your post about all hazards and terrorism. Definition, all hazards include
accidents, technological event, natural disasters, space weather, domestic and foreign-sponsored
terrorist attacks, acts of war, weapons of mass destruction and chemical, biological, radiological,
nuclear or explosive events. Similarly, terrorism gives threats to the national security that the
emergency managers have to consider protecting the national security as well as the community
safety. These threats have brought about large-scale losses of life, the destruction of property,
widespread illness and injury, the displacement of large number of people, and devasting
economic loss. Also, the State and local governments have primary responsibility in planning for
and managing the consequences of a terrorist incident using available resources in the critical
hours before Federal assistance can arrive. Moreover, the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) has prepared this guide as a means of outreach to State and local governments
that may request Federal assistance in responding to the consequences of terrorist incidents.
Therefore, all emergency agencies work together to mitigate, prepare, response and recover the
community since both natural disasters as well as terrorisms occurring. “I will send My terror
ahead of you and throw into confusion all the people among whom you come, and I will make all
your enemies turn their backs to you” – Exodus 23:27.
Reference
Holy bible. (2011). Zondervan.
Kilroy, R. J. (2018). Chapter 2. In Threats to homeland security reassessing the all hazards
perspective. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has provided a national ability to
coordinate and plan services to both prepare for and respond to disasters around the country. The
responsibility of FEMA includes everything from predicting possible disaster situations to
coordinating relief and response efforts of first responder personnel, government agencies, and
community organizations to providing assistance to survivors of disasters. To be effective,
FEMA must employ a number of different types of professionals including everything from
technical advisors to trainers to administrators. Among these professionals, the public affairs
officer is a part of the community team, working to disseminate news and information as well as
to coordinate efforts among agencies. A public affairs officer plays an important role in the
ability of the organization to handle campaigns, relief efforts, and planning and preparation for
disasters and disaster relief. By working with other staff members, professionals, and related
organizations and agencies, the public affairs officer is responsible for everything from
coordination of efforts to conveying communications to the public. Moreover, the dissemination
of news is a particularly important part of the public affairs officer to inform the public about the
progress of disaster relief efforts and new policies or information pertaining to the organization.
Also, the public affairs officer is communicator of potential dangers and hazards that the public
may face. As such, it is essential for public affairs officers to clearly relay all information to the
public about the danger itself and what steps should be taken to prepare. In addition, the public
affairs officers handle a majority of the publications of the organization including interviewing,
researching, and gathering information as well as building and maintaining much of the media
and public image of the organization. Therefore, the public affairs officers for FEMA have a key
role in communicating with everyone from other agency representatives to disaster relief
personnel to the general public.
However, the public affairs officers’ responsibilities come many unique obstacles which can
significantly impact their professional success and communities they serve. Moreover, they lack
the resources to complete their tasks. As with many roles in government agencies, time,
personnel, and budget are often tight for them to manage communications effectively. The
impact of limited resources is especially notable as government communications are scrutinized
as distrust builds in many communities. For example, in the wake of COVID-19, there was a lot
of public distress and uncertainty, and plenty of misinformation was disseminated across various
media channels. Thus, they may need to decide whether to spend more time developing materials
for a social media campaign or working on a traditional media outreach strategy. Also, they have
to provide the true information which can help them to build trust in communities as well as
minimize the negative feedback since disasters occur. To succeed in serving communities, the
public affairs officers need to engage in planning and make intelligent choices especially when
disaster occurs. “Ship Your grain across the sea; after many days you may receive a return.
Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight; you do not know what disaster may come upon the land”
– Ecclesiastes 11:1-2.
Reference
Holy bible. (2011). . Zondervan.
National Information Management System and Incident Command System *. (2017). HAZMAT
Guide for First Responders, 239–308. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781315230795-19
Public Affairs Support Annex - fema.gov. (n.d.). https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-
07/fema_nrf_support-annex_public-affairs.pdf
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