Federal Emergency Management and FEMA. History Essay

Federal Emergency Management and FEMA
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Introduction
It is critical to note that the federal government plays a crucial role in responding and managing emergencies. The government has numerous agencies that are directly involved with avoiding, mitigating, and responding to both natural and human-caused disasters. The federal emergency management in the United States involved different agencies that have distinct roles and responsibilities when responding to disasters. For instance, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is involved in the coordination of the federal government’s initiatives that are focused on preparing for, preventing, mitigating, responding, and recovering from all forms of natural disasters and human-made threats including the act of terror. The federal agencies involved with responding to emergencies have been critical in the management and various disasters across the United States, including hurricanes, earthquakes, terrorist attacks, and other forms of natural disasters. This literature explains the formation of FEMA and how its position changed after the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006, the changes in the presidential disaster declaration attributed to Hurricane Katrina and examines how FEMA partners with local and state emergency management services.
FEMA was created in 1979 through an executive order that was given by President Jimmy Carter (Department of Homeland Security, 2009). About one hundred federal programs and organizations were consolidated into a single dedicated organization that was dedicated to managing national emergencies. The main goal for creating FEMA was to centralize disaster policy and management, which would help in improving emergency management. Although FEMA was considered a cohesive and effective organization, it still struggled and was highly criticized for its shortcomings in managing and responding to emergencies. The Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 changed the position of FEMA in different ways; for instance, the act established new FEMA components such as the preparedness directorate. Additionally, the act also restored new FEMA missions, which included leading and supporting the efforts aimed at reducing the loss of both life and property during disasters and protect the nation from all forms of hazards by developing and implementing effective risk-based systems (Bea et al., 2006). The act also prohibited the transfer of FEMA’s functions and assets to other different parts of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
In 2003, the functions of FEMA were incorporated into DHS after its functions were relocated. The intended outcomes of this integration were to promote the effectiveness and cooperation of all components of homeland security. Additionally, merging the two organizations would help the agency to cooperate with other agencies in agencies in DHS to provide reliable responses when warranted. However, there are untended outcomes that have hindered the effectiveness of these federal agencies. For instance, the success of FEMA in responding to emergencies has failed due to ineffective leadership under DHS; this is demonstrated by the poor disaster response during Hurricane Kat...