David Kamien (2012) describes natural disasters as events that are a direct result from the Earth; to include floods, earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, viruses, and volcanoes. The example of a natural disaster chosen to be reviewed for this essay is earthquakes. The United States Geological Survey (2016), describes earthquakes as a direct result of stress associated with friction which then releases energy causing an earthquake. there have been two major earthquakes in the United States, the 1989 Northern California and 1992 Southern California. These two earthquakes caused major destruction to both the northern and southern parts of California. California is very prone to earthquakes due to the geographical location and the tectonic plates. Claire Rubin (2012), described “earthquakes often overwhelm the emergency response and the recovery capacity of local and state governments” (p. 142). The complexity of issues that the government is facing in emergency management is a continuous commitment. Working together in a collaborative network amongst the federal, state and local governments to establish strong relationships and trust at all levels. developing a vast of political backing of legislation will only help improve the infrastructure of emergency management in aiding for natural disasters. Psychological response from these earthquakes resulted in huge loss of life, billions of dollars of damage to buildings and infrastructures, prolonged down period of local resources; water and electric. The Exxon Valdes is a good example of an accidental human-made disaster.
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This disaster was a direct result of the vessel striking the Bligh Reef off the coast of Alaska. The shipping vessel spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil into the ocean (Atlas, 2011). The amount of crude oil that was spilled into the ocean affected the ecosystem and the animals that live within that system. Protecting the shorelines from the heavy crude oil from the leaking vessel was a major responsibility of the clean-up. The clean-up process was a very difficult one during this time due to the cold weather and the heaviness of the crude oil, dispersants were not used due to the State of Alaska concerns in the use (Atlas, 2011). The physiological effects from the oil spill has affected many Alaskans and the wildlife in and around the incident of the original accident. The clean-up efforts have taken years and years to fully clear the site from the initial leak, but this still does not account for the 11,000 square miles of ocean water that was effected by the heavy crude oil (Atlas, 2011). Deliberate human-made disasters are a huge issue today. Man-made disasters such as the attacks of 9/11, Pentagon, Sandy Hook Shooting, and the Dallas Police Shootings. These are becoming more and more frequent and are affecting large numbers of people in the United States. The Virginia Tech Shooting is the largest mass shooting in history of the United States. That windy cold day on April 16, 2007 will always be cemented into history. The Virginia Tech Shooting can relate to an earlier school shooting that took place in 1999 at Columbine High School in Colorado. The shooter at Virginia Tech, had many bouts with mental unstableness and the possibility of suicide. Kamien (2012), stated that “Seung Cho murdered 32 students and injured an additional 17” (p. 202). The psychological aspects and ramifications from this disaster has been quite catastrophic in nature. J. S. Hong et.al. (2010), describes the “Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems model is ideal in integrating segmented parts into understandable pieces and allows for a more complete analysis of social=environmental factors that impact human behavior—in this case, violence” (p. 562). The model will work on individual characteristics of school shooters and help with profiling these individuals with the help of the FBI and the U.S. …show more content…
M., & Hazen, T. C. (2011). Oil Biodegradation and Bioremediation: A Tale of the Two Worst Spills in U.S. History. Environmental Science & Technology, 45(16), 6709–6715. http://doi.org/10.1021/es2013227
Hong, J., Cho, H. and Lee, A. S. (2010). Revisiting the Virginia Tech Shootings: An Ecological Systems Analysis, Journal of Loss and Trauma, 15: 6, 561-575. Retrieved from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15325024.2010.519285
Rubin, C. B. (Ed.). (2012). Emergency management: The American experience 1900-2010 (2nd ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press
United States Geological Survey (2016). Earthquakes, Plate Tectonics, and Earth Structure. Retrieved from
This disaster was a direct result of the vessel striking the Bligh Reef off the coast of Alaska. The shipping vessel spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil into the ocean (Atlas, 2011). The amount of crude oil that was spilled into the ocean affected the ecosystem and the animals that live within that system. Protecting the shorelines from the heavy crude oil from the leaking vessel was a major responsibility of the clean-up. The clean-up process was a very difficult one during this time due to the cold weather and the heaviness of the crude oil, dispersants were not used due to the State of Alaska concerns in the use (Atlas, 2011). The physiological effects from the oil spill has affected many Alaskans and the wildlife in and around the incident of the original accident. The clean-up efforts have taken years and years to fully clear the site from the initial leak, but this still does not account for the 11,000 square miles of ocean water that was effected by the heavy crude oil (Atlas, 2011). Deliberate human-made disasters are a huge issue today. Man-made disasters such as the attacks of 9/11, Pentagon, Sandy Hook Shooting, and the Dallas Police Shootings. These are becoming more and more frequent and are affecting large numbers of people in the United States. The Virginia Tech Shooting is the largest mass shooting in history of the United States. That windy cold day on April 16, 2007 will always be cemented into history. The Virginia Tech Shooting can relate to an earlier school shooting that took place in 1999 at Columbine High School in Colorado. The shooter at Virginia Tech, had many bouts with mental unstableness and the possibility of suicide. Kamien (2012), stated that “Seung Cho murdered 32 students and injured an additional 17” (p. 202). The psychological aspects and ramifications from this disaster has been quite catastrophic in nature. J. S. Hong et.al. (2010), describes the “Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems model is ideal in integrating segmented parts into understandable pieces and allows for a more complete analysis of social=environmental factors that impact human behavior—in this case, violence” (p. 562). The model will work on individual characteristics of school shooters and help with profiling these individuals with the help of the FBI and the U.S. …show more content…
M., & Hazen, T. C. (2011). Oil Biodegradation and Bioremediation: A Tale of the Two Worst Spills in U.S. History. Environmental Science & Technology, 45(16), 6709–6715. http://doi.org/10.1021/es2013227
Hong, J., Cho, H. and Lee, A. S. (2010). Revisiting the Virginia Tech Shootings: An Ecological Systems Analysis, Journal of Loss and Trauma, 15: 6, 561-575. Retrieved from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15325024.2010.519285
Rubin, C. B. (Ed.). (2012). Emergency management: The American experience 1900-2010 (2nd ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press
United States Geological Survey (2016). Earthquakes, Plate Tectonics, and Earth Structure. Retrieved from