December 16-19, 2008 FEMA Emergency Management Higher Education Program Report

December 16-19, 2008 FEMA Emergency Management Higher Education Program Report

(1) ComparativeEmergencyManagementCollege Course Development Project –Meeting Notes:

Received today (Friday) from George Haddow at George Washington University, a 2-page summary of notes from a teleconference meeting recently with members of and advisors to the development team for an about to be developed course for the EM Hi-Ed Program on Comparative EM. From the notes:

Comparative Emergency Management Course Development Project, Work Group Teleconference, December 2nd, 2008, 10:00 – 12:00

Participants: George Haddow, Ollie Davidson, Sarp Yeletaysi, Greg Shaw, Bob McCreight;

Mark Hooker – Arkansas EMA Training and Exercise Division – representing NEMA; Pat LaRue – IAEM 1st VP, Dave McEntire.

Comments on individual sessions:

Session 4

• List The Yokohama Strategy before ISDR
• Add World Conference on Disaster Reduction (Hyogo Declaration)

Session 7

• Elaborate on terrorism hazards and military involvement in terrorism
• Describe the similarities in responding to terrorism and natural disasters
• How are resources divided up between the two types of events

Session 11

• Include competency of government and private sector to respond as a vulnerability factor

Session 12

• Note the new interest at Interaction in risk reduction

Session 25

• Include discussions of volunteer management and victim identification

Session 26-29

• Explore opportunities that exist before and after disasters to do mitigation and land use planning

General Comments:

• Note the differences between countries with regards to their emergency management differences, especially in regards to the differences between the industrialized, the developing, and the poor countries.
• Identify materials that instructors can access to back them up if they do not have direct EM experience
• Get testimonials from people with experience in international disasters – Fred Krimgold and Walter Hayes were two people mentioned – need to illustrate that personalities play a big role in EM.
• Create an ongoing resource list of EM practitioners and newsletters – PAHO, PADF, ADPC, ISDR, etc.
• Include info on public health role in EM.
• Include Natural Hazards Center Quick Response Reports as background materials.
• Discuss politics of disasters in all countries, including transparency, competency, corruption, and cronyism. Discuss the political consequences and rewards of disasters, and impacts on elections and dictators.
• Discuss how political realities can lead some countries to not declare obvious disasters and/or refuse foreign assistance.
• Check International Advisory Group on Search and Rescue as info source.
• Discuss pre-disaster vs. post-disaster mitigation – structural vs non-structural mitigation.
• Discuss complex disasters and attendant security concerns.
• Discuss the role of risk perception and how it may change after a disaster and what that means to how a community and people recover and rebuild.
• The course outline is very comprehensive. May want to consider shortening some parts.
• Include a comprehensive survey of all established/not-so-established EM systems internationally, and then try to group them with respect to different criteria that make those systems more descriptive. Describe the similarities and contrasts of those general types and make sure to include examples on which country systems fit into each group.
• I would reiterate that I think the course needs some information on politics and also on complex emergencies.
• Include some information on sustainable development (and the associated pros and cons of this proposal).

Final work plan forthcoming.

For more information, George Haddow can be reached at:

(2) DHS Accomplishments – 2008:

Department of Homeland Security. Fact Sheet: DHS End-of-Year Accomplishments. Washington, DC: DHS, Dec 18, 2008. At:

(3) DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff Reflections Back over His Watch:

Department of Homeland Security. Remarks by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff at the 2008 End of the Year Address. Washington, DC: December 18, 2008. Accessed at:

(4) Disaster Mortality:

Borden, Kevin A. and Susan L. Cutter. “Spatial Patterns of Natural Hazards Mortality in the United States.” International Journal of Health Geographics, Vol. 7, No. 64, December 17, 2008, 31 pages. At:

(5) Disaster Relief Funding and Corruption:

Leeson, Peter T. and Russell S. Sobel. “Weathering Corruption.” The Journal of Law & Economics. Vol. 51, November 2008. Abstract accessed at:

Could bad weather be responsible for U.S. corruption? Natural disasters create resource windfalls in the states they strike by triggering federally provided natural-disaster relief. By increasing the benefit of fraudulent appropriation and creating new opportunities for such theft, disaster-relief windfalls may also increase corruption. We investigate this hypothesis by exploring the effect of disaster relief provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on public corruption. The results support our hypothesis. Each additional $100 per capita in FEMA relief increases the average state's corruption by nearly 102 percent. Our findings suggest notoriously corrupt regions of the United States, such as the GulfCoast, are in part notoriously corrupt because natural disasters frequently strike them. They attract more disaster relief, which makes them more corrupt.

(6) DOD/DHS Get-Together:

Czerwinski, Jonah. “DHS, DOD Seek to Synch Reviews.” Homeland Security Watch, December 18, 2008. Accessed at:

“The last two days of workshops and panels were hosted by the US Army War College in support of DHS and DOD with the intention of further exploring some of the issues that foster and support jointness between the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security [DHS and DOD in Review: Ensuring We Ask the Right Questions]. Since both are undertaking their respective quadrennial reviews, it seemed appropriate to embrace that context for focusing on these issues. All proceedings were off the record, so I won’t share content.”

One of the agenda items was:

“What models provide the best foundation for jointness between DHS and DOD, and with other federal, state, and local agencies?”

Have not heard yet how these stakeholder partners are going to get information stemming from the discussion of this last topic. If a reader hears before we do, would be most appreciative of that information.

(7) Evacuation Planning:

Committee on the Role of Public Transportation in Emergency Evacuation. The Role of Transit in Emergency Evacuation: Special Report 294. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2008, 297 pages. Accessed at:

This study was requested by Congress and funded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Transit Cooperative Research Program to explore the capacity of transit systems serving the nation’s 38 largest urbanized areas to accommodate the evacuation, egress, or ingress of people from or to critical locations in times of emergency. The Transportation Research Board (TRB), which conducted the study, formed an 11-member committee comprising managers of transportation, transit, and emergency management agencies, as well as representatives of academia, to respond to the congressional request. (vii)

In 2005, transit could have played an important role in New Orleans in advance of

Hurricane Katrina by assisting in the evacuation of an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 vulnerable residents who lacked access to a private vehicle. A plan for the purpose existed, but it failed utterly when few transit drivers reported to work, transit equipment proved inadequate and was left unprotected, and communications and incident control were nonexistent. Emergency plans that inadequately represent transit or are poorly executed risk significant loss of life, particularly among those who are dependent on transit for evacuation out of harm’s way. (p. 1)

How Can Transit Be Better Incorporated into Emergency Evacuation Plans?

Finding: In those areas where transit is a full partner in local emergency evacuation plans, transit agencies have been involved in the development of such plans and are part of the designated emergency command structure. (p.10)

…constructive suggestions for strengthening the role of transit in emergency evacuation:

• Including transit providers, as well as social service agencies, in the development of emergency plans;

• Identifying transit-dependent populations and those requiring special assistance in an evacuation through registries and computer mapping and providing this information to emergency responders, including information on where these individuals should be taken, well in advance of an event;

• Specifying responsibilities of transit staff in an emergency (essential personnel), providing for the evacuation needs of the staff’s families, and securing transit equipment to the extent possible;

• Establishing means of communication, including contingency communications plans, among transit agency personnel and with other emergency responders;

• Developing memoranda of understanding with neighboring jurisdictions, sometimes across state lines, and standby contracts with private providers to help ensure that transit vehicles, including accessible equipment and trained drivers, will be available to meet surge requirements in an emergency and that transport destinations will be clear;

• Establishing protocols with a clear chain of command and checklists for critical transit personnel and emergency responders;

• Providing emergency evacuation information in accessible formats to the public, particularly to vulnerable populations, regarding how they can access transit (e.g., bus staging areas) and obtain assistance, if necessary, in an emergency evacuation; and

• Undertaking frequent drills and exercises, including transit agencies, under a wide range of emergency scenarios to see how well evacuation plans work in practice and planning revisions on the basis of this experience. (p. 71)

(7) Evacuation Planning Model:

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Mass Evacuation Transportation Planning Model. Washington, DC: AHRQ, Dept. of Health & Human Services, 2008. Accessed at:

This model estimates the time required to evacuate patients in healthcare facilities and transport them to receiving facilities. To begin, click the "New Scenario" button. Then fill out the data elements on the Scenario Input Page, including the characteristics of the vehicles used, characteristics of the evacuating and receiving hospitals, and other factors that affect travel time. Then click the Run Scenario button. Click the "Help" button on any of the following pages to view additional information about the model and its assumptions.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality provided funding for the model, via an interagency transfer from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. For additional information on the model, contact Tom Rich at Abt Associates or Sally Phillips at AHRQ.

(8) FEMA’s Public Assistance Grant Program Comes Under GAO Review:

Government Accountability Office. Disaster Recovery: FEMA’s Public Assistance Grant Program Experienced Challenges with GulfCoast Rebuilding (Report to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate). Washington, DC: GAO-09-129, December 2008, 61 pages. Accessed at:

GAO was asked to examine the amount of PA grants FEMA has provided for rebuilding the GulfCoast; challenges in the day-to-day operation of the PA program; and human capital challenges; as well as actions taken to address them. Toward this end, GAO reviewed relevant laws, PA regulations and procedures, and analyzed data from FEMA’s National Emergency Management Information System. GAO also interviewed federal officials from FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding as well as more than 60 officials from state government and eight localities in Louisiana and Mississippi.

What GAO Recommends

GAO makes several recommendations to the Secretary of Homeland Security including to direct FEMA to improve information sharing within the PA process and to further enhance continuity and communication when staff rotate on and off PA projects. In commenting on a draft of this report DHS generally agreed with our recommendations.

(9) Flood Hazard Risk Management – A UK Perspective:

United Kingdom, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). The Government’s Response to Sir Michael Pitt’s Review of the Summer 2007 Floods. London: DEFRA, December 2008, 132 pages. Accessed at:

1. The report of Sir Michael Pitt’s Review into the floods of Summer 2007 was published in June 2008. The Government warmly welcomes this Review, and pays tribute to Sir Michael Pitt and his team. They have thoroughly reviewed the flooding that happened in 2007 and identified clearly the lessons that should be learned from it.

2. The Review is a comprehensive appraisal of all aspects of flood risk management in England. In arriving at his conclusions, Sir Michael and his team listened carefully to many views, including from those people whose homes and lives were so badly affected by the floods.

3. Sir Michael has rightly put the needs of ordinary people at the heart of his Review. It identified six themes covering what people need:

• Knowing when and where it will flood;

• Improved planning and reducing the risk of flooding and its impact;

• Being rescued and cared for in an emergency;

• Maintaining power and water supplies and protecting essential services;

• Better advice and helping people to protect their families and homes; and

• Staying healthy and speeding up recovery.

4. The Review contains 92 recommendations addressed to the Government, local authorities,

Local Resilience Forums, providers of essential services, insurers and others, including the general public.

5. The Government supports changes in response to all of the recommendations in the Review. The Government is taking steps in response to these and has already taken action on a number of the recommendations. Investment required for longer term implementation will be considered as part of the next comprehensive spending review and any net new burdens for local authorities will be fully funded…. (Page 2)

(10) Hospital Security and Disaster Preparedness:

Van Gorder, Chris. “Protecting Hospitals During Disasters Emergency training event brings hospital, public agencies shoulder to shoulder.” Emergency Medical Services, December 17, 2008. Accessed at:

Reports of a suspected bioterrorism attack have sparked panic in the community. Worried residents swarm the region's major hospital for diagnosis and treatment and confusion quickly turns to chaos. Military helicopters thunder onto the hospital's helipad, where dozens of police officers disembark to battle a disaster within a disaster—pandemonium on hospital grounds in the midst of a public health emergency.

This was just part of the action-packed script for a landmark emergency training event in San Diego in summer 2008. Believed to be the first large-scale disaster event to link federal, state and local government agencies with private-sector healthcare officials, the drill enabled participants to practice what it really takes to secure the campus of a major hospital during a crisis.

Led by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and the San Diego Police Department, the Golden Phoenix '08 hospital protection event also included personnel from San DiegoCounty's EMS system, the U.S. Marine Corps, FBI, DEA and Department of Homeland Security. What differentiated this exercise from previous events was the involvement of the host, Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, part of the nonprofit Scripps Health system in San Diego….

The Golden Phoenix '08 exercise was specifically designed to test the operations, communications and security capabilities of multiple agencies and Scripps working together in an emergency on a major hospital campus. It served as a bellwether for future emergency and disaster training efforts by breaking through old assumptions that hospitals are self-sufficient during disasters—somehow fortified against a public surge and the disruption to care this would cause. This drill served notice that private healthcare personnel must work shoulder to shoulder with other first responders in the community to ensure hospitals are protected as key community assets during times of disaster….

(11) Military Disaster Preparedness and Collaboration with State and Local Government:

Miles, Donna. Closer collaboration will ensure disaster preparedness.” American Forces Press Service, December 17, 2008. Accessed at:

The commander of U.S. Northern Command urged closer collaboration between local and state agencies and groups that would be the first to respond to a disaster and the federal entities that stand ready to step in and assist when needed Dec. 16. Gen. Victor E. Renuart, who also commands the North American Aerospace Defense Command, known as NORAD, told the Ready Communities Partnership's 2008 symposium on community resiliency he's impressed by the huge strides in disaster preparedness at the local, regional and state levels. "The more a community is involved in planning for crises, ... the less demand there is for federal support, be that military or federal agencies," he told the group, a cross-section of city leaders, former governors and representatives of industry and private-sector groups.
Ninety-seven percent of the events Northcom and NORAD monitor each day are handled at the local or state level and don't need a federal response, General Renuart said. "But we also have to be prepared," he said, "because there will be a time when the size of the event is so big [and] happens so quickly that you have to have an integrated team of local and state and federal responders, both from the military and from our civilian first responders."
So as local and state planners plan for the "what ifs," and practice their responses to an attack or natural disaster, Northcom, NORAD and other federal organizations are ensuring they are prepared, too. "Our role is to ensure that when it is time to act, we are prepared," General Renuart said.

(12) Not In My Backyard:

Aulds, T. J. “FEMA Trailer Site Neighbors Angry.” GalvestonCounty Daily News, December 19, 2008. Accessed at:

BACLIFF - When a mobile home community for Hurricane Ike victims is built on the site of an old fish farm, none of the residents will be from Galveston, a county commissioner told a less-than-trusting crowd Wednesday. While the site located near Bayshore Drive in Bacliff is designed to accommodate up to 260 mobile homes, federal officials said so far only 47 people have qualified for and accepted the temporary housing after their homes or apartments were ruined by the hurricane.
Residents of the Chase Park subdivision, which will neighbor the temporary housing site, dressed down federal and county officials during a packed homeowners association meeting. Fueled by rumors, a lack of communication from FEMA and a general mistrust of government, the majority of those attending the meeting spoke out against the plan.
If it has to be built, residents said, they wanted guarantees from officials that those placed in the mobile homes would be only from the communities of San Leon, Bacliff, Bayview and Dickinson and not from elsewhere — especially Galveston. They also demanded added security and better traffic enforcement.
“We are trying to help your local residents. It’s your people (from the San Leon-Bacliff communities),” County Commissioner Pat Doyle said before making a guarantee. “No Galvestonians in this site. It won’t happen.” Doyle, whose precinct includes San Leon, Bacliff and the BolivarPeninsula, also promised a hard deadline for the mobile home site to be disassembled by April of 2010 and additional security for the community.
His word did little to instill trust among many in the crowd. “Nobody believes that,” Chase Park resident Tiffani Flores angrily said.
As well intentioned as the commissioner and FEMA may be, many of the residents worried that political pressure would force the them to go back on their promises and assurances. “How are you going to go up against (Houston Congresswoman) Sheila Jackson Lee when she comes down here and complains that people from Galveston should be staying here or when (community activist) Quanell X shows up,” San Leon resident Doris Lee asked.
Even adamant opponents to the site admitted they were willing to be reluctant neighbors, but only if they got assurances that displaced Galveston residents — in particular residents of the Galveston Housing Authority — would not become temporary residents of the mobile home site….