Abstract Stephen Flynn believes that there are goals of homeland security that are crucial to America’s bureaucracies and he senses that the country is wasting the chance to really protect the United States. Stephen discusses two crucial mistakes that he feels America has made and the first mistake is that he discusses is how homeland security is separated from national security. The two key intelligence agencies are not communicating. The second issue, he discusses is how our infrastructure is penetrable. In this lesson Stephen Flynn sees a problem with tactical thinking within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).…
Knowledge about Hurricane recovery as a process and as a definable component of the emergency management cycle was slim. There was little interest in the process per se. Only one of four counties visited had a completed recovery component in its emergency management plan at the time of Hugo hit. This Deficiency was tied in with the generally low level of knowledge, experience, and functional skill in emergency management (Donal D. Hook, September 10-22, 1989 (SPRING 1991)). 2.…
The national government's inability to rapidly send dynamic obligation troops and other military resources for Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Katrina essentially comes from its thin understanding of the Posse Comitatus Act (PCA), which by and large bars the utilization of elected troops for local law implementation. As this part clarifies, the complete breakdown of lawfulness amid a cataclysmic crisis, for example, Hurricane Katrina permits the president to singularly convey government troops. This power to convey government troops because of certain regular debacles, as per the PCA and the Constitution, is found in the Insurrection Act, Stafford Act, and Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), and…
The New Deal Program: Federal Emergency Relief Act (FERA) was established in the May of 1933. It was the first direct-relief procedure under the New Deal and was headed by Harry L. Hopkin. The three main goals of FERA were: (1) to be effective, (2) provide work for employable people on the relief rolls, and (3) to have a diverse variety of relief programs. FERA provided grants from the federal government to state governments for a variety of projects in fields such as agriculture, construction, the arts, and education.…
What are your thoughts on how the department of homeland security as implemented its security strategies to mitigate…
The primary missions of DHS included acting as a focal point regarding natural and manmade crises and emergency planning and ensuring that the overall economic security of the U.S. is not diminished by efforts, activities, and programs aimed at securing the homeland (DHS.gov). FEMA was integrated into DHS in 2003 and became part of the Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate. The mission was to focus on preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation of disasters. Because of DHS’ many missions, personnel and the emergency management community began complaining that DHS was removing authorities and resources from FEMA. DHS’s focus on terrorism instead of planning, preparation and response to natural disasters, was hurting morale and progress (FEMA: in or out?, 2009).…
After Katrina made landfall, authorities understood the devastation was serious but, due to the destruction and response capabilities, lacked…
In 2005 New Orleans experienced one of the toughest hurricanes in US history Hurricane Katrina. Memorial Medical Center personnel went several days without water, food, power, and limited or no medical supplies. . Temperatures were unbearable reaching 100 degrees. There were more than 200 patients some of which were on life support, ventilators, and oxygen all that operated electronically. Medical personnel had to operate bagged valve masks by hand when the Life support monitors drained the back-up batteries.…
2005, one year after the new President of the United States (POTUS), George W. Bush, was elected into office. The country was still recovering from the trauma of the dreadful attacks on the World Trade Center and Operation Iraqi Freedom was just beginning. While everyone was focused on National Security and fighting Al Qaida, Tropical Depression Ten was moving over the Bahamas and moving towards a tropical wave resting in the Gulf of Mexico. Catching everyone off guard, these two collided and began to move towards the states surrounding the Gulf of Mexico. The result was what is today known as Hurricane Katrina, or as FEMA describes it, "the single most catastrophic natural disaster in US history."…
According to Schneider (2008), in the early stage of the Hurricane Katrina, it seems that all public officials at all levels of government have a fairly clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities in the process of emergency operations. However, the bottom-up process still collapsed immediately. Public officials at local government (1st responders) were shocked by the magnitude of the hurricanes and were unable to fulfill their obligation. Therefore, it prevents the process and information to flow upward through the intergovernmental framework which caused the state level not to response in a timely manner, in terms of effectively mobilizing additional resources. As a result, “Governor Blanco refused to declare martial law, and declined a proposal from the White House to put National Groups troops under the control of the federal government”…
This man-made disaster caused a knee jerk reaction that publicizes awareness of terrorism showcasing the lack of cohesive with intelligence, law enforcement, and emergency management contribution. Not only did it bring public awareness it revealed that the federal government was on the hook for helping state and local governments before and after the event it showed where they fall short. President Bush restructured the federal government with U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) along with adding the National Response Plan (NRP) and the National Response Framework (NRF) (Rubin, 2012).…
The Federal Emergency Relief Administration, also known as FERA, was inaugurated on May 22, 1933. In the same year that President Roosevelt took office. The main purpose of FERA was to provide states with grants and funds in order to fund the needs of the states. Such needs included relief measures, providing work for people who were able to work, and diversifying the relief programs that were already available. FERA was an executive order put forth by President FDR and was presided over by Harry Hopkins, whom had led the previous New York State Temporary Emergency Relief Administration.…
Emergency response did what it was trained to do, however the lack of communication and mitigation is what caused the Department of Homeland Security to be created. These events, on the morning of September 11th, impacted the critical infrastructure as a whole; exposing the truth that we are not as protected and safe as we thought we were. Since the attacks, there have been bills passed, amendments changed and security on all levels heightened. No more are the days of anyone coming into an airport to say goodbye to loved ones flying; instead it is taking off shoes, coats and opening bags to allow Transportation Security Agency personnel look through your belongings. Communications are being monitored in the event terrorists are being contacted within our patriotic walls, leaving many crying their rights to privacy are being…
The city of New Orleans was and currently is protected by approximately 350 miles of levee structure, around 170 miles of the structure took damage or ended up destroyed, including the 53 breaches in which the levee system failed completely. The article Understanding Katrina (Cover Story) mentions the under constructed system in their text by stating “The city's levees, many decades old, had been built to withstand only a Category 3 storm” (Gilgoff et al. 27). The article also mentions that scientists and even the Red Cross warned of potential flooding by saying “The Red Cross listed a direct hurricane hit on New Orleans as the nation's deadliest natural-disaster threat a few years ago. Everyone, it seemed, knew the risks. Scientists at Louisiana State University had warned that even a Category 3 storm could dump up to 27 feet of water in some neighborhoods” (Gilgoff et al. 27).…
The end of August 2005 is a period of time that many along the entire Gulf Coast area will never forget. Hurricane Katrina, even ten years later, is one of the most catastrophic natural disasters in United States history. Despite the awareness and preparation that is afforded when anticipating a hurricane, the Gulf Coast was severely devastated when the storm made landfall on August 29, 2005. Although there was widespread destruction, the region most decimated by the hurricane was New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina not only left the entire city underwater, it left thousands of people homeless, displaced, or dead.…