Federal Disaster Planning and Relief Essay Example

This paper will discuss information on the federal disaster planning and relief program, and explain how the program raises issues of federalism, and the pros and cons from two perspectives. Disaster planning is the development and documenting of a plan that will allow an organization to recover from a catastrophic event. It should include procedures that are appropriate to the function and size of the business (Bucki, J.) As where disaster relief is the services or monies available to individuals, families, and communities who have suffered from some form of a catastrophic disaster such as:
• Floods
• Hurricanes
• Earthquakes
• Drought
• Tornadoes
• Riots (New World Encyclopedia)
When these catastrophic disasters happen, an emergency management process is taken which involves a four phase process. The first phase is known as mitigation, which focuses on long-term measures for eliminating or reducing risks. Mitigation efforts attempt to prevent hazards from occurring all together or by reducing the effects of disasters when they happen (New World Encyclopedia). The second phase is known as preparedness. In this phase emergency managers develop plans of action and prepare equipment for use when a natural disaster occurs. Which brings us to the third phase known as response; the response phase is the mobilization of emergency services and first responders in an area of disaster. The fourth and final phase of the emergency management process is the recovery phase; which starts when an immediate threat to human life has subsided, and is to restore the damaged area to its previous state (New World Encyclopedia), in which the local, state, federal, and private organizations provide training for disaster relief.
Emergency workers that would be present if a disaster were to occur would be one or more of the following:
• American Red Cross
• The Department of Homeland Security
• FEMA
• The Citizen’s Corp
• Local/Distant Volunteers
• Firefighters
• Police