Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC)

A Disastrous Law In 1878, the Posse Comitatus Act (PCA) was born out of necessity to keep our Nation’s Federal Armed Forces from becoming politicized, used as a regional militia, or for Law Enforcement purposes. This essay provides history and analysis of the Posse Comitatus Act (PCA) and it’s relation to the use of the military for law enforcement in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Total disorganization of command and control during Hurricane Katrina emergency response proved that the Posse Comitatus Act (PCA) should be repealed, or at least revised. History and Explanation of the Posse Comitatus Act What is the Posse Comitatus Act and how did it come about?

High security should be a priority for the employees to work in these centers. There are actions that may be suggested to make the DHS more involved into the Fusion Center. In order for the DHS to be involved more there should be more interaction from DHS with the Fusion Centers. There is a protocol in place; however, DHS and the other emergency management branches within that state should review it. Having the training and everyone being involved with the base line as well as the reviewing may make a difference down the road.

Hurricane Matthew began to form itself from a tropical wave off the coast of Africa in late September. It has been calculated that 26 citizens have died as a result of Hurricane Matthew’s flooding. Robert Ray, the author of the CNN News article, ‘‘Hurricane Matthew: Days of disaster unfold under a cloudless sky,’’ wrote this to inform his audience of the monstrous damage that the hurricane has done from Florida to North Carolina, after it hit Haiti and other Caribbean countries. His audience is the family and love ones of the citizens that experienced the hurricane hit and those that are concerned of the terror the people went through and want to find more information in how to help. Ray’s use of appeal to pathos helps him effectively be able

This news article implies that FEMA should be disbanded. The author states that when the federal government gets involved in natural disasters, especially hurricanes, more harm may be caused than good. The federal government has been involved in responses at a much higher rate than in the past due to an increase in declared federal disasters averaging 139 a year. There are an abundance of federal guidelines that must be followed when a disaster occurs that often makes it difficult for officials to make clear and concise decisions. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina FEMA spent an excess of money that was not allocated correctly so much of the money was wasted.

" Tapping Social Media in Disasters." Cio 25, no. 12: 28. International Security & Counter Terrorism Reference Center, EBSCOhost (accessed October 23,

I need to be able to protect Katrina from anything bad that crosses our

Introduction This informational interview was conducted with Dr. Pamela Aaltonen, a Homeland Security instructor at Purdue University, and active member at the Tippecanoe Board of Health. Her role here is to frame issues in the concept of Homeland security and emergency management. Dr. Aaltonen holds a key role in Homeland Security, as many disasters contain human health issues, such as mass causalities, pandemic outbreaks, and sanitary issues following natural disasters. Dr. Aaltonen’s flavor of Homeland Security differs from the work that I normally see, but as displayed during the interview, Homeland Security is a multi-disciplinary field that requires cooperation across all fields.

CERT according to the FEMA’s website is a “Program (that) educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help. (FEMA Website,

There were communication mistakes and other mistakes made during Hurricane Katrina. First of all, detailed and direct information was sent to people for evacuation too close to the time when Katrina was about to hit, not allowing people to prepare for the disaster. If things could be done differently, there should be communication and coordination centers housed in areas where information can be sent directly to the authorities. The lack of ability to communicate with each other and coordinate a response was another mistake. Federal officials struggle to perform responsibilities that are usually conducted by State or local authorities, such as to rescue citizens stranded by the floodwater and evacuate the remaining population of New Orleans

Emergency strikes anytime and comes without prior information but you have to be prepared irrespective of the fact how you are able to contact the emergency services. When you call the emergency services through normal means you just have to dial 911 and you are connected to them. But if you are on VOIP or wireless, you have to go through the special route known as the enhanced 911 or the E911. When you call the enhanced 911 service, the system automatically associates the physical address with your telephone number. This is done by the form of the reverse telephone directory supplied by the various telephone operating services in the form of computerized file.

The Stafford Act was enacted in 1988 and determines how and when the federal government is allowed to intervene in a natural disaster. It also defines the type of assistance to be provided as well as the distribution of funds among the federal, state and local governments. FEMA is responsible for coordinating the assistance identified in the Stafford Act. However, FEMA has to answer to the Secretary of Homeland Security rather than making their own decisions. The authors describe how our current governmental system isn’t well equipped to deal with major devastation such as Hurricane Katrina.

FEMA’s mission and priorities were changed so that, “terrorism prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery became central to the emergency management mission” (Haddow 325). As a result of the terrorist attacks on 9/11 the country’s focus shifted completely from natural disasters to an outright major assault on all things terrorism with no second glance at the potential emergency’s natural disasters presented. There might be a possibility that because of the nation’s extreme obsession with terrorists and terrorism that Hurricane Katrina was not given full priority nor given as much thought as it should have been because the whole focus of the government was on terrorism. When an agency and governmental structure, such as the defense agencies, undergoes an extreme shift within the course of a few years brought on so suddenly, there are bound to be weaknesses. Hurricane Katrina was the most challenging threat that tested the DHS as well as FEMA’s preparation and mitigation of natural disasters since the shift of focus.

They have the necessary contacts to handle emergency

Because disaster can unexpectedly fall at any time, it is undoubtedly best to be prepared for any given situation. Now, it’s good that you know the drills in case of a building fire or a magnitude 9.5 earthquake, but do you think these knowledge are enough? Are you sure these knowledge are sufficient enough to protect you from let’s say a sudden world-wide zombie outbreak? I’m pretty sure you answered no, and you’re correct. When zombies run rampant on the streets, you can’t just duck, cover, and hold until it’s over.

Social Media is a trend that is finding more relevance than the daily news. Social media has been able to disseminate information so swiftly across the world making it difficult to stay out the know. Social media offers a viable resource to the world of emergency management due to it`s accessibility, user –friendly mechanisms, and growing population. Social media allows for two-way communication between emergency managers and major stakeholder groups (FEMA, 2015). The current public seeks information out through these forums and emergency management should continue to utilize the notifications, Emergency text correspondents, videos and other items are growing resources to the field.