Introduction to Emergency Management by Phillips,B.D Neal, D.M & Webb

Emergency management discussion
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Chapter 1: Question 3
Up until the 1950s, activities relating to disaster management were under the purview of the local and state governments, with the federal government coming in when a case was complicated. However, after severe floods in upper Midwest, the Congress passed an act of Congress known as the Disaster Relief Law. The law permit the federal government to assist in future disasters without the need to seek congressional approval. Additionally, in 1952, the president issued an order that necessitated the federal government to supplement the disaster management initiatives of local and state governments. Thus, the entry of the federal government in disaster management saw their mandate expand to dual-tracks, namely, the civil defense initiative and the natural and technological disaster initiative. The civil defense disaster track, found under the Department of Defense, provide services such as organizing and carrying out defense drills in schools, organizations and in government institutions to ensure their preparedness, while the natural and technological disaster track provided disaster support from across the country.
Chapter 2: Question 2
Various states in the United States such as Florida, New York, California and Texas face various natural disasters. As an emergency manager, I would plan for challenges such as hurricanes, which for decades has occurred in Florida, New York, and Texas causing massive deaths and destruction of millions dollars’ worth of property. For instance, the 2005 Hurricane Katrina of 2005 in Florida. Another challenge is earthquakes, which occur mostly in California, with the 6.9 magnitude quake that hit San Francisco being the worst. Wildfires happen in California and Texas due to their wooden and wildland surroundings, while the challenge of floods affects California, Texas, New York and Florida. The common hazards I would have to plan for include terrorism, biological hazards such as Ebola or Zika virus outbreak, chemical spillage and cybercrimes in all the states. In countries such as Australia, Pakistan and Haiti emergency plans would be for seasonal challenges such as earthquakes and floods, in the three countries, hurricanes, in Tahiti, wildfires, ice storms and spring rains in Australia and Tsunami in Pakistan. Additionally I would plan for terrorism, biological hazards, chemical hazards in all the countries and cyberterrorism, gas explosion and nuclear hazards in Pakistan.
Chapter 3: Question 1
It is important to differentiate between an emergency and a disaster to determine the response necessary. An emergency is an occurances that occur daily such as house fires. When they happen, the most appropriate response is for first responders who are firefighters and paramedics to go and put out the fire. On the other hand, a disaster is an occurrence that affects a lot of people and causing disruptions to the s...