Emergency Management PDF

 Introduction to Emergency Management This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  This page intentionally left blank This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024 ...

 Introduction to Emergency Management This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  This page intentionally left blank This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  Introduction to Emergency Management Sixth Edition George D. Haddow Jane A. Bullock Damon P. Coppola AMSTERDAM BOSTON HEIDELBERG LONDON NEW YORK OXFORD PARIS SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO SINGAPORE SYDNEY TOKYO Butterworth-Heinemann is an imprint of Elsevier This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  Butterworth-Heinemann is an imprint of Elsevier The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, United Kingdom 50 Hampshire Street, 5th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 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British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress ISBN: 978-0-12-803064-6 For Information on all Butterworth-Heinemann publications visit our website at https://www.elsevier.com/ Publisher: Katey Birtcher Acquisition Editor: Steve Merken Editorial Project Manager: Nate McFadden Production Project Manager: Priya Kumaraguruparan Designer: Gregory Harris Typeset by MPS Limited, Chennai, India This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  Dedication The authors dedicate this book to Chief Rich Marinucci. Rich brought a visionary leadership to the US Fire Service that improved the safety of America’s 1.15 million firefighters and helped to educate all Americans about the critical role that fire personnel play in our everyday lives. His commitment to bridging the gap between the fire and emergency management communities increased the resilience of towns and cities nationwide. Rich remains an inspiration and a friend to all of us. This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  This page intentionally left blank This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  Contents Foreword xiii Acknowledgments xv Introduction xvii 1. The Historical Context of Emergency Management 1 Introduction 1 Early History: 1800 1950 3 The Cold War and the Rise of Civil Defense: The 1950s 3 Changes to Emergency Management: The 1960s 4 The Call for a National Focus on Emergency Management: The 1970s 5 Civil Defense Reappears as Nuclear Attack Planning: The 1980s 8 An Agency in Trouble: 1989 92 9 The Witt Revolution: 1993 2001 10 Terrorism: 2001 12 The Department of Homeland Security: 2001 05 12 The Hurricane Katrina Debacle: 2005 16 The Steps Leading to the Katrina Debacle 18 Post-Katrina Changes 19 The Obama Administration’s Approach to Emergency Management 22 Whole Community Is a Philosophical Approach in How to Conduct the Business of Emergency Management 24 FEMA and Social Media 28 The Strategic Foresight Initiative 29 Conclusion 30 vii This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  viii Contents Important Terms 31 Self-Check Questions 31 Out-of-Class Exercises 31 2. Natural and Technological Hazards and Risk Assessment 33 Introduction 33 Natural Hazards 34 Technological Hazards 61 Terrorism 64 Risk Management Technology 73 Social and Economic Risk Factors 73 Conclusion 75 Important Terms 76 Self-Check Questions 77 Out-of-Class Exercises 77 3. The Disciplines of Emergency Management: Mitigation 79 Introduction 79 Mitigation Tools 81 Impediments to Mitigation 104 Federal Mitigation Programs 105 Conclusion 117 Important Terms 118 Self-Check Questions 118 Out-of-Class Exercises 119 4. The Disciplines of Emergency Management: Preparedness 121 Introduction 121 A Systems Approach: The Preparedness Cycle 122 Mitigation Versus Preparedness 125 Preparedness: The Emergency Operations Plan 126 This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  Contents ix FEMA’s Whole Community Concept 128 The National Preparedness System 132 Evacuation Planning 133 Emergency Planning for Access and Functional Needs Populations 135 Preparedness Equipment 138 Education and Training Programs 139 The FEMA Emergency Management Institute and National Fire Academy 140 Public Preparedness Education 141 Emergency Management Exercises 143 Evaluation and Improvement 146 Preparedness: A Whole Community Effort 148 Preparedness Grant Programs 150 Business Continuity Planning and Emergency Management 151 Conclusion 153 Case Studies 154 Important Terms 157 Self-Check Questions 157 Out-of-Class Exercises 158 5. Communications 159 Mission 162 Assumptions 163 The Changing Media World 172 A Communication Plan 189 Information Coming In 191 Information Going Out 193 Messengers 198 Staffing 199 Training and Exercises 201 This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  x Contents Monitoring, Updating, and Adapting 203 Conclusion 207 Important Terms 222 Self-Check Questions 222 Key Terms 223 6. The Disciplines of Emergency Management: Response 225 Introduction 225 The Local Response 230 Local Emergency Managers 231 The State Response 232 Volunteer Groups’ Response 233 The Incident Command System (ICS) 237 The Federal Response 240 The National Response Framework (NRF) 246 Federal Assistance in Disaster Response 251 Organizing Support—The Emergency Support Function (ESF) 252 The Mission Assignment (MA) Process 262 NRF Operations Coordination 262 Incident Level Coordination: The Joint Field Office (JFO) 265 FEMA Incident Management Assistance Teams (IMATs) 267 Key Federal Response Officials 269 State-to-State Support: The Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) 275 Conclusion 277 Important Terms 278 Self-Check Questions 278 Out-of-Class Exercises 278 7. The Disciplines of Emergency Management: Recovery 281 Introduction 281 Fundamentals of Disaster Recovery 282 This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  Contents xi Recovery Coordination and Leadership 285 Recovery Sectors 291 Federal Government Disaster Recovery Assistance 293 FEMA Recovery Assistance Programs 304 FEMA’s Individual Assistance Recovery Programs 304 FEMA’s Public Assistance Grant Programs 308 The Disaster Relief Fund 311 Other Federal Agency Disaster Recovery Funding 314 National Voluntary Relief Organizations 318 Recovery Planning Tools 319 Pre-Disaster Recovery Planning 321 Conclusion 328 Important Terms 329 Self-Check Questions 329 Out-of-Class Exercises 330 8. International Disaster Management 331 Introduction 331 Disasters in Developing Nations 332 International Disasters Defined 332 Important Issues Influencing the Response Process 334 United Nations Disaster Management Efforts 337 Nongovernmental Organizations 352 Assistance Provided by the US Government 357 The International Financial Institutions 362 Conclusion 375 Important Terms 375 Self-Check Questions 375 Out-of-Class Exercises 376 This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  xii Contents 9. Emergency Management and the Terrorist Threat 377 Introduction 377 Changes in Emergency Management and the War on Terrorism 380 The Terrorist Threat 381 Terrorist Actions 388 The Monumental Human, Economic, and Social Costs of the September 11th Attacks 392 Statutory Basis of Terror Threat Management 398 Homeland Security Organizations 407 Other Agencies Participating in Community-Level Funding 419 Funding for First Responders and Emergency Management 429 Communicating Threat Information to the American People 431 Conclusion 437 Important Terms 438 Self-Check Questions 438 Out-of-Class Exercises 438 10. The Future of Emergency Management 439 Where Is Emergency Management Now? 439 Future Challenges and Opportunities 441 Moving Forward 444 Conclusion 445 Appendix A: Acronyms 447 Appendix B: Emergency Management Websites 453 Bibliography 457 Glossary 473 Index 479 This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  Foreword Twenty-five years ago when I started out in emergency management, most of us were only part-time emergency managers and had other larger responsibilities in our organizations. In my case, it was building roads, bridges, and flood control projects in rural Arizona. When a disaster happened, we stopped whatever we were working on, managed the emergency, and then went back to our regular work. We did the best we could with the time we could allocate to the profession, but in those days, there were few places to turn to for formal guidance. There were a couple of places where you could get a college degree in emergency management, and if you looked hard enough you might find some useful information in various books and journal articles, but there was nothing comprehensive. All of this changed post-9/11 and again post-Hurricane Katrina. Our nation has had to adapt to the growing threat of more frequent, more costly, and more complex disasters. Terrorists are no longer just faraway adversaries plotting large-scale attacks; today they may also be from any of our own communities, planning and executing small but effective attacks that kill and injure dozens. Warmer oceans and higher sea levels mean that powerful hurri- canes are increasingly capable of impacting major population centers and causing damages at unprecedented levels. Now with our dependence on technology growing exponentially, anyone with a computer and some basic cyber skills can already cause significant disrup- tions, and in the coming years will be able to wreak devastation at a vastly disproportionate scale. Add to this the ongoing substantive risk of nuclear, biological, electromagnetic pulse, and other natural and manmade crises, and disaster management can be an extremely daunting task. Fortunately, as the challenges have grown, so has our emergency management profes- sion. We now have a network of seasoned, full-time emergency managers across the country, many of whom have gained broad experience in preparing for and dealing with major disas- ters in recent years. We share our knowledge, our hard-learned lessons, and our best prac- tices, and are now considered to be part of one of the fastest growing and most critical sectors nationwide. Emergency managers traditionally found their way into the business, rather than selecting emergency management as their vocation. All of that has changed. There are now hundreds of colleges and universities in the United States and around the world offering degrees in emergency management, national security, and related fields. The next generation of emer- gency managers will have purposefully selected this career and will be better prepared than their predecessors to use the tools, technologies, and strategies needed for the future. The one thing that has not changed is the basics of emergency management. No matter how complex and difficult the threats become, we still have to start with our proven xiii This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  xiv Foreword processes: we have to prepare for all-hazards, including planning, training, and exercises; we have to respond effectively and efficiently making certain that we have the proper command, control, communication and coordination mechanisms in place; we need to understand recovery processes and programs to help our communities build back better and stronger after a disaster; and perhaps most importantly, we need to find new and innovative ways to make our communities and our nation more resilient to a wide variety of hazards. To accomplish this, our next generation of emergency managers needs a foundational resource that teaches the key principles of emergency management and what it truly means to be an emergency manager. Since 2003, Introduction to Emergency Management has been that resource. Now in this sixth edition, George Haddow, Jane Bullock, and Damon Coppola have closely studied current trends in emergency management, reviewed lessons learned from recent major disasters, and analyzed the emerging threats of the future to create this latest edition of the definitive textbook on the subject, used in institutions of higher educa- tion worldwide. I have been fortunate in my career to have had the opportunity to hold key leadership positions on some of the most notable disasters of our times, including as Federal Recovery Officer for the World Trade Center attacks, as lead of the advance team for Housing Recovery on Hurricane Katrina, and as Director of Housing Recovery and Recovery Manager for New York City in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, and on all these incidents and many more, I have relied upon the same basic principles that you will learn about in Introduction to Emergency Management. If you want to be an exceptional emergency manager, you are ultimately going to have to draw upon a variety of educational resources and your own professional experiences, and there is no better place to start than with this sixth edition of Introduction to Emergency Management. I strongly encourage you to read and study this book carefully and carry the key principles with you throughout what will hopefully be a long and productive career as a professional emergency manager. Brad Gair VICE PRES IDE NT EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND ENTERPRIS E R ES IL IENCE, NYU LANGONE MEDICAL C ENTER, NE W YORK, NY, UNITED STATE S This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  Acknowledgments The authors wish to thank the following individuals for their continued help and insight: Jack Harrald, Greg Shaw, Joseph Barbera, Irmak Renda-Tanali, Ollie Davidson, Sarp Yeletaysi, Garrett Ingoglia, Ryan Miller, Rene van Dorp, Erin McConnell, Wayne Blanchard, Sanjaya Bhatia, Liz Maly, Gerald Potutan, Gulzar Keyim, Tim Wilcox, Pam Chester, Amber Hodge, Paul Gottehrer, Todd Green, Nate McFadden, Brad Gair, Ehren Ngo, Fran McCarthy, Caroline Brassard, Betsy Millett, Abigail Abbott, Sara Scott, Pem McNerney, Ines Pearce, Steven Carter, David Gilmore, Jack Suwanlert, Barbara Johnson, Tawnne O’Connor, Matt Foster, Tyson Vaughn, Adam Jachimowicz, and Audra Kiesling. We also thank the many professors, students, and practitioners who gave us valuable feedback on different aspects of the book and provided suggestions to make the text more relevant and useful. xv This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  This page intentionally left blank This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  Introduction There is no country, no community, and no person immune to the impacts of disasters. Disasters, however, can be and have been prepared for, responded to, and recovered from, and have had their consequences mitigated to an increasing degree. Emergency Management is the profession and academic discipline that assumes, and is tasked with per- forming, these important functions. This book, Introduction to Emergency Management, is designed to provide the reader with a comprehensive foundation on the history, structure, organization, systems, and concerns that shape the management of disasters and other emergencies. Contained within are details and descriptions of contemporary emergency management practices and strategies, as well as descriptions of the key players involved in emergency management both within the United States and around the world. Our intent is to provide the reader with a working knowledge of how the functions of comprehensive emergency management operate and the influence they can have on everyday life. This sixth edition represents a documentation of the current status of the discipline as it gravitates towards a state of equilibrium. The 2001 terrorist attacks set in motion a series of events that forever changed not only the way government jurisdictions at all levels (federal, state, and local) addressed the terrorism hazard, but also the way members of the public, nongovernmental organizations, and businesses prepare for disaster events both indepen- dently of and in concert with these agencies. Many felt that a lot of these actions were knee- jerk in nature and failed to preserve the positive lessons of previous years, especially those of the highly regarded James Lee Witt years (1992 2000). In 2005, the troubled response to Hurricane Katrina confirmed such fears, and had the effect of recalibrating our comprehen- sive approach to all-hazards risk assessment by reminding all emergency management prac- titioners that regardless of the public, policy, and media agendas, emergency management must be guided by scientific and statistical risk analysis. Since the writing of the last edition of this textbook, FEMA has continued in its drive to shape the emergency management doctrine, producing a number of frameworks and guides that complement the response-oriented National Response Framework. It continues to reas- sert itself as the federal focal point for federal, state, and local emergency management—a role that suffered following the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the subsequent implementation of DHS Secretary Chertoff’s Six Point Agenda. FEMA has regained its status as the agency responsible for the bulk of the nation’s emergency manage- ment policy, direction, and federal-level operations—yet many feel it still remains stifled under the umbrella of an organization so heavily-focused on the singular goal of reducing threats to national security. Compared to its years as an independent, Cabinet-level agency, FEMA remains subject not only to indirect access to the president and a diminished xvii This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  xviii Introduction decision-making authority, but also the need to conform to a strategic focus held by an agency whose fundamental mission is markedly different from its own. In 2005, we saw a national system of emergency management—once regarded as one of the most effective and emulated systems in the world—proven incompetent in responding to an event that had been long predicted, planned for, and studied; Hurricane Katrina. Almost twelve years later, FEMA is finally beginning to salvage that reputation. This edition will examine how FEMA has evolved as a result of the legislation enacted in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, obstacles identified in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, and various changes in leadership and policy within and outside the agency. While the book emphasizes the US domestic system of emergency management, many of the experiences discussed, lessons learned, and emerging trends are replicable to emergency management systems around the world. Emergency management in the United States has experienced every form of disaster: natural, man-made, and intentional. The lessons learned from these experiences, the changes made in response to these events, and how the system continues to evolve because of climate change and other emerging threats, provides a solid landscape to examine what emergency management is or could be. However, this book is not exclusively focused on FEMA. State and local emergency man- agement organizations are the subjects of many of the included case studies, and their col- laborative affiliations with FEMA are discussed at length throughout the text. One full chapter, in fact, is dedicated to how emergencies are managed at the international level when the capacity of whole countries or regions fall short of what is required to manage the disaster at hand. With greater frequency, events such as the 2004 Asian Earthquake and Tsunami, Cyclone Nargis in Burma in 2008, the Sichuan and Haiti Earthquakes, and most recently the Great East Japan Earthquake, have highlighted the need for a more robust inter- national emergency management system. Through their own domestic efforts, and the efforts of the United Nations system vis-à-vis the 2016 Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, governments across the globe are focusing more attention on the issue. A brief summary of the contents and special features of this edition follows: Chapter 1, “The Historical Context of Emergency Management,” includes a brief discussion of the historical, organizational, and legislative evolution of emergency management in the United States by tracing the major changes triggered by disasters or other human or political events, including the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. This chapter includes an analysis of the organizational, legislative, and policy changes made in emergency management both pre- and post-Hurricane Katrina. Chapter 2, “Natural and Technological Hazards and Risk Assessment,” identifies and defines the hazards confronting emergency management. Chapter 3, “The Disciplines of Emergency Management: Mitigation,” discusses what the function of mitigation is and what the strategies and programs applied by emergency management or other disciplines to reduce the impacts of disaster events are. Chapter 4, “The Disciplines of Emergency Management: Preparedness,” catalogs the broad range of programs and processes that comprise the preparedness function of modern emergency management. This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  Introduction xix Chapter 5, “The Disciplines of Emergency Management: Communications,” breaks from the more traditional approach to emergency management and focuses on why communications with the public, with the media, and with partners are critical to emergency management in the 21st century. Chapter 6, “The Disciplines of Emergency Management: Response,” focuses on the essential functions and processes of responding to a disaster event. Chapter 7, “The Disciplines of Emergency Management: Recovery,” describes the broad range of government and voluntary programs available to assist individuals and communities in rebuilding in the aftermath of a disaster. Chapter 8, “International Disaster Management,” provides an overview of current activity in international emergency management through an examination of selected international organizations. Chapter 9, “Emergency Management and the Terrorist Threat,” describes how terrorist events and the threat of future attacks have altered risk perception and impacted the emergency management profession. Chapter 10, “The Future of Emergency Management,” looks at modern trends in emergency management and provides insights, speculations, recommendations from the authors about where emergency management is or should be headed in the future. Our goal in writing this book was to provide readers with an understanding of emergency management, insight into how events have shaped the discipline, and thoughts about the future direction of emergency management. Evolution of emergency management in the United States, as is true elsewhere, is largely reactionary. While events like Sep. 11, 2001, hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, and other major disasters highlight our strengths and expose our weaknesses, it is possible to be forward-thinking and otherwise predictive in planning for emergency management capacity needs, and our hope is to prepare the growing cadre of emergency management professionals with the knowledge required to analyze such needs with accuracy. Evolving threats, including the prospect of global climate change, and our changing social, economic, and political environment, demand new and innovative approaches and leadership. We hope this text will motivate each reader to accept the challenge. This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  xx Introduction Online Resources Thank you for selecting Butterworth Heinemann’s Introduction to Emergency Management, Sixth Edition. To complement the learning experience, we have provided online tools to accompany this edition. Students can find additional learning materials on the companion site, including the full text of the Stafford Act, at http://booksite.elsevier.com/9780128030646. Please consult your local sales representative with any additional questions. You may also email the Academic Sales Team at [email protected]. Qualified adopters and instructors can access valuable material for free by registering at http://textbooks.elsevier.com/web/manuals.aspx?isbn 5 9780128030646. This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  1 The Historical Context of Emergency Management WHAT YOU WILL LEARN The early roots of emergency management The modern history of emergency management in the United States How FEMA came to exist and how it evolved during the 1980s, 1990s, and the early 21st century The sudden changes to modern emergency management that resulted from the 9/11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina Changes made by post-Hurricane Katrina legislation and a new administration in Washington, DC. Obama Administration approach to emergency management Analysis of legislation to FEMA programs passed in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy Introduction Emergency management has its roots in ancient history. Early hieroglyphics depict cave dwellers trying to deal with disasters. The Bible speaks of the many disasters that befell civili- zations. In fact, the story of Noah warning his neighbors about an impending flood, and his subsequent building of an ark to preserve the planet’s biodiversity, could be interpreted as a very early lesson in risk control. As long as there have been disasters, individuals and com- munities have tried to find ways to fix them. However, organized attempts at disaster recov- ery did not occur until much later in modern history. This chapter discusses the historical, organizational, and legislative history of modern emergency management in the United States. Some of the significant events and people that have shaped the emergency management discipline over the years are reviewed. Understanding the history and evolution of emergency management is important because at different times, the concepts of emergency management have been applied differently. The definition of emergency management can be extremely broad and all-encompassing. Unlike other, more structured disciplines, it has expanded and contracted in response to events, congressional desires, and leadership styles. Since the turn of the current century, formative events and selections in leadership, more than anything else, have spurred dramatic changes to emergency management in the United States. The terrorist attacks of Sep. 11, 2001 led to massive organizational changes and pro- grammatic shifts in emergency management. Many believe that these changes undermined Introduction to Emergency Management. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-803064-6.00001-9 Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1 This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  2 INTRODUCTION TO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT the effective national system of emergency management that had evolved during the 1990s and led to the profound failure of all levels of emergency management in response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. A simple definition for emergency management is “a discipline that deals with risk and risk avoidance.” Risk represents a broad range of issues and includes an equally diverse set of players. The range of situations that could possibly involve emergency management or the emergency management system is extensive. This supports the premise that emergency management is integral to the security of everyone’s daily lives and should be integrated into daily decisions and not just called on during times of disaster. Emergency management is an essential role of government. The Constitution gives the states the responsibility for public health and safety—hence the responsibility for public risks—with the federal government in a secondary role. The federal role is to help when the state, local, or individual entity is overwhelmed. This fundamental philosophy continues to guide the government function of emergency management. Based on this strong foundation, the validity of emergency management as a government function has never been in question. Entities and organizations fulfilling the emergency management function existed at the state and local levels long before the federal government became involved. But as events occurred, as political philosophies changed, and as the nation developed, the federal role in emergency management steadily increased. In the aftermath of the failed response to Hurricane Katrina, extensive discussion about emergency management, particularly the response and recovery functions, has taken place. An ever-increasing presence of nonprofit organizations delivering support to their particular constituencies after Katrina has given rise to interest on the part of the nonprofit community to take on increased responsibilities for disaster response. To date this has not materialized, but steps have been taken at the federal level to apply a top-down approach to emergency management functions, particularly relative to planning for disasters. While the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act detailed changes to how federal emergency manage- ment functioned, many of the changes included in this legislation were overlooked or were slow to be adopted by the leadership at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). With the election of Barack Obama as president in 2008, both Congress and the emergency management community looked forward to positive changes and support for a struggling discipline. Positive changes were made in the nomination of Craig Fugate, a very qualified state emergency management director from Florida, who came in with a promise to improve FEMA’s response operations. With the support of Janet Napolitano, the former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Administrator Fugate refocused the agency on preparedness and response. To some this has come at the cost of greatly reducing the agency’s efforts to promote mitigation and to pass leadership of community recovery efforts to other federal agencies. Administrator Fugate has launched the concept of Whole Community as his personal pro- gram to change the dialog from victims to survivors. Over the course of Fugate’s tenure, the agency was tested with major floods, the Joplin, Missouri tornadoes, increased wildfire activ- ity and the significant impacts of Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy. The current period of emer- gency management is highlighted by the emergence of social media as a critical tool in disaster communications and response, and FEMA has taken full advantage of the new med- iums. It has also been marked by effective responses to various disasters but a relatively low This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  Chapter 1 The Historical Context of Emergency Management 3 key profile for FEMA and emergency management as homeland security events and issues continued to dominate the disaster and political landscape. This chapter will discuss how the agency, FEMA, and emergency management evolved; the individuals and leadership that shaped it, and the events that precipitated change. Early History: 1800 1950 In 1803, a congressional act was passed that provided financial assistance to a New Hampshire town that had been devastated by fire. This was the first example of the federal government becoming involved in a local disaster. It was not until Franklin Roosevelt’s administration used government as a tool to stimulate the economy that the federal govern- ment began to make significant investments in emergency management functions. During the 1930s, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and the Bureau of Public Roads were both given the authority to make disaster loans available for repair and recon- struction of certain public facilities after disasters. The Tennessee Valley Authority was cre- ated during this time to produce hydroelectric power and, as a secondary purpose, to reduce flooding in the region. A significant piece of emergency management legislation was passed during this time. The Flood Control Act of 1936 gave the US Army Corps of Engineers increased authority to design and build flood-control projects. This act has had a significant and long-lasting impact on emergency management in this country. This act reflected the philosophy that humans could control nature, thereby eliminating the risk of floods. Although this pro- gram would promote economic and population growth patterns along the nation’s rivers, history has proven that this attempt at emergency management was both shortsighted and costly. The Cold War and the Rise of Civil Defense: The 1950s The next notable time frame for the evolution of emergency management was during the 1950s. The era of the Cold War presented the principal disaster risk as the potential for nuclear war and nuclear fallout. Civil defense programs proliferated across communities during this time. Individuals and communities were encouraged to build bomb shelters to protect themselves and their families from nuclear attack from the Soviet Union. Almost every community had a civil defense director and most states had someone who represented civil defense in their state government hierarchy. By profession, these indivi- duals were usually retired military personnel, and their operations received little political or financial support from their state or local governments. Equally often, their civil defense responsibilities were in addition to other duties. Federal support for these activities was vested in the Federal Civil Defense Administration (FCDA), an organization with little staff or financial resources, whose main role was to pro- vide technical assistance. In reality, the local and state civil defense directors were the first recognized face of emergency management in the United States. A companion office to the FCDA, the Office of Defense Mobilization was established in the Department of Defense (DOD). The primary functions of this office were to allow for This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  4 INTRODUCTION TO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT quick mobilization of materials and production and stockpiling of critical materials in the event of a war. It included a function called emergency preparedness. In 1958, these two offices were merged into the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization. The 1950s were a quiet time for large-scale natural disasters. Hurricane Hazel, a Category 4 hurricane, inflicted significant damage in Virginia and North Carolina in 1954; Hurricane Diane hit several mid-Atlantic and northeastern states in 1955; and Hurricane Audrey, the most damaging of the three storms, struck Louisiana and North Texas in 1957. Congressional response to these disasters followed a familiar pattern of ad hoc legislation to provide increased disaster assistance funds to the affected areas. As the 1960s started, three major natural disaster events occurred. In a sparsely populated area of Montana, the Hebgen Lake earthquake, measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale, was proof that states other than California were at risk for severe earthquakes. Also in 1960, Hurricane Donna hit the west coast of Florida, and Hurricane Carla blew into Texas in 1961. The incoming Kennedy administration decided to make a change to the federal approach to such disasters. In 1961 it created the Office of Emergency Preparedness inside the White House to deal with natural disasters. Civil defense responsibilities remained in the Office of Civil Defense within the DOD. Changes to Emergency Management: The 1960s As the 1960s progressed, the United States would be struck by a series of major natural disas- ters. The Ash Wednesday storm in 1962 devastated more than 620 miles of shoreline on the East Coast, producing more than $300 million in damages. In 1964, an earthquake measuring 9.2 on the Richter scale in Prince William Sound, Alaska, became front-page news through- out America and the world. This quake generated a tsunami that affected beaches as far down the Pacific Coast of California and killed 123 people. Hurricane Betsy in 1965 and Hurricane Camille in 1969 killed and injured hundreds of people and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage along the Gulf Coast. As with previous disasters, the response was the passage of ad hoc legislation for funds. However, the financial losses resulting from Hurricane Betsy’s path across Florida and Louisiana raised the issue of disaster insurance against future floods and a potential method to reduce continued government assistance after such disasters. Congressional interest was prompted by the unavailability of flood protection insurance on the standard homeowner policy. If this type of insurance was available, it was cost-prohibitive. These discussions even- tually led to the passage of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, which created the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Congressman Hale Boggs of Louisiana is appropriately credited with steering this unique legislation through Congress. Unlike previous emergency management/disaster legislation, this bill sought to do something about the risk before the disaster struck. It brought the con- cept of community-based mitigation into the practice of emergency management. In simple terms, when a community joined the NFIP, in exchange for making federally subsidized, low-cost flood insurance available to its citizens, the community had to pass an ordinance restricting future development in its floodplains. The federal government also agreed to help local communities by producing maps of their community’s floodplains. This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  Chapter 1 The Historical Context of Emergency Management 5 ADDITIONAL RESEARCH In Oct. 2006, a report entitled Costs and Consequences of Flooding and the Impact of the National Flood Insurance Program was issued, which provided an overview of what the NFIP had accomplished. It is available at http://bit.ly/29s6ulo. The NFIP began as a voluntary program as part of a political compromise that Boggs reached with then Senator Tom Eagleton of Missouri. As a voluntary program, few commu- nities joined. After Hurricane Camille struck the Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi coasts in 1969, the goals of the NFIP to protect people’s financial investments and to reduce gov- ernment disaster expenditures were not being met. Change would not occur until Hurricane Agnes devastated Florida in 1972. George Bernstein, who was brought down from New York by President Nixon to run the Federal Insurance Administration (FIA) within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), proposed linking the mandatory purchase of flood insurance to all homeowner loans that were backed by federal mortgages. This change created an incentive for communities to join the NFIP because a significant portion of the home mortgage market was federally backed. This change became the Flood Insurance Act of 1972. It is important to note how local and state governments chose to administer this flood risk program. Civil defense departments usually had the responsibility to deal with risks and disasters. Although the NFIP dealt with risk and risk avoidance, responsibilities for the NFIP were sent to local planning departments and state Departments of Natural Resources. This reaction is one illustration of the fragmented and piecemeal approach to emergency man- agement that evolved during the 1960s and 1970s. ’’ Critical Thinking ’ Can you think of any positive or negative aspects of disaster-driven evolutionary changes in the United States’ emergency management system? What about for changes that occur in the absence of initiating disaster events? The Call for a National Focus on Emergency Management: The 1970s In the 1970s, the responsibility for emergency management functions was evident in more than five federal departments and agencies, including the Department of Commerce (weather, warning, and fire protection), the General Services Administration (continuity of government, stockpiling, and federal preparedness), the Treasury Department (import inves- tigation), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (power plants), and HUD (flood insurance and disaster relief). With the passage of the Disaster Relief Act of 1974, which was prompted by the previously mentioned hurricanes and the San Fernando earthquake of 1971, HUD possessed the most significant authority for natural disaster response and recovery through the NFIP under the FIA and the Federal Disaster Assistance Administration (disaster response, temporary This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  6 INTRODUCTION TO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT housing, and assistance). On the military side were the Defense Civil Preparedness Agency (nuclear attack) and the US Army Corps of Engineers (flood control); however, taking into account the broad range of risks and potential disasters, more than 100 federal agencies were involved in some aspect of risks and disasters. This pattern continued down to the state and, to a lesser extent, local levels. Parallel orga- nizations and programs added to the confusion and the turf wars that especially occurred during disaster response efforts. The states and the governors grew increasingly frustrated over this fragmentation. In the absence of one clear federal lead agency in emergency man- agement, a group of state civil defense directors led by Lacy Suiter of Tennessee and Erie Jones of Illinois launched an effort through the National Governors Association to consoli- date federal emergency management activities into one agency. With the election of a fellow state governor, President Jimmy Carter of Georgia, the effort gained steam. President Carter came to Washington committed to streamlining all govern- ment agencies and seeking more control over key administrative processes. The state direc- tors lobbied the National Governors Association (NGA) and Congress for a consolidation of federal emergency management functions. When the Carter administration proposed such an action, it was met with a receptive audience in the Senate. Congress already had expressed concerns about the lack of a coherent federal policy and the inability of states to know whom to turn to in the event of an emergency. The federal agencies involved, however, were not as excited about the prospect. A funda- mental law of bureaucracy is a continued desire to expand control and authority, not to lose control. In a consolidation of this sort, there would be both losers and winners. There was a question of which federal department/agency should house the new consolidated structure. As the debate continued, the newly organized National Association of State Directors of Emergency Preparedness championed the creation of a new independent organization, an idea that was quickly supported by the Senate. In the midst of these discussions, an accident occurred at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, which added impetus to the consolidation effort. This accident brought national media attention to the lack of adequate off-site preparedness around commer- cial nuclear power plants and the role of the federal government in responding to such an event. On Jun. 19, 1978, President Carter transmitted to Congress the Reorganization Plan Number 3 (3 CFR 1978, 5 U.S. Code 903). The intent of this plan was to consolidate emer- gency preparedness, mitigation, and response activities into one federal emergency manage- ment organization. The president stated that the plan would establish the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and that the FEMA director would report directly to the president. Reorganization Plan Number 3 transferred to FEMA the National Fire Prevention Control Administration (Department of Commerce), the Federal Insurance Administration (HUD), the Federal Broadcast System (Executive Office of the President), the Defense Civil Preparedness Agency (Department of Defense), the Federal Disaster Assistance Administration (HUD), and the Federal Preparedness Agency (GSA). The following emergency preparedness and mitigation functions were also transferred to FEMA: Oversight of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (Office of Science and Technology Policy) Coordination of dam safety (Office of Science and Technology Policy) This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  Chapter 1 The Historical Context of Emergency Management 7 Assistance to communities in the development of readiness plans for severe weather- related emergencies Coordination of natural and nuclear disaster warning systems Coordination of preparedness and planning to reduce the consequences of major terrorist incidents Reorganization Plan Number 3 articulated the following fundamental organizational principles: 1. Federal authorities who were to anticipate, prepare for, and respond to major civil emergencies should be supervised by one official who is responsible to the president and given attention by other officials at the highest levels. 2. An effective civil defense system requires the most efficient use of all available resources. 3. Whenever possible, emergency responsibilities should be extensions of federal agencies. 4. Federal hazard mitigation activities should be closely linked with emergency preparedness and response functions. Subsequent to congressional review and concurrence, the Federal Emergency Management Agency was officially established by Executive Order 12127 of Mar. 31, 1979 (44 FR 19367, 3 CFR, Comp., p. 376). A second Executive Order, 12148, mandated the reassign- ment of agencies, programs, and personnel into the new entity, FEMA. Creating the new organization made sense, but integrating the diverse programs, opera- tions, policies, and people into a cohesive operation was a much bigger task than realized when the consolidation began. It would take extraordinary leadership and a common vision. The consolidation also created immediate political problems. By consolidating these pro- grams and the legislation that created them, FEMA would have to answer to 23 committees and subcommittees in Congress with oversight of its programs. Unlike most other federal agencies, it would have no organic legislation to support its operations and no clear cham- pions to look to during the congressional appropriations process. In addition, President Carter had problems finding a director for this new organization. No large constituent group was identified with emergency management, and at the time the administration was facing major problems with Congress and the public because of the Iranian hostage crisis. President Carter finally reached into his own cabinet and asked John Macy, who was then head of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), to become director of FEMA. John Macy’s task was to unify an organization that was not only physically separated— parts of the agency were located in five different buildings around Washington—but also philosophically separate. Programs focused on nuclear war preparations were combined with programs focused on a new consciousness of the environment and floodplain manage- ment. Macy focused his efforts by emphasizing the similarities between natural hazards pre- paredness and civil defense by developing a new concept called the Integrated Emergency Management System (IEMS). This system was an all-hazards approach that included direc- tion, control, and warning as functions common to all emergencies from small, isolated events to the ultimate emergency of nuclear attack. For all his good efforts, FEMA continued to operate as individual entities pursuing their own interests and answering to their own congressional bosses. It was a period of few major disasters, so virtually nobody noticed this problem of disjointedness. This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  8 INTRODUCTION TO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT Civil Defense Reappears as Nuclear Attack Planning: The 1980s The early- and mid-1980s saw FEMA facing many challenges, but no significant natural disasters. The absence of the need for a coherent federal response to disasters, as was called for by Congress when it approved the establishment of FEMA, allowed FEMA to continue to exist as an organization of many parts. In 1982, President Reagan appointed General Louis O. Giuffrida as director of FEMA. Giuffrida, a California friend of Ed Meese, who was one of the President’s closest advisors, had a background in training and terrorism preparedness at the state government level. He proceeded to reorganize FEMA consistent with administration policies and his background. Top priority was placed on government preparedness for a nuclear attack. Resources within the agency were realigned, and additional budget authority was sought to enhance and ele- vate the national security responsibilities of the agency. With no real role for the states in these national security activities, the state directors who had lobbied for the creation of FEMA saw their authority and federal funding declining. Giuffrida also angered one of the only other visible constituents of the agency—the fire services community. Giuffrida diminished the authority of the US Fire Administration by making it part of FEMA’s Directorate of Training and Education. The newly acquired campus at Emmitsburg, Maryland was intended to become the preeminent National Emergency Training Center (NETC). During Giuffrida’s tenure, FEMA faced several unusual challenges that stretched its authority, including asserting FEMA into the lead role for continuity of civilian government in the aftermath of a nuclear attack, managing the federal response to the contamination at Love Canal and Times Beach, Missouri, and the Cuban refugee crisis. Although Giuffrida managed to bring the agency physically together in a new headquarters building in Washington, DC, severe morale problems persisted. Dislike of Giuffrida’s style and questions about FEMA’s operations came to the attention of US Representative Al Gore of Tennessee, who then served on the House Science and Technology Committee. As the congressional hearings proceeded, the Department of Justice and a grand jury began investigations of senior political officials at FEMA. These inquiries led to the resignation of Giuffrida and top aides in response to a variety of charges, including misuse of government funds, but the shake-up marked a milestone of sorts: FEMA and emergency management had made it into the comic strip “Doonesbury.” President Reagan then selected General Julius Becton to be director of FEMA. Becton, a retired military general and former director of the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance in the State Department, is credited uniformly with restoring integrity to the operations and appro- priations of the agency. From a policy standpoint, he continued to emphasize the programs of his predecessor, only in a less visible manner. Becton expanded the duties of FEMA when he was asked by the DOD to take over the program dealing with the off-site cleanup of chemical stockpiles on DOD bases. This program was fraught with problems, and bad feel- ings existed between the communities and the bases over the funds available to the commu- nities for the cleanup. FEMA had minimal technical expertise to administer this program and was dependent on the DOD and the Army for the funding. This situation led to political pro- blems for the agency and did not lead to significant advancements in local emergency man- agement operations, as promised by the DOD. This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  Chapter 1 The Historical Context of Emergency Management 9 At one point in his tenure, Becton ranked the programs in FEMA by level of importance. Of the more than 20 major programs, the earthquake, hurricane, and flood programs ranked near the bottom. This priority seemed logical based on the absence of any significant natural hazards, but this situation is noteworthy in the context that it continued the pattern of isolat- ing resources for national security priorities without recognizing the potential of a major nat- ural disaster. This issue was raised by then Senator Al Gore in hearings on FEMA’s responsibilities as lead agency for the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP). Senator Gore, reacting to a scientific report that up to 200,000 casualties could result from an earth- quake on the New Madrid fault, believed that FEMA’s priorities were misplaced. The legisla- tion that created the NEHRP called on FEMA to develop a plan for how the federal government would respond to a catastrophic earthquake. This Federal Response Plan would later become the standard for all of the federal agencies’ response operations. Senator Gore concluded that FEMA needed to spend more time working with its federal, state, and local partners on natural hazards planning. An Agency in Trouble: 1989 92 As Congress debated, and finally passed, major reform of federal disaster policy as part of the Stewart McKinney Robert Stafford Act, FEMA’s potential and its ability to support a national emergency management system remained in doubt. As the 1980s closed, FEMA was an agency in trouble. It suffered from severe morale problems, disparate leadership, and conflicts with its partners at the state and local levels over agency spending and priorities. With a new administration in place, President George H. W. Bush named Wallace Stickney as director of FEMA. Stickney was from New Hampshire and was a friend of John Sununu, who was Bush’s chief of staff. Stickney came to the director’s position having been a staff per- son at the New England Regional Office of the Environmental Protection Agency and as a vol- unteer firefighter. His emergency management credentials were minimal, and his selection was poorly received by many of the state directors. At the same time, the political appointees who were named to FEMA’s regional director positions—the first line of FEMA’s response system—were equally lacking in emergency management experience. These appointments would prove to have dire consequences for both FEMA and the American public. In 1989, two devastating natural disasters called the continued existence of FEMA into question. In Sep. r, Hurricane Hugo slammed into North Carolina and South Carolina after first hitting Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. It was the worst hurricane in a decade, with more than $15 billion in damages and 85 deaths. FEMA was slow to respond, waiting for the process to work and for the governors to decide what to do. Less than a month later, the Bay Area of California was rocked by the Loma Prieta earthquake as the 1989 World Series got under way in Oakland Stadium. FEMA was not prepared to deal with the catastrophe. A few years later, FEMA was not so lucky. In Aug. 1992, Hurricane Andrew struck Florida and Louisiana, and Hurricane Iniki struck Hawaii only a few weeks later. Again, FEMA wasn’t ready, but with Hurricane Andrew, it was not only FEMA that failed the people of Florida, but the process and the system as well. Starting with Hurricane Hugo, public concern over natural disasters was high. People wanted, and expected, their government to be there to help in their time of need. FEMA seemed incapable of carrying out the essential government function of emergency management. This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  10 INTRODUCTION TO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT In the aftermath of Hurricanes Andrew and Iniki, there were calls for abolishing FEMA. But the incoming Clinton administration realized how important an effective response and quick recovery were to communities and to voters and was determined to fix the emergency management system. The Witt Revolution: 1993 2001 When President Clinton nominated James Lee Witt to be director of FEMA, Witt breathed new life into FEMA and brought a new style of leadership to the troubled agency. Witt was the first director of FEMA with emergency management experience. He was from the constit- uency who had played a major role in creating FEMA but had been forgotten—the state directors. With Witt, President Clinton had credibility and, more important, a skilled politi- cian who knew the importance of building partnerships and serving customers. Witt came in with a mandate to restore the trust of the American people that their gov- ernment would be there for them during times of crisis. He initiated sweeping reforms inside and outside the agency. Inside FEMA, he reached out to all employees, implemented cus- tomer service training, and reorganized the agency to break down bottlenecks. He supported the application of new technologies to the delivery of disaster services and focused on miti- gation and risk avoidance. Outside the agency, he strengthened the relationships with state and local emergency managers and built new ones with Congress, within the administration, and with the media. Open communications, both internally and externally, were the hall- marks of the Witt years at FEMA. Witt’s leadership and the changes he made were quickly tested as the nation experienced an unprecedented series of natural disasters. The Midwest floods in 1993 resulted in major disaster declarations in nine states. FEMA’s successful response to these floods brought the opportunity to change the focus of post-disaster recovery by initiating the largest voluntary buyout and relocation program to date in an effort to move people out of the floodplain and out of harm’s way. ADDITIONAL RESEARCH “The Great USA Flood of 1993” (http://bit.ly/29slbEb) Abstract. The 1993 Midwest flood was one of the most significant and damaging natural disasters ever to hit the United States. Damages totaled $15 billion, 50 people died, hundreds of levees failed, and thousands of people were evacuated, some for months. The flood was unusual in the magnitude of the crests, the number of record crests, the large area impacted, and the length of the time the flood was an issue. The paper discusses some details of the flood, the forecasting procedures utilized by the National Weather Service, and the precipitation events which caused the flood. The Northridge, California earthquake quickly followed the Midwest floods in 1993. Northridge tested all of the new streamlined approaches and technology advancements for delivery of services and created some more. Throughout the next several years, FEMA and its state and local partners would face every possible natural hazard, including killer torna- does, ice storms, hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and drought. This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  Chapter 1 The Historical Context of Emergency Management 11 When President Clinton made Witt a member of his cabinet, the value and importance of emergency management was recognized. Witt used this promotion as an opportunity to lobby the nation’s governors to include their state emergency management directors in their cabinets. The Oklahoma City bombing in Apr. 1995 represented a new phase in the evolution of emergency management. This event, following the first bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City in 1993, raised the issue of America’s preparedness for terrorism events. Because emergency management responsibilities are defined by risks and the consequences of those risks, responding to terrorist threats was included. The Oklahoma City bombing tested this thesis and set the stage for interagency disagreements over which agency would be in charge of terrorism. While this debate continued, FEMA took an important step in its commitment to disaster mitigation by launching a national initiative to promote a new community-based approach called Project Impact: Building Disaster-Resistant Communities. This project was designed to mainstream emergency management and mitigation practices into every community in America. It went back to the roots of emergency management. It asked a community to iden- tify risks and establish a plan to reduce those risks. It asked communities to establish part- nerships that included all of the stakeholders in the community, including, for the first time, the business sector. ADDITIONAL RESEARCH “Project Impact Initiative to Create Disaster-Resistant Communities Demonstrates Worth in Kansas Years Later” (http://bit.ly/29OGUv6). This article documents how preventive measures, taken by communities in Kansas as part of the Project Impact program, saved lives years later when devastating tornadoes struck across Kansas. By building a disaster-resistant community, the community would promote sustainable economic development, protect and enhance its natural resources, and ensure a better qual- ity of life for its citizens. Fig. 1.1 shows the effects of mitigation during Hurricane Ike. As the FIGURE 1.1 Gilchrist, Texas, Aug. 16, 2009. These stilt homes were the only structures still standing in the town of Gilchrist after Hurricane Ike destroyed it. FEMA is still working with local, state, and federal agencies to rebuild the town. Photo by Patsy Lynch/FEMA. This book belongs to Eban Rolle ([email protected]) Copyright Elsevier 2024  12 INTRODUCTION TO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT decade came to an end, FEMA was still recognized as the preeminent emergency manage- ment system in the world. It was adopted in other countries, and Witt became an ambassa- dor for emergency management overseas. Terrorism: 2001 With the election of President George W. Bush, a new FEMA director, Joe Allbaugh, was named to head the agency. As a former chief of staff to Bush when he was governor of Texas and Bush’s campaign manager in the 2000 presidential race, Allbaugh had a close personal relationship with the president. As demonstrated by Witt and Clinton, this was viewed as a positive for the agency. His lack of emergency management background was not an issue during his confirmation hearings. Allbaugh got off to a rocky start when the administration decided to eliminate funding for the popular Project Impact. Immediately after this decision was announced, the 6.8 magnitude Nisqually earthquake shook Seattle, Washington. Seattle happened to be one of the most successful Project Impact communities. The mayor of Seattle appeared on national television and gave Project Impact credit for the minimal damage from the quake. When then Vice President Dick Cheney was asked why the program was being eliminated, he responded that there had been doubts about its effectiveness. As FEMA’s budget proceeded through the appropriations process, Congress put funding back into Project Impact. As part of the major reorganization of the agency, Allbaugh recreated the Office of National Preparedness (ONP). This office was first established in the 1980s during the Giuffrida reign for planning for World War III and had been eliminated by Witt in 1992. This action raised some concerns among FEMA’s constituents and FEMA staff. However, this time the mission of the office was focused on terrorism. As the events of Sep. 11, 2001 unfolded, FEMA activated the Federal Response Plan, and response operations proceeded as expected in New York and Virginia. The strength of the US Emergency Management System was proven, however, as hundreds of response person- nel initiated their operations within just minutes of the onset of events. The Department of Homeland Security: 2001 05 Almost immediately after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the President cre-