Toward multihazard mitigation: An evaluation of FEMA-approved hazard mitigation plans under the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000

2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oluponmile O. Olonilua, PhD ◽  
Olurominiyi Ibitayo, PhD
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Management ◽  
Special Needs ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Hazard Mitigation ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Disaster Mitigation ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Tribal Governments ◽  
Mitigation Action ◽  
Special Needs Population

This article evaluates the extent to which the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)-approved plans submitted by local and tribal governments in response to the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA2K) comply with the requirements of the Act.The DMA2K requires state, local, and tribal governments to develop a FEMA-approved hazard mitigation plan to remain eligible for predisaster funding. The specific requirements investigated in this study are collaboration with several identified stakeholders in the planning process and in the mitigation action section of the plans, incorporation of public information and awareness in the mitigation action section, and public participation both in the process of developing the plans and in the mitigation action section of the plans. Other requirements include the incorporation of evacuation and sheltering as elements of multihazard plan, terrorism, technological hazard, and “special needs” population. A total of 202 FEMA-approved hazard mitigation action plans were selected using both stratified and purposive sampling, and the result of the evaluation shows that the extent of compliance by cities and counties in the sampled multijurisdictions with the requirements of DMA2K and FEMA is generally low. For example, more than 70 percent of cities in four of the sampled multijurisdictions did not include evacuation or sheltering in their hazard mitigation action plans.With the exception of provision for special needs population, t-test analyses of all requirements show no significant difference between plans produced by counties and cities. This study provides a policy learning opportunity for policy makers, emergency management officials, and many other stakeholders to make necessary adjustments to the hazard mitigation plans while reviewing and updating approved plans. This is especially true as DMA2K requires that plans must be updated and reviewed after 5 years.

Local hazard mitigation plans: A preliminary estimation of state-level completion from 2004 to 2009

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 121
Author(s):  
Andrea M. Jackman, PhD ◽  
Mario G. Beruvides, PhD, PE
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Management ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Hazard Mitigation ◽  
State Level ◽  
Initial Study ◽  
Disaster Mitigation ◽  
Hazard Vulnerability ◽  
Us Census

According to the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 and subsequent federal policy, local governments are required to have a Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) written and approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to be eligible for federal mitigation assistance. This policy took effect on November 1, 2004. Using FEMA’s database of approved HMPs and US Census Bureau’s 2002 Survey of Local Governments, it is estimated that 3 years after the original deadline, 67 percent of the country’s active local governments were without an approved HMP. A follow-up examination in 2009 of the eight states with the lowest completion percentages did not indicate significant improvement following the initial study and revealed inconsistencies in plan completion data over time. The completion percentage varied greatly by state and did not appear to follow any expected pattern such as wealth or hazard vulnerability that might encourage prompt completion of a plan. Further, the results indicate that ~92 percent of the approved plans were completed by a multijurisdictional entity, which suggests single governments seldom complete and gain approval for plans. Based on these results, it is believed that state-level resolution is not adequate for explaining the variation of plan completion, and further study at the local level is warranted.

The variational effects of jurisdictional attributes on hazard mitigation planning costs

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Andrea M. Jackman, PhD ◽  
Mario G. Beruvides, PhD, PE
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Management ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Hazard Mitigation ◽  
Disaster Mitigation ◽  
Influential Factor ◽  
Mitigation Planning ◽  
Follow Up Studies ◽  
Final Rule ◽  
The Cost

Under the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 and Federal Emergency Management Agency's subsequent Interim Final Rule, the requirement was placed on local governments to author and gain approval for a Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) for the areas under their jurisdiction. Low completion percentages for HMPs—less than one-third of eligible governments— were found by an analysis conducted 3 years after the final deadline for the aforementioned legislation took place. Follow-up studies showed little improvement at 5 and 8 years after the deadline. Based on these results, a previous study hypothesized that the cost of creating a HMP might be an influential factor in explaining why most jurisdictions had failed to write or gain approval for a HMP. The frequency of natural hazards experienced by the planning jurisdiction, the number of jurisdictions participating in the plan, and the population and population density were found to explain more than half of the variation in HMP costs. This study is a continuation of that effort, finding that there are significant differences in cost both across ranges of values for the jurisdictional attributes and single-jurisdictional versus multijurisdictional plans.

Residents’ perception towards tourism impacts in Kashmir

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Asif Hamid Charag ◽  
Asif Iqbal Fazili ◽  
Irfan Bashir
Keyword(s):  
Planning Process ◽  
Economic Impacts ◽  
Tourism Development ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Social Implications ◽  
Cultural Economic ◽  
Tourism Impacts ◽  
Content Type ◽  
City Tourism ◽  
Significant Difference

Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand the residents’ perception towards environmental, social, cultural and economic impacts of tourism development in Kashmir. Design/methodology/approach The research instrument containing 27 items pertaining to six variables is adopted from the literature. A mix-method survey approach is used to solicit residents’ perceptions regarding environmental, social, cultural and economic impacts of the current level of tourism development. A total of 326 useful responses were subjected to descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post hoc analysis using SPSS (Version 22.0). Findings In general, the negative and positive impacts of tourism development are well perceived by the residents. The results indicate that the residents display positive perception regarding economic impacts, however, social and environmental impacts are negatively perceived. Furthermore, barring level of education, the study found no significant difference in the residents’ perception towards tourism impacts (environmental, social, cultural, economic, quality of life and cost of living). Research limitations/implications The paper identifies perceived impacts and issues of tourism development thereby, proposing possible mitigating measures. Also, the study identifies the need to develop a comprehensive policy framework addressing the issues related to the resident’s negative feelings towards tourism impacts. Further, the study envisages the need for engaging residents in developing a progressive and participatory planning process for future tourism activities in the area. Social implications The study offers critical social implications for city tourism development. It suggests a community-based approach should be adopted to sensitize residents about the positive benefits of tourism. Originality/value The study is a novel attempt concerning residents’ residents perceptual differences towards tourism impacts. Furthermore, this study investigated socio-cultural impacts of tourism under two separate categories for better understanding. in doing so, this study provides finer understanding of perception of residents towards tourism impacts in Indian context. The findings of the study will prove critical for different stakeholders in developing future tourism framework and policies in the region.

scholarly journals A National Evaluation of State and Territory Roles in Hazard Mitigation: Building Local Capacity to Implement FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grants

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (23) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Gavin Smith ◽  
Olivia Vila
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Management ◽  
National Survey ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Hazard Mitigation ◽  
Grant Applications ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Resilient Infrastructure ◽  
Survey Responses

This article describes the findings of a national survey of State Hazard Mitigation Officers (SHMOs) in U.S. states and territories in order to gain a greater understanding of the roles that they play in assisting local governments to build the capacity required to successfully develop and implement Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)-funded Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grants, an important but understudied aspect of hazard mitigation governance. The research questions focus on: (1) How states and territories enable local governments to develop and implement HMA grants and (2) SHMOs’ opinions regarding their perceived capacity and effectiveness in assisting local governments to develop and implement HMA grants. Results show that while states and territories are relatively well-equipped to perform general administrative duties required by FEMA, SHMOs expressed wide variation in their capacity to assist local governments to develop and implement HMA grants. This was particularly evident with regard to the delivery of specific technical assistance measures required to develop HMA grants. Survey responses also highlight modest levels of participation in FEMA-designed efforts to delegate responsibility to states and territories and low levels of participation in programs that offer pre-application funding to local governments to help them develop HMA grant applications. These findings should concern FEMA as the agency embarks on the implementation of the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, an ambitious pre-disaster hazard mitigation grant initiative.

Accessibility and public information of medical students’ Facebook profiles in Peru: A call to adapt e-professionalism guidelines in the Latin American context (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Jesús Aragón-Ayala ◽  
Henry Rodriguez-Carrillo ◽  
Aldor Cornejo-Estrada ◽  
Cender Udai Quispe-Juli
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Male Students ◽  
The Public ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Professional Information ◽  
Types Of Information ◽  
The University

BACKGROUND Use of Facebook has increased and poses new challenges for adoption of professionalism. In this study we describe the accessibility of Facebook profiles in medical students, the disclosure of personal and professional information, and its association with sex and year of study. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to explore the public accessibility of Facebook profiles of medical students from a Peruvian university and the disclosure of personal and professional information, as well as its association with sex and the year of studies. METHODS Through a systematic search on Facebook, the profiles of medical students from the 2nd to the 7th year were located using fictitious profiles. The presence of different types of information in accessible profiles were evaluated. Furthermore, the proportion of the disclosed content was calculated. The data were compared according to year of study and sex. RESULTS 80% of students (488/611) presented publicly accessible profiles. We did not find a significant difference according year of study (p = 0.098) and sex (p = 0.912). Proportion of disclosed content was greater in higher years: 2nd and 3rd (p = 0.022), 2nd and 6th (p < 0.001), and 2nd and 7th (p = 0.002) and in men (33.25 ± 12.47) compared to women (30.38 ± 11.95) (p = 0.01). Some photos (p = 0.009) and links to other social networking sites (p = 0.036) were more commonly visible in women’s profiles, while showing the university (p = 0.017), medical school (p = 0.043) and sexual orientation (p = 0.001) was more common amongst men. CONCLUSIONS Most of the Facebook profiles of medical students were accessible, the disclosed content was greater in senior and male students. It is necessary to create and implement guidelines on e-professionalism in Latin America.

scholarly journals Post-Disaster Assessment of the Performance of Hazard Mitigation Projects: The California SMART Approach

2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael R. Boswell ◽  
◽  
William J. Siembieda ◽  
Kenneth C. Topping ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Management ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Hazard Mitigation ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Project Performance ◽  
Efficient Manner ◽  
Public Investments ◽  
Review Team ◽  
Disaster Assessment ◽  
Mitigation Projects

California’s SMART (State Mitigation Assessment Review Team) program for assessing natural hazard mitigation project performance after a disaster is a method of integrating multiple state agencies’ expertise into a working tool for assessing the value of public investments in risk reduction. The intent of the SMART program is to provide the California Emergency Management Agency with information about the performance of publicly financed mitigation projects so that it can better allocate future funding and improve the overall safety of California. A key aspect of the program is the mobilization of California State University faculty and staff from across the state after a disaster in order to conduct rapid performance assessments while field data is available. In order to test the SMART system, a pilot study was conducted using the Yountville Flood Barrier Wall Project performance during a 2005 flood on the Napa River. The case validated the idea that for a flood project, a rapid evaluation could be conducted using field observations that establish the height and extent of flooding and include the project’s original cost-benefit analysis. The data produced from this type of evaluation program will be valuable to state emergency management agencies trying to allocate program grants in the most efficient manner and to government agencies who want to make sure that federal dollars are being spent wisely.

Challenges for the disaster workforce during a compound hurricane–pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 9-18
Author(s):  
Jennifer Marshall, PhD, MPH, CPH ◽  
Juita-Elena (Wie) Yusuf, PhD ◽  
Elizabeth Dunn, MPH, CPH ◽  
Kelsey Merlo, PhD ◽  
Joshua G. Behr, PhD ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Management ◽  
Nonprofit Organizations ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Health Resources ◽  
Management Planning ◽  
Support Strategies ◽  
Emergency Management Planning ◽  
State And Local

The COVID-19 pandemic has created new workforce considerations for emergency management community in addressing cumulative and cascading disasters. This research identifies how emergency management planning for both the changing dynamics of COVID-19 and the upcoming hurricane season may change under a compound threat. Many jurisdictions have faced challenges in providing adequate staffing of shelters before the pandemic. Now, fatigue among staff further exacerbates these challenges as resources are stretched thin. Six workshops, involving 265 national, state, and local leaders, staff, experts, and advocates from 22 states, and a range of disciplines (disaster planning, public health, social services, academia, and healthcare), were convened to identify concerns and potential strategies to address staffing, training, logistics, and support. Strategies proposed to increase the number and skill set of staff available involve increased reliance upon volunteers and nonprofit organizations. Mental health resources, personal protective equipment, sanitation supplies, and defining roles within emergency shelters were recommended to reduce fatigue and redistribute responsibilities. Findings illuminate additional research avenues regarding assessing the underlying stressors contributing to the planning process and effective means of implementing these interventions to bolster emergency management shelter operations during a prolonged pandemic and in the future.

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