natural disasters emergency management preparedness

Natural disasters have the potential to dramatically alter life in local communities. The loss of human life reverberates through the generations, as does the loss of local businesses and the generalized economic and psychosocial strain. Yet there are also larger impacts from localized events, such as changes to public policy and political philosophies resulting from major natural disasters. One of the most impactful natural disasters in recent American history is undoubtedly Hurricane Katrina.

Hurricane Katrina showed Americans the many shortcomings of federal disaster relief response programs like the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which was restructured after the event (Zimmerman, 2015). In addition to the political ramifications from Katrina, the storm revealed weaknesses in local, state, and federal infrastructure: showing that public spending patterns need to change in order to make American communities more resilient in the future.

Another reason why Katrina remains one of the most important and impactful natural disasters is that it revealed the sociology of disaster preparedness, perceived resilience, and response. For example, Katrina revealed the schisms between the privileged and underprivileged, cleavages that reveal themselves along racial and socioeconomic class lines in America (Donner & Rodriguez, 2011). Studying Katrina will help future urban planners, policymakers, and emergency management specialists to develop more effective and comprehensive solutions for building community and nationwide resilience.

Also affecting the Gulf of Mexico region of the United States, one of the most impactful technological disasters in recent generations was the BP oil spill on the Deepwater Horizon oilrig in 2010. This technological disaster has had—and continues to have—ramifications for American politics and policy related to how to prevent and respond to similar problems in the future. Of course, the event also has had major environmental and social ramifications too.

As with all technological disasters, the event can be traced to human error but perhaps more importantly, it shows how emergency management and disaster relief is muddled by politics and the collusion between big business and lawmakers. First responders and later cleanup crews have pending lawsuits related to the fraudulent nondisclosure of toxins (Dermansky, 2018). The BP oil spill shows how economic and political expediency often—if not always—outweighs the best interests of the public when it comes to preparing for and responding to technological disasters.

If I had to choose one, the most difficult natural disaster to respond to would be a hurricane because of its multifaceted nature: its combining problems like flooding and wind damage, plus its affecting areas over a wide geographic territory. Even though an area has the opportunity to prepare and plan more effectively than for unforeseen events like earthquakes, the extent of the damage can be worse given the nature of flooding plus the structural damages that occur.

The types of injuries suffered and the types of property damage incurred are both diverse, requiring a level of resource coordination that may seem overwhelming to first responders. Therefore, the best response strategy is preparedness.

If I were an emergency manager in a mid-sized city, I would say that we need to immediately form as many strategic partnerships as possible, and come up with clear plans that begin with resilience and readiness, continue with ongoing public service announcements and information dissemination, and culminate in the ability for first responders to effectively communicate during and after a disaster to coordinate resources. Both environmental/natural and technological disasters pose major threats to the United States and it.