Basic Concepts Associated with Emergency Management and the Role it Plays in a City's Homeland Security Efforts

Many countries have generally adopted the concept of emergency management in order to improve disaster and catastrophe mitigation and reduction. Emergency managers are the driving force behind the overall success of the emergency management team (Haddow, Bullock & Coppola, 2013). The manager is responsible for not only providing direction during emergencies, but also for providing important information and recommendations to government agencies, policymakers, city council personnel, police, and other concerned parties regarding emergency handling. Emergency management is an act which involves coming up with strategies, ways, and solutions which are essential in dealing with disasters and catastrophes, but it does not eliminate the threat.


Terrorism


Terrorism is the act of an individual or a group of people to use violence, undue process, or intimidation to exercise authority over others with the aim of gaining control over them.


Homeland Security


Homeland security is a term that is mostly used within the United States to refer to the efforts by the government in ensuring the safety, security, and avoidance of terrorism acts.


Preparedness


Preparedness refers to being ready and putting in place a set of actions to face an unforeseen act.


Incident Command System


Incident command system is a standard management concept that is created to specifically allow users to readily adopt an integrated organizational outlook that equals the demands of an incident or many incidents without being prevented by any laws or persons.


Catastrophe


A catastrophe is an act or an event that is unpredictable and is associated with causing significant damage, suffering, and loss of property or life.


Threats


Threats are communicated words or just actions whose primary intention is to inflict a sense of fear, pain, damage and loss to someone in retaliation for something done.


Mitigation


Mitigation is an act of trying to lower, reduce or prevent the force and intensity and seriousness of an event that is just about to happen.


Response


A response is a verbal or written form of communication that is channeled towards answering a question, test or survey.


Hazard


Hazard is a situation that is exposing a person or property to some risk, danger menace or threat to life and property.


Recovery


A recovery is an act of trying to regain, recapture and bring under control something that had been lost or had left the control of the owner.


The Role Emergency Management in the City's Homeland Security Efforts


Conducting emergency operations planning in a city is one of the primary roles of emergency management in helping to boost homeland security (Sylves, 2014). The process involves coming up with emergency handling procedures, assessment of possible risks and ensuring the availability of the required resources that are necessary for mitigating such risks. The planning must be systematic and give a time frame which is deemed necessary for handling the risk. Emergency management seeks to create and develop a city's alerting and warning capabilities for the government (Haddow, Bullock & Coppola, 2013). The creation of this process will ensure there is a developed and maintained a system that will have the ability to give instant information to the government officials who are responsible for rapid response. The system will also be able to alert the media and the general public about the existence of a certain form of emergency.


Emergency management will also create an emergency communication system that is very vital in enhancing homeland security within the city. The communication network must be able securely to permit the government emergency officials to take action by commanding the necessary forces to act in a situation of urgency. The forces are the principal means by which a government can always handle serious emergencies (Sylves, 2014). The government can also make use of privately owned communication networks in trying to enhance the government efforts in dealing with emergency situations. Emergency management must also seek to extensively inform the public of critical emergency information (Sylves, 2014). The achievement of this can be done by developing active programs that will enhance public awareness of the dangers that are posed by emergencies. The public should also be informed of the appropriate measures that are necessary for trying to mitigate the disaster. The involvement of community-based groups is imperative, and the government should form partnerships with them for successful execution of awareness preparedness programs.


Conclusion


Emergency management is a concept that has been proven to having an impact on the process of emergency handling situation. The whole field of emergency management has many terms that exclusively identifies with this particular field of study. Emergency managers are however very pivotal in the process of emergency management. The process of emergency management ensures emergency operational planning, alert warning operations, emergency communication setup and public awareness campaigns on emergency prevention and handling.


References


Haddow, G., Bullock, J., & Coppola, D. P. (2013). Introduction to emergency management. Butterworth-Heinemann.


Sylves, R. (2014). Disaster policy and politics: Emergency management and homeland security. CQ Press.

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