1 Unread 4 days ago professor INSTRUCTOR MANAGER A Group Blog COLLAPSE I'm sure I can name any number of significant events in the history of emergency management. I would like to begin this discussion by mentioning hurricane Katrina. As you know that hurricane occurred in the year 2005 in the Gulf area of the United States. An entire piece of legislation,PKEMRA, helped shape emergency management promptly for decades to come. The reason this happened, is that there were many, many problems associated with the response to this event. Among them include failure of coordination of resources, failure of communication, failure to properly prepare and mitigate, and ignorance about practical realities such as the level of poverty in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. The hurricane course did not limit its devastation to that city went as far as the state of Mississippi. Several Eastern states as well as state of Texas had to help in taking in many of the refugees who were victims of this monstrous hurricane. Later in the semester we will talk a little bit about some of those lessons learned. Please add to my comments above regarding Hurricane Katrina or add comments about some other event or piece of emergency management legislation. Reply Quote Email Author 1 day ago professor COLLAPSE Hello, Good start Dr. Parrillo, you mention the most event devastating and costly hurricanes to strike the United States. Due to failed infrastructure and lack of planning for needed supplies to be delivered to the affected area, approximately 1,700 people were dead, 1 million persons were displaced, and an estimated $135 billion in damage along the Gulf coast was incurred. (Apte & Yoho, 2011). Which helped shape emergency management promptly for decades to come. I would like to talk about The Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004, In the beginning, the main problem that was on The Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004 and helped shape emergency management promptly for decades to come, is that there were many problems associated with the response to this event. In this scenario, if early warning devices were in place then maybe additional people would have been able to move inland more quickly. I realize the power grid in some of these areas is very limited. So most of the people affected by the tsunami did not actually know it was coming. the result was a 9.1 magnitude earthquake and was responsible for more than 227,000 deaths, more than 500,000 injured, over 2 million missing, and more than 1.5 million displaced persons across more than 12 countries (Greenfield & Ingram, 2011). It should be noted at this juncture that there was no tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean. Some areas, particularly the Banda Aceh region of Sumatra in Indonesia, lacked a basic, functioning transportation infrastructure, which imposed severe capacity constraints on the flow of inbound supplies. (Apte & Yoho, 2011). Reference Apte, A., & Yoho, K. D. (2011). Strategies for logistics in case of a natural disaster (No. NPS-LM-11-188). NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND PUBLIC POLICY. Reply Quote Email Author Hide 1 reply 11 hours ago professor RE: A Group Blog INSTRUCTOR MANAGER COLLAPSE Thanks, Haifa. I remember the tsunami in Indonesia well. By that point I was very much involved in emergency management but just as importantly I had a good friend who is a Christian missionary in northern Indonesia at the time. While his area of the nation is not affected by the synonymy he and several others responded to that area of Indonesia in an effort to help out. And yes, tsunamis have taught the world very much about the need for early warning systems in those areas that are at coastlines. Reply Quote Email Author 1 day ago professor RE: A Group Blog COLLAPSE Hello, Hurricane Katrina was a very disastrous hurricane that foresaw the death of many individuals. Poor infrastructure also facilitated the destruction of buildings and the loss of many lives. This disaster, as you have mentioned, immensely shaped the disaster management system. The risk of flooding in New Orleans brought about by hurricanes had been known for quite a long time (CNN.com, 2018). Nothing significant had been done to improve this issue until the occurrence of Hurricane Katrina. Improved flood protection was implemented after the occurrence of the hurricane. The occurrence of the hurricane led to the implementation of a reliable flood control system that was formulated based on comprehensive studies (CNN.com, 2018). I also believe that Cyclone Nargis greatly shaped the disaster management system. This event caused the worst natural disaster that was recorded in the history of Myannar during early May in the year 2008 (UNEP, 2009). This disaster foresaw the death of over 138, 373 individuals. Nargis is considered among the top five deadliest cyclones of all time based on the fatalities that were recorded. The number of fatalities during and after the disaster was high as disease and lack of relief efforts facilitated that. Relief efforts were slowed down due to political reasons as Myanmar's military rulers initially resisted large-scale international aid (UNEP, 2009). The cyclone also caused significant coastal erosion and land loss moreso in the Irrawady delta area. The southern coastal areas where the cyclone passed experienced rough seas, heavy rains, strong winds, and 'modest' storm surges as the cyclone passed (UNEP, 2009). The impacts of Cyclone Nargis were exacerbated by earlier environmental degradation including deforestation and over-exploitation of fisheries and soil erosion. The heavy loss of life that occurred during the storm surge was primarily due to earlier loss of more than 75% of the original mangrove cover in the Delta (UNEP, 2009). The mangrove could have served as a buffer against the storm surge but unfortunately, it had almost been depleted. This environmental degradation reduced people’s resilience against the impacts the cyclone caused (UNEP, 2009). Through the cyclone, various lessons were learnt concerning the environment. Natural resource management interventions were implemented in the area and the community educated on sustainability. This was in line to reduce the afterward impacts to protect the vulnerable individuals. References CNN.com. (2018). Hurricane Katrina Statistics Fast Facts. Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/2 013/08/23/us/hurricanekatrina-statistics-fastfacts/index.html United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). (2009). Learning from Cyclone Nargis: Investing in the environment for livelihoods and disaster risk reduction. Retrieved fromhttps://wedocs.unep.org/ bitstream/handle/20.500.1182 2/14116/myanmar_cyclonenar gis_case_study.pdf?sequence=1 &isAllowed=y Reply Quote Email Author Hide 3 replies 1 day ago David McComb RE: A Group Blog Hi Hassan, COLLAPSE Speaking from memory, I believe that the Army Corps of Engineers took the majority of the blame for the failure of levees in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Also, from memory and experience, there are mixed opinions on classifying Katrina as a natural disaster or man-made disaster due to the state of the levees. In a quick library search, I found an article that may serve to provide more information that CNN would. Wood, M., Kovacs, D., Bostrom, A., Bridges, T., & Linkov, I. (2012). Flood risk management: US army corps of engineers and layperson perceptions. Risk Analysis, 32(8), 1349-1368. doi:10.1111/j.15396924.2012.01832.x Reply Quote Email Author Hide 1 reply 11 hours ago proessor RE: A Group Blog COLLAPSE There was lots of blame to go around, David, after Katrina. Most of what I have read seems to indicate that the major destruction at least to the city of New Orleans was secondary not to the hurricane itself but to the levee breach. That being the case, Katrina probably was a combination of a natural and man-made disaster. There is devastation in Mississippi and Texas secondary to that hurricane which was not attributable to the levees. Reply Quote Email Author 11 hours ago proffessor RE: A Group Blog COLLAPSE Excellent choice but a very significant catastrophic event in world history, Hassan. Authorities have often stated that more lives have been lost secondary to disasters involving water such as hurricanes, tsunamis and other flooding events that have been attributed to every other type of natural disaster. As I mentioned in a post above, I remember very well the Indonesian tsunami of 2004 partly because I had a good friend who was a missionary in that part of the world at the time. Although the portion of Indonesia where he ministered was not involved, he and several others did travel to the involved area to help with the response. Reply Quote Email Author 1 day ago T RE: A Group Blog ajdfoe COLLAPSE Speaking of hurricanes, I’d like to discuss similar situation which is the strike of hurricane Maria On Wednesday September 20/2017 Puerto Rico got stricken by hurricane Maria that had a great impact on the island which left the citizens into a desperate humanitarian crisis. Almost 50% of the population lived below the poverty line and the unemployment rate reached the highest levels. Approximately 135,000 Puerto Ricans have left their homes and settled in the continental. As a result of this tragedy 500,000 residents will leave the island by 2019 while the rest of population are committed to restore the infrastructure no matter how long it takes. Even though, they have defecated themselves for that purpose they still need support for essentials. A year after the strike the recovery process still in progress although, the electrical energy has been restored and accessing the clean water improved still some homes have tarps instead of roofs. According to the department of homeland security the impact was substantial, a huge number of people were affected. In order to help a large number of survivors, FEMA has worked with different federal agencies: state, local, tribal, and territorial government; and also, nongovernmental origination (NGO) and the private sector to unify the efforts to meet the needs of survivors. On September 19 just after the strike of hurricane Irma the eye of hurricane Maria passed just south of the USVI to make a landfall in Puerto Rico on September 20. President Trump has declared the need of disaster management interference. The federal government also started a massive and united response and recovery potation. The number of federal staffs on the ground were about 3,500. These include a national incident management team (NIMT). By September 29 there were more than 10,000 federal staff (including more than 800 FEMA personal). All these people were working 24/7 with territorial and local officials to secure the situation. To date FEMA has delivered a tremendous amount of food and water the people of Puerto Rico and the USVI in support of disaster survivor. Not only but also FEMA helped to restore the power by assigning the U.S army corps of engineers (USACE) to provide the power temporarily. USACE installed over 1,900 emergency generators in Puerto Rico and 180 in USVI. References Schwartz, E. (2018, September 13). Quick facts: Hurricane Maria's effect on Puerto Rico. Retrieved from https://www.mercycorps.org/articles/united-states/quick-facts-hurricanemarias-effect-puerto-rico Written testimony of FEMA for a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing titled "Update on the Restoration of Puerto Rico's Electric Infrastructure". (2018, August 14). Retrieved fromhttps://www.dhs.gov/news/2018/04/11/written-testimony-fema-house-energy-andcommerce-subcommittee-oversight-and Reply Quote Email Author Hide 1 reply 11 hours ago professor RE: A Group Blog COLLAPSE Great point about hurricane Maria,Tariq. The island of Puerto Rico is still recovering from that catastrophic event almost 2 years after it took place. Reply Quote Email Author 1 day ago kjn RE: A Group Blog COLLAPSE Hello, I agree with you Dr. Parrillo that the preparedness and emergency response to the hurricane Katrina of 2005 in New Orleans had significant challenges. The government received much criticism from opposition leaders as well as the international community. The main contributor to the poor response was the magnitude of the disaster. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other government and humanitarian organizations had underestimated the number of people affected by the hurricane. They had projected that initial response of food and water for 1500 people would be enough but that was not the case as thousands more became displaced and one thousand eight hundred and thirty-three died. Political leaders were under pressure to perform which resulted in what would be considered slow decision making based on the urgency of the situation (Marable & Clarke, 2016). Indeed, poor communication further contributed to poor response; humanitarian organizations could not agree on a common strategy, and each did their own thing as separate independent groups. Mayor Nagin who made critical decisions regarding the evacuation process received much criticism. He failed to give an official warning until it was a day to the occurrence of the hurricane. Additionally, transport was available in the form of school buses, but he failed to give the go-ahead for their use in the evacuation process. As a result of his decisions, thousands of residents were trapped trying to get out the state in the congested roads. The response was also wanting in the treatment of foreign people visiting the states. Some foreigners claimed that priority was given to American citizens and they were left stranded. Federal and state government has taken deliberate steps to ensure that the same thing is not repeated. Residents are given fair warning in case of a natural disaster threat, and if it does occur, the local authorities are divided into groups to maintain order during the response and to perform rescue efforts. Reference Marable, M., & Clarke, K. (Eds.). (2016). Seeking higher ground: the Hurricane Katrina crisis, race, and public policy reader. Springer. Reply Quote Email Author Hide 1 reply 11 hours ago proffessor RE: A Group Blog COLLAPSE Thank you, Ayman. I have mentioned to several classes that I believe we can do an entire semester elective on lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina. Reply Quote Email Author 1 day ago poi RE: A Group Blog COLLAPSE The effects of the storm were ubiquitous. According to Montano (2014), “The most significant impacts occurred in areas that experienced not just the hurricane itself but also subsequent flooding.” Many people evacuated and displaced for months or more. Moreover, as you mentioned, one of the problems in Katrina was from a lack of communication with the information management system which was inadequately implemented. When a disaster occurs, the situation would be changed rapidly, and miscommunication is to be expected. The managers need to acquire the information at the right time, and it would be critical to base all the decisions on robust and reliable data. Therefore, the Katrina crisis strengthened the response system to a significant disaster incident (Banipal, 2006). References Banipal, K. (2006). Strategic approach to disaster management: lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina. Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, 15(3), 484-494 Montano, S. L. (2014). Formation and lifespans of emergent recovery groups in post-katrina new orleans Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text: The Humanities and Social Sciences Collection Reply Quote Email Author Hide 1 reply 11 hours ago Proffessor RE: A Group Blog COLLAPSE Most people think about the city of New Orleans in Louisiana when they think of Hurricane Katrina. While that city was indeed devastated and has not yet fully recovered almost 15 years after the Hurricane took place, Katrina also caused significant damage in the states of Mississippi and Texas. Reply Quote Email Author 1 day ago Asd RE: A Group Blog COLLAPSE After the hurricane Katrina occurred, the Coastal Protection Restoration Authority (CPRA) was created by the Louisiana state legislature. CPRA was helpful to develop strategies to assist policymakers in improving a more sustainable coast (Edward B, 2015). However, Hurricane Maria which struck Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017, is considered a humanitarian crisis. It was the most significant storm that hits the island in the last 80 years. About 3.4 million citizens live there. One hundred thirty-five thousand left the island after the hurricane. The island still needs assistance and support to recover. We also may consider the weather change. As a result, that hurricane might occur again in the next years (Emma, 2018). Puerto Rico’s planning board estimated that impact of Hurricane Maria on the economy of Puerto Rico at $43 billion. The population has curiously decreased after Maria Although the population number had been declining over the last decade. The number went from 3.8 million to almost 3.3 among the previous 15 years only. The question is how to prevent the population from persisting to decline (Ortiz, 2018). References: Policy: Hurricane Katrina's lessons for the world.Barbier EB - Nature - August 20, 2015; 524 (7565); 285-7 Schwartz, Emma (2018, September 13). Quick facts: Hurricane Maria's effect on Puerto Rico. Retrieved from https://www.mercycorps.org/articles/united-states/quick-facts-hurricanemarias-effect-puerto-rico Jorge L. Ortiz (2018, December 04).Hurricane Maria's economic impact on Puerto Rico: At least $43 billion, possibly as high as $159 billion https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/12/04/hurricane-maria-economic-impact-puertorico/2209231002/ Reply Quote Email Author Hide 1 reply (1 unread) 11 hours ago Steven Parrillo INSTRUCTOR MANAGER RE: A Group Blog COLLAPSE Select: All None OK • Message Actions • Expand All • Collapse All
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