Phases of the EM and Early 1900s Disasters and the Impact on Emery Management

Phases of the EM and Early 1900s Disasters and the Impact on Emery Management
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Phases of the EM and Early 1900s Disasters and the Impact on Emery Management
Emergency management (EM) entails dealing with risk and risk avoidance. EM is critical in the security of individual’s daily lives. Therefore, EM should be integrated into daily decisions instead of being acted upon in response to major disasters. EM is an essential role of the government. In the U.S., the states are responsible for public risks, with the Federal government assisting when State entities are overwhelmed by a disaster. Since the 1900s, different agencies have been involved in responding to disasters. The interagency response to disasters in the early 1900s forms a basis for EM today. Some notable disasters that have warranted interagency involvement include the 1900 Galveston flood, the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fires, and the 1918 Great Influenza Pandemic. These have demonstrated that interagency collaboration is critical in EM.
Interagency Responses
The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fires elicited responses from the insurance industry. The disaster had led to the loss of lives and property. Individuals who had insured their properties started claiming compensation from their insurers. The insurance industry reacted to the massive loss by adjusting claims. The city’s real estate board responded by passing a resolution that called for the calamity to be seen as ‘the Great Fire’ instead of ‘the Great Earthquake’ (Siemens & Gillon, 2010). The main reason for the board’s resolution was because a majority of the insurance covers excluded losses caused by the earthquake. The insurance companies continued to invoke earthquake exclusion to avoid coverage, which forced many policyholders to sue for compensation. In response to the massive losses insurers had incurred, the industry sought to protect itself from a repeat of the losses incurred due to the earthquake. Insurers inserted “anti-concurrent causation clauses” in almost all insurance policies dealing with property. The clauses indicated that where the damage occurred even partially by an excluded cause, there would be no coverage, even where a covered cause contributed to the loss (Siemens & Gillon, 2010). The disaster was a wake-up call for insurance companies and policyholders.
Additionally, the insurance industry demanded that San Francisco constructed a high-pressure system that Dennis Sullivan had earlier proposed if the city wished to have an insurance policy written once more. The local government reacted by proposing the Auxiliary Water Supply System (AWSS) in 1908. The project was completed in 1912 at the cost of $5.2 million. AWSS consisted of static water supplies, pump stations, pipe networks, fireboats, and cisterns. The system guaranteed water reliability for firefighting purposes. The AWSS supplemented the municipal water supply system meant to fight fires under non earthquake conditions. Hence, the fire department did not need to wait for an earthquake to use the AWSS. Instead, the department could use AWSS to respond to greater alarm incidences hence confirming the system’s f...