¶ … capabilities discussed on page 16 of the Government Accountability Office report from this unit's readings. In your view, why hasn't the federal government been able to fulfill those capabilities after the September 11, 2001 and Hurricane Katrina incidents?
Effective emergency preparedness and response requires coordination across many levels of governmental and nongovernmental institutions. Successful responses to such major disasters, whether the result of natural forces or terrorist acts, necessitate large-scale planning, management and collaboration among well-trained first responder organizations in a wide range of disciplines, including public safety, fire, public health, and social service personnel. Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the federal government has endeavored to enhance our ability to handle cataclysmic events by investing at least $11 billion in financial support to state and local authorities for the purpose of improving their emergency preparedness and response systems. In spite of this increased financial investment, the Government Accountability Office has reported that many weakness and areas of improvement remain in the federal government's development and implementation of effective emergency preparedness, response, and recovery capabilities.
The GAO report of February 23, 2006 outlined...
There seems to be an over-emphasis on setting standards, assessments, and strategies for preparation and response to terrorist attacks, and an under-emphasis on such efforts with respect to natural disasters or accidents. Natural disasters such as earthquakes, tornados, fires, floods, and hurricanes have statistically occurred far more frequently and caused significantly more damage than terrorism throughout the past decade. However, when Homeland Security Presidential Directive 8 required DHS to establish goals that measure readiness by appropriately balancing these natural and…
Terrorism Preparedness Since September 11, 2001, the United States has made a significant progress guiding against terrorist attacks using terrorism preparedness to forestall further terrorism attacks in the United States. Terrorism preparedness exercise is a broad range of response and preparedness program to support communities that might be affected by the terrorist attack. (National Commission on Terrorist Attacks, 2004). Typically, the U.S. government has implemented a range of program for terrorism preparedness
Chemical Attack The events of September 11, 2001, and the anthrax attacks that took place in October of that same year actually provided the United States with an unwanted but yet valuable and unique opportunity to become better prepared for any future terrorist activity. U.S. public safety agencies responded to the incident in September, but their skills were rusty and they were really unprepared for the magnitude of what they
Hurricane Response Issues The purpose of this essay is to highlight and describe the various details that are inherent within a disaster. This essay will focus on a recent hurricane event that demands the attention of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and includes the necessary actions by the Incident Commander (IC). The current status of the problem is post hurricane and extra medical supplies are needed. Along with this problem lies
Disaster Preparedness Plan: Georgia has been an area threatened by some of form of natural disaster that has a huge negative impact on the well-being of its residents and the personnel and financial resources of the emergency response agencies. The most common natural disaster that occurs in this area is tornadoes that have terrorized both the rural and urban areas while making everyone in danger of their perils. In the recent
Emergency Preparedness The Role of Private Companies Participants Emergency Preparedness Emergency preparedness refers to the process of preparing resources, both human, financial and equipments for action during times of emergency. It involves planning for disasters and equipping individuals with the capacity to use the available resources in reacting towards the occurrence of disasters. Nations need to put structures in place to prepare for disasters in the form of terrorist attacks and natural disasters among
Community Emergency Preparedness and Response It is not only exams that require preparedness. More than a planned activity, preparedness is required for unplanned activities. In health care, emergencies may mean danger to life of self or the loved ones. The medical emergencies are often stressful even for the doctors not only the victims. Hence the more a society is prepared for an emergency, the less will be side effects and in