Running head: EXAMINING DISASTER MANAGEMENT
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Examining Disaster Management
Richard Bivens
Liberty University
HLSC 600
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Abstract
The importance of flowing the processes of disaster management to implement efficient steps to
be taken for any incident reflects how these processes are planned. The different approaches will
be explored during the whole of this article. The explanation for the process of disaster
management will be explored in the mitigation, prevention, preparedness, planning, response and
recovery sections. What concepts in an emergency will help these? People need help, and the
knowledge that they're going to be safe in any emergency. Within the Department of Homeland
Security, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is the organization that helps those in
emergencies. Societies need that reassurance that the types of groups that will reach out and be
trained are there. There are many happenings that have left these companies primed for an
incident of the same or worse quality. The Bible states that people should be able to be mutually
supportive. We as societies, and those who collaborate with each other on an ongoing basis, and
every day for each other, do need to be there for mutual assistance. A plan needs to be in motion,
and there needs to be a method in which it is acceptable to all the groups involved in whatever
uncertainty has taken place
Examining Disaster Management
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In less than two decades of being a force the Department of Homeland Security has come
a long way. This department is responsible for some of the most challenging divisions such as the
Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA. This agency is extremely demanding every
year due to the countless traumatic, natural and manmade events. FEMA's statement of mission
is to "help people before, during and after disasters" (FEMA, 2019, p. 1). This organization is set
to help victims by drawing up a plan and taking action on any U.S. disaster. FEMA is part of the
emergency management system in the United States. This system is crucial to the planning,
mitigating, preparing, responding, and recovering of any affected areas suffering from a major
disaster. This emergency management system is under the Department of Homeland Security
because they are in charge of anything that is a threat to the civilians or structure of this country.
There are three important functions needed for organizations such as the DHS, and FEMA to be
involved with, when coming into contact with an emergency. Emergency management is
required to be mitigated, prepared, and to know how to recover the territories that have been in
distress.
Mitigation
The National Emergency Mitigation mechanism comes with having a strategy. Mitigation
and planning are closely linked, as any agency must organize a plan to mitigate, or mitigate, any
potential risk. The National Response Framework (NRF) is the division of the emergency
management system which deals with developing a plan for potential risks. The NRF is
composed of the National Contingency Plan, the Ops Plan Domestic Terrorism Framework, the
Federal Radiological Emergency Response Plan and the National Initial Response Plan. All of
these are plans for major emergencies of a national nature that need a broad idea or strategy in
place. Prevention measures can be taken to minimize the impacts on disasters. There are safe
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rooms and local shelters, flood reduction plans, levees, road deicing before major blizzards and
stronger earthquake building codes. Prevention is nice to have an understanding of what
precautions can be done to kill or harm the fewest amount of lives in a tragic event. The DHS
likes to have broad plans so that they know what a basic plan is, and what steps I can take to
reduce the threat. The authors in the article about the mitigation process state, “In the mitigation
stage, actions are taken to prevent a disaster before it occurs and to minimize its impacts in case
it occurs” (Krasko & Rebennack, 2017, p. 11). The mitigation process is all about what plans to
be involved with. This process is extremely important when it comes to an actual disaster
occurring because there needs to be a plan in place in order to clean up or deter any possible
further threats. An example of a time when there were further threats is back on September 11,
2001. The attacks of on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon happened prior to having plans
in place for such terrible events. When one of the planes hit the first tower, at first, no one
thought that the event was the beginning of a terrorist attack. The following three planes were
hijacked, and flown into the next tower of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and into a field
in Pennsylvania. The three plane attacks into the World Trade Center were clear, but the last
plane that was flown into the field in Pennsylvania has been speculated that it was supposed to
be flown into the White House. These attacks changed the way people traveled, and lived in the
United States. These events of September 11, 2001 sparked the creation of the DHS, and better
emergency management organizations. They came up with plans, and how to mitigate those
plans to be prepared for any such events that may cause harm to the people of the United States.
These organizations are set in place to prevent any future threats including one that could be as
large and life changing as September 11, 2001 was for the entire United States. The DHS works
tirelessly every day to make sure they prevent any artificial threats to the people of this country.
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Of course, there have been many catastrophic events since September 11, 2001. These ghastly
events were not to the extent or comparison of the September 11th attacks. With each of these
events that happen such as the San Bernardino attack in California or the Boston Marathon attack
it makes the people who protect us smarter in case of a next time.
They have to come up with ways to prevent attacks like these, doing so by planning ahead,
and making sure that everyone is always aware of their surroundings. Police at airports and other
places of large gatherings, or travel are always saying to look out for any suitcases, packages, or
backpacks that are left alone. This is a type of plan to prevent a devastating event. In the Bible it
states, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ
Jesus” (Philippians 4:19, ESV). The Bible states that God will supply everyone with whatever
necessities they have in a crisis. Everyone just needs to be smart, and cognizant of his or her
environments. This planning, and mitigating leads into what the next step, or process, is in being
prepared for a threat or emergency.
Preparedness
Being prepared only happens when a plan is in place and mitigates that plan, or those
plans, by the organizations in charge. This process is set up to ensure that every community is
prepared to act on any disaster or threat. The Bible discusses how important this process is to
people because it is only good that comes from being prepared for what is to come. It states in
the Bible, “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not
expect” (Matthew 24:44, ESV). This excerpt states that we must be prepared for the return of the
Son of Man as we do not know when to expect his presence. If we should always be prepared for
an event such as one like that, we must be prepared for all kinds of events to occur. Both noble,
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and terrifying events need preparing for, because with them, comes stressful, and chaotic
incidents.
In any kind of terrorist catastrophe, there needs to be preparedness for it in return. In the
article by Leblanc, Kosmos, & Avchen (2017) they state, “Rapidly evolving technology,
increasing globalization, social, and economic crises, and the natural evolution of infectious
diseases increased the complexity of public health preparedness, and emergency response.”
(Leblanc, Kosmos, & Avchen, 2017, p. 1). These issues of evolving technology, social, and
economic crises, and the evolution of infectious diseases make it difficult for those who have the
jobs of keeping up with plans. These kinds of issues that are rapidly changing need to be minded,
and closely looked at in order to be fully prepared for what consequences may occur from them.
The emergency management team must train for this and learn how to remain calm during a
heightened situation. Warning drills must be practiced in a set time manner. The plan must then
be discussed to adjust any flaws in the plan.
There are other aspects that need to be weighed when preparing an emergency plan. Each
type of human activity has to be planned for because during a major hurricane, earthquake, or
terrorist attack there is no telling what to expect from everyone. A lot of people will panic, but
most people are compassionate and when the opportunity presents itself, they will offer a helping
hand. There is a story from the bombings at the Boston Marathon where a man, Carlos
Arredondo, who saw a little boy was "bleeding from serious leg wounds" (Duke, 2013, p. 8).
That guy hadn't had to, but he took the time to cut a piece of clothing and make a tourniquet so
that the boy didn't bleed to death.
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Response
Despite technology that evolves every day and attracts a wider audience, law
enforcement and other departments are finding it difficult to keep track of any crime. There are
many technology dilemmas, such as the dark web, and the continuing accessibility of mobile,
tablet, and server collections. Such technologies make it easier for deviants to access all kinds of
goods, such as illegal arms, narcotics, and trade. Multibillion dollar corporations are the markets
for illegal trade, which is why disaster departments need to be prepared for any potential
destruction. As for preparation, all activities have their own discomforts.What to do to stop any
important life changing events in order to take action is something that requires much patience.
We need to have a plan for the recovery process while being prepared for catastrophic events.
The National Framework for the Response establishes plans in case of chaotic events. This trains
the first responders for anything to emanate. The NRF is responsible for all preparations and
civic preparedness. Meanwhile, the National Incident Management System (NIMS) is set up to
organize all of the necessary resources for any emergency event. NIMS is a guide that the
government officials and organizations in private organizations have to bring upon the necessary
resources for these emergencies that are encountered every day. The Incident Command System
(ICS) helps find the necessary implementations, and strategies to take action to the locations in
distraught. The author Gregory (2015) states, “ICS provides a way for all organizations involved
to work together in a unified manner, a manner that allows them to respond to emergencies more
quickly and with an increased level of precision.” (Gregory, 2015, p. 8 ) These three documents
are essential to emergency planning. They should be able to mitigate the plan to the private
organizations for help regarding the situation at hand. This also helps with how the mayor,
governor, or president go about declaring the type of disaster. Sometimes it takes a while for
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those in power to officially declare what event just happened because if it is even a little
uncertain they have to make sure they use the right phrasing. They do not want to declare a
foreign terrorist attack when in fact it was actually a homegrown terrorist attack. The difference
could mean an unnecessary war against a group or country because the correct steps to find out
who actually committed the terrorist act were not taken.
Recovery
It is extremely important to be prepared for recovery, because there is more to it than just
cleaning up any event that just happened. The process of recovery is all about helping those
victims who have suffered, and learning from this time is all about making the next potential
event more effective. This process is all about what plan has been mitigated to accomplish it, and
helping the victims, and the messes created. In Matear's Article (2017) it states: Air and bus
charters began to transport staff to and from Fort McMurray to support the recovery efforts. At
this time, there was a gastrointestinal infection outbreak affecting around 50 contractors, who
were isolated at the Fort McMurray Medical Clinic before they were evacuated (Matear, 2017, p.
140) These recovery efforts that are needed are dependent upon the first responders, and their
plan. The plans that have been mitigated have brought upon the need to be reevaluated during the
recovery process. In the Bible it states, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for
one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is
working” (James 5:16, ESV). This verse in the Bible states that people must pray for each other,
and together they will all be healed. The people, places, and items that were destroyed in the
disasters will have transpired. People must help one another in different ways in order to make
the community strong once again. On September 11, 2001, the communities surrounding New
York City and Washington D.C. helped find those in the rubble, and brought many recovery
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efforts. As it states in the text, “Waste management may then initiate debris removal so that
emergency response vehicles can be deployed to help survivors” (Philips, 2017, ch. 2.2). During
the September 11th attacks there was a lot of debris to clean up, and there were many people
trapped under it all. There had to be a damage assessment to discover where the damage was and
to be careful of making sure that there was not going to be any more damage done from any
buildings collapsing to more terrorist threats. The cleanup efforts to clear the streets had to take a
while because they had to be cautious of making sure they did not injure anyone they could not
see under the rubble. The citizens who are eager to help and the organizations in charge are the
ones who determine how the recovery process plays out. In the surrounding states and
communities everyone was willing to give whatever aid they could. There were way too many
people trapped under debris and extremely injured. This kind of situation and event was
hopefully one that does not happen again.
While the recovery process is taking place, there are unified command posts where the
director of media relations provides hourly updates on the disaster status, contact information for
relatives who are attempting to contact their families, and information on what types of
donations are required. This part of the process is important because in a situation where a lot of
people are missing, comes a lot of panic and frustration from people everywhere else. This then
leads to many financial issues that are created and cause burdens on citizens and cities who are
involved in a disaster. There are those whose businesses get destroyed and have no money
coming in to provide them with what they need to pay their everyday expenses. People lose a lot
during unexpected tragedies, especially those tragedies that are close to impossible to prepare
for. To help with any of these burdens, there are crisis counselors who can help deal with any
crisis that just occurred, and help with the individual recovery process for citizens who have
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different needs than one another.
Conclusion
There are three important functions needed to include agencies like the DHS and FEMA
when an incident comes into contact. Incident management is required to be mitigated,
coordinated and to know how to restore the distressed territories. FEMA is a huge part of both
private and government-run emergency management organizations. Emergency situations that
are adequately mitigated, organized for action, and have a great recovery plan are in the areas
where recovery has been successful. The planning of any disaster which goes into these steps is
always changing and acting like water. They must flow and change constantly to get the most
success. There's a lot of action behind the scenes, and preparedness for every emergency across
the world. Regardless of the size of the emergency, there's always a way to plan, mitigate that
plan, be prepared for what's needed and recover the victims and the communities involved.
References
Duke, A. (2013, April 17). Boston Marathon bombing heroes: Running to help. Retrieved April
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13, 2019, from https://www.cnn.com/2013/04/16/us/boston-heroes/index.html
FEMA. (2019, January 30). About the Agency. Retrieved April 13, 2019, from
https://www.fema.gov/about-agency
Holy Bible, ESV
Gregory, P. A. (2015). "Reassessing the Effectiveness of All-Hazards Planning in Emergency
Management." Inquiries Journal/Student Pulse, 7(06). Retrieved from
http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/a?id=1050
Krasko, V., & Rebennack, S. (2017, November 16). Two-stage stochastic mixed-integer
nonlinear programming model for post-wildfire debris flow hazard management:
Mitigation and emergency evacuation. Retrieved April 13, 2019, from
https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/science/article/pii/S03772217173043
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Leblanc, T. T., Kosmos, C., & Avchen, R. N. (2017). Evolution of Public Health Emergency
Management From Preparedness to Response and Recovery: Introduction and Contents
of the Volume. American Journal of Public Health,107(S2). Retrieved April 13, 2019,
from https://search-proquest-
com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/2104999151/fulltext/FCD0C73722804883PQ/1?
accountid=12085.
Matear, D. (2017). The Fort McMurray, Alberta wildfires: Emergency and recovery management
of healthcare services. Journal of Business Continuity & Emergency Planning, 11(2),
128–150. Retrieved April 13, 2019, from http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?
url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
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Phillips, B. Introduction to Emergency Management, Second Edition. [MBS Direct]. Retrieved
from https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781315394688/
