Select a significant natural disaster or emergency that occurred within the past five (5) years, causing significant property damage and loss of life. The project will involve a case study of the disaster or emergency, accompanied by a critique of the response and recovery effort by the local government and non-governmental organizations, and compared to a significant disaster similar in nature, but which was managed more appropriately.
Content of the paper should include demographics, primary industry, political system, economy, the scope or extent of the disaster planning or emergency management problem, how the incident command system was used, hits and misses, and proposed improvements to the response and recovery efforts. OR Mitigation is a critical function and one of the discussed disciplines of emergency management. Mitigation efforts include those activities that prevent or reduce disaster impacts on an area or populations and also eliminate potential risks. These actions are designed to take place before an actual event occurs.
The Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act as amended by The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 gives state and local governments the framework to evaluate and mitigate all hazards as a condition of receiving federal disaster funds. Given this background information and what you have studied to date, locate the Hazard Mitigation Plan for your local area or hometown and identify the risk reduction efforts developed by the local community to manage the disasters identified.
Write an essay critiquing the risk reduction and mitigation efforts cited in your selected report. Include in your discussions on this topic, the disaster risk reduction efforts for at least three hazards (with terrorism as one), advantages and disadvantages (or strengths and limitations) of the community’s approach to mitigation, and add your recommendations for improvement on how to better reduce risk.
Follow the written rubric guidelines listed within this syllabus and provide appropriate citations to support your views.
The paper should comply with CMOS style of writing (refer back to the syllabus for links to Owl Purdue Writing Lab,) and should be between four (4) and six (6) pages in length. Content of the paper should include demographics, primary industry, political system, economy, the scope or extent of the disaster planning or emergency management problem, how the incident command system was used, hits and misses, and proposed improvements to the response and recovery efforts.