Local Emergency, federal funding, authorities
Disasters are a natural part of life. The history of humankind is littered with major catastrophes that altered the change of history. These catastrophes sometimes have devastating effects and show the weaknesses of the response teams put in place to mitigate them. In recent history, two events have shaped disaster preparedness and response in the country. These disasters are the September 11 terrorist attacks and the hurricane Katrina (Canton, 2007). After the September attacks, homeland security was formed and tasked with preventing future terrorist attacks. However, after Katrina, there was a realization that nature had the potential of inflicting deadlier attacks. The result is that homeland security was expanded to include all catastrophic events that affected American citizens (McEntire, 2007).
The national policies adopted affected all states. For example, for a state to qualify for federal funding, it needs to outline disaster mitigation strategies the disaster mitigation act of 2000 requires all local authorities to have disaster mitigation strategies in order to qualify for federal grants (Schwab, 2010). Such conditions inspire mitigation strategies across the country, including the state of Illinois.
[...] G. (2007). Emergency administration: strategies and concepts for effective programs. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley-Interscience. Collins, A. E. (2009). Development and Disaster. London: Routledge. [...]
[...] These gatherings are therefore protected by more security personnel and training takes place. There are collaborations between the local agencies and state agencies to deal with these situations. Disaster preparation There is a relationship between preparation and effects of a disaster (Beach, 2010). The Chicago and cook county area is susceptible to natural disaster. Therefore, there is need to prepare the local population of impending disasters to increase their preparedness. For example, people who live in storm prone areas often have storm shelters in preparation for bad storms (McEntire, 2007). [...]
[...] Training: there are training programs for disaster response and mitigation programs for all stakeholders. For example, there are many refresher-training programs for firefighters as well as medical staff. In addition, the security personnel is often trained by federal agencies, especially when Chicago hosts major events (Haddow, 2009). Work force: frequent training programs ensure that the work force is adequately prepared (Haddow, 2009). In addition, they frequently participate in responses, especially in other states because they are part of Federal Reserve. [...]
[...] The medical response team is prepared for all emergencies, including earthquakes (Haddow, 2009). In conclusion, the Chicago and cook county area appears to be adequately prepared even for the worst disasters. The goals and objective of disaster management resemble the national goals. This is a good thing because it reflects on the experiences of other areas. However, the lack of tests, which is a good thing, implies that conclusive evaluation cannot be made. References Beach, M. (2010). Disaster preparedness and administration. Philadelphia, city PA: F.A. Klai Co . Canton, L. [...]
[...] More importantly, the local governments need to be prepared for the disaster. One of the objectives of the Chicago and cook county area is to be prepared for all disasters that may affect the area (Schwab, 2010). The following points are related to preparation: Effective response After hurricane Katrina, one of the main criticisms targeted the response (Canton, 2007). There are claims that delayed response led to loss of more lives and increased suffering among the survivors. Therefore, one of the national objectives is early response in the event of a disaster (Schwab, 2010). [...]
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