Bridging the Gaps in Emergency Management

Following the assessment completed by the National Science Foundation, it becomes apparent that a paradigm shift is necessary to bridge the many gaps in emergency management to include the physical, human, and constructed systems. In an ideal scenario, it was discussed by Mileti (1999) that disaster preparedness and response would be dealt with in the most efficient manner possible thereby reducing its social, political and economical impact; however, that was not the reality then and it is not certainly not the reality today. In today’s world, natural disasters are less discriminating and can strike localities out of what is generally expected, leaving some vulnerable and ill-equipped to response. According to researcher and Professor Robert Schneider (2002), each locality must be have the flexibility to address a wide variety of disasters that both common and uncommon to the area. This was the case with the recent winter storm that crippled parts of the South unprepared to adequately respond, leaving commuters trapped in a massive gridlock in Atlanta. Another example includes Hurricane Sandy and the devastation left behind in New Jersey and parts of New York City, where the magnitude and breath of the storm was a rare event. Such incidents bring to light the need for an overarching and Comprehensive Emergency Management approach to hazard mitigation. The aftermath of the events that occurred recently and in parts of the Northeast illustrates not only the economic loss but rather the loss of confidence and morale during such troubling times. Furthermore, there are those hazards such as droughts and heat waves that are felt gradually and quietly thus falsely lessening their potential for damage until damage has been done and the i...

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..., 2007). Similarly, hazards mitigation is a not a linear process but rather one that will continue to evolve and emergency management practices will need to evolve to include any changes. Sustainable hazard mitigation is most successful when there is a shift from a disaster-driven system of emergency management to a policy and threat-driven system making it a proactive rather then a reactive model (Schneider, 2002). Stop pritorizing and focus on long-term goals as presented in Boulder, CO scenario, don’t wait until a disaster is imminent. This type of model does not reject natural or man-made disasters but learns to live within their ecological system. Taking personal responsibility for ones natural environment can produce this change and will continue to benefit communities and future generations to come by producing a wealthier economy on all levels.