Disaster Protection, Response, Recovery, and Communication Essay

Disaster Protection, Response, Recovery, and Communication
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Disaster Protection, Response, Recovery, and Communication
Disasters are inevitable, and the best thing to do is to facilitate preparedness and readiness. The federal, state, and local governments must respond to natural calamities, such as tsunamis, earthquakes, and hurricanes when they occur to help the affected communities recover. The local government offers the initial emergency response by using its service agencies. Indeed, it initiates the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). When the local jurisdiction lacks enough resources to respond to a specific disaster, it asks for assistance from the state government. Additionally, if the disaster is severe and the state and local governments cannot offer the required resources, the federal government intervenes. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) activates, coordinates, and implements the Federal Response Plan (FRP). FEMA's public and individual assistance programs provide resources to the local and state governments to help affected communities respond and recover quickly from significant disasters. The presidential disaster declaration offers aid to individuals and families to assist them in rebuilding the damaged infrastructure. In addition, the Stafford Act authorizes the president to offer emergency declarations before or after the catastrophic event. Such emergency declarations protect public health, safety, and properties by averting or lessening the damage caused by a disaster. The paper focuses on the importance and relationship between the federal, state, and local governments in disaster response and recovery.
The federal, state, and local governments hold significant responsibilities in responding to disasters. In particular, the local government offers the initial emergency response and activates the EOC. In addition, it coordinates the response from public and private corporations, provides mutual aid, and requests for state assistance if the available resources are not enough. When the state government is requested for help, it reviews the disaster, activates state EOC, determines whether the situation is beyond its capability, and requests federal assistance if its resources are not enough to respond to the emergency at hand. The federal government performs the Joint Preliminary Damage Assessments (PDA) for the local and state governments (Jung & Song, 2015). Afterward, it denies or approves the state request. If the state government approves the request, it activates the FRP, establishes the Emergency Support Team (EST), and comes up with the Emergency Support Functions (ESF) to respond to the situation at hand appropriately. As a result, the local, state, and federal governments collaborate in response to a disaster to ensure that affected communities get proper assistance and recover within the shortest time possible.
The presidential disaster declaration system and the Stafford Act are essential since they provide proper assistance or lessen the magnitude of a disaster. Specifically, the Stafford Act permits the president to declare an emergency before or after catastrophic events. For example, suppose hurricanes are anticipated to occur in a particular area. In that case, the president can declare an emergency and authorize FEMA to evacuate residents and properties to avoid more damages if the disaster occurs. The best thing about emergency declarations is safeguarding public health, safety, and property (McCarthy, 2014). Emergency declarations given after the disaster offer supplemental assistance to assist local and state governments, individuals, families, and organizations to recover from the catastrophic incidents faster. Moreover, presidential disaster declarations offer various forms of assistance to affected communities and individuals. For example, they facilitate the provision of life necessities to the victims of catastrophic events. The state and local governments receive financial aid to assist affected communities. Profit and non-profit organizations help to rebuild and replace the damaged infrastructure. In other words, the presidential disaster declarations assist the affected communities based on the current needs that emergency agencies have not fulfilled. For instance, over the last two and a half decades, the federal assistance offered through the presidential disaster declarations exceeded $150 billion (McCarthy, 2014). Recently, Congress has implemented supplemental appropriations legislation for covering the unanticipated costs. Besides, the Stafford Act and presidential disaster declarations are crucial when responding to disasters.
FEMA's Individual Assistance programs offer financial assistance or direct services to the affected communities to meet their necessities. For instance, they provide temporary housing by giving victims disaster money to rent a house. Homeowners might also receive funds to facilitate the repair of their damaged houses, particularly if they are uninsured. In some cases, FEMA's Individual Assistance programs give people money to replace homes damaged by the disaster. FEMA offers up to $33,000 for home replacement (FEMA, n.d.). FEMA's other types of help under the Individual Assistance Program include money for permanent house construction, burial or funeral costs, dental and medical expenses, fuel, protective clothing, educational materials, storage expenses, repairing vehicles destroyed by disasters, and household items.
The primary objective of FEMA's Public Assistance Program is to offer assistance to local, state, tribal, territorial, and private non-profit organizations to aid quick recovery from significant emergencies or disasters declared by the president. In particular, when a disaster occurs and the request for assistance by the state government is approved by the federal government, FEMA activates the FRP. In that light, the Public Assistance Program is crucial since it provides supplemental grants for publicly owned facilities, debris removal, restoration of damaged properties, and emergency protective measures (FEMA, 2020). The federal government know...