Discussion Forum 1 Module 1
“The Foundations and Origins of Emergency Management”
Describe the History of Emergency Management in the United States.
As McEntire (2019) points out, emergency management throughout history coped with
various environmental, technical, and human-caused calamities. However, before the notion of
emergency management existed in the United States, the American government focused its
efforts during World War II and the Cold war era on protecting its sovereignty from foreign
attacks. The United States established the civil defense initiative, which, according to Phillips et
al. (2016), provided the American civilians the opportunity to contribute to the war efforts
throughout World War II. As the Soviet Union became more of a nuclear threat to the United
States, as McEntire (2019) explained, the civil defense initiative helped prepare communities and
citizens to react successfully against a nuclear conflict with the Soviet Union.
Until the 1950s, disaster management was mainly the duty of municipal and state
governments (Phillips et al., 2016). As mandated by legislation, the federal government played a
minor role in disaster management. As Phillips et al. (2016) point out, the American Congress
could appropriate funds to assist communities. The Red Cross and Salvation Army of the United
States of America provided for most peacetime relief initiatives nationally (Phillips et al., 2016).
However, in 1950, following significant flooding in the United States' mid-west region, the
federal government expanded its role in the disaster response process (Phillips et al., 2016).
Consequently, Congress enacted the Disaster Relief Act, which empowered the President and the
federal government to provide disaster relief without obtaining congressional approval (Phillips
et al., 2016).
Other legislation, such as the Disaster Relief Act of 1974 and the enactment of the
Stafford legislation in 1988, further expanded the federal government's role to aid and provide
disaster relief to communities and disaster victims (Phillips et al., 2016). However, the federal
government began to encounter difficulties due to its two-pronged strategy to civil defense and
disaster management. After the 1970s, President Carter's administration addressed the
emergency management dilemma of a two-track system that impaired the federal government's
ability to manage disasters effectively. Nemeth (2017) notes that President Carter launched the
Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA] in 1979 by executive order.
Additionally, President Carter's Reorganization Plan #3 combined most emergency
management organizations the previous year to concentrate emergency management under a
single emergency management system (Phillips et al., 2016). FEMA, although it had success in
its origins, according to Nemeth (2017), FEMA battled with various opposing interests and
became more self-aware of the complexity of managing major and small-scale catastrophes.
FEMA confronted calamities such as Hurricane Andrew, the Loma Prieta, California, earthquake,
and the Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania, nuclear plant crisis during its early operations (Nemeth,
2017).
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, underscored the need to address difficulties
associated with information sharing, disaster preparation and response, and security weaknesses
(Phillips et al., 2016). The September 11 attacks had a dramatic and immediate influence on
government policy, as the Bush Administration quickly shifted its priority to global affairs and
home security (Drennan, 2018). President Bush signed the Homeland Security Act into law on
January 24, 2003, mandating the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security [DHS]
(McEntire, 2019). The Act emplaced FEMA under the umbrella of the DHS and no longer
served as a stand-alone agency.
Describe the Aspect of Emergency Management that Most Interests You.
My interest in emergency management pertains to the collaborative efforts of first
responders, critical stakeholders, individuals, and the community to improve the disaster
management process. Collaboration and trust enable individuals and organizations to lessen their
vulnerability to hazards, cope with disasters, and establish strong, resilient communities.
According to Ephesians 4:16, "Whom the whole body linked and held together by every joint
makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love" (English Standard Version, 2016).
Discuss the Threat or Hazard that Most Interests You and Why.
The prospect of cyberterrorism piques my attention. McEntire (2019) defines cyber-
terrorism as terroristic operations directed towards computer network systems to instill fear or
coerce behavioral changes. Powerful state-developed tools and technologies frequently find their
way into the hands of organized crime to be repurposed or leveraged by new malevolent actors
(Gallo, 2021). McEntire (2019) discusses the various motives why cyber-terrorism is an
attractive means of engaging in such operations by individuals, groups, and organizations. These
reasons include inexpensive cost, ease of access to computers and the internet, autonomy, and the
potential to affect millions of people (McEntire, 2019). T
Terrorists getting access to computer systems could potentially disrupt vital infrastructure
systems such as traffic control systems, banking institutions, airports, dams, and power plants.
In addition, cyber-attacks constitute a severe threat to national and state governments and the
general population in local communities. Thus, proactiveness rather than reactiveness is the best
way to protect the ever-expanding cyberspace from malicious actors seeking to harm society by
creating fear and changing behavior “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be
strong” (English Standard Version, 2016, 1 Corinthians 16:13).
References
Drennan, L. (2018). FEMA’s fall and redemption—applied narrative analysis. Disaster
Prevention and Management: An International Journal, 27(4), 393–406.
https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm-07-2017-0163
English Standard Version (2016). BibleGateway.com; Crossway Bibles. English Standard
Version (2016). BibleGateway.com; Crossway Bibles.
www.biblegateway.com/versions/English-Standard-Version-ESV-Bible/#booklist
Gallo, A. (2021). A new response to escalating state threats. Computer Fraud & Security,
2021(9), 6–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1361-3723(21)00095-6
McEntire, D. A. (2019). Introduction to Homeland Security: Understanding Terrorism
Prevention and Emergency Management (2nd ed.). Wiley.
Nemeth, C. P. P. (2017). Homeland Security: An Introduction to Principles and Practice, Third
Edition (3rd ed.). CRC Press.
Phillips, B., Neal, D. M., & Webb, G. (2016). Introduction to Emergency Management (2nd
ed.). CRC Press.
