Lesson 07: Disaster Management (part 1)

Summary and Final Tasks

Completion of this lesson gives you a basic understanding of emergency preparedness and the emergency management systems in use in the US. The lesson and the two online FEMA lessons covered:

  • Basic concepts of disaster management.
  • The hierarchy of disaster responders, the role of the major agencies/organizations, and the capabilities and limitations of different types of organizations.
  • The National Incident Management System (NIMS)
  • The Incident Command System (ICS).

You are now officially certified to speak the language and understand the organization and operation of civilian agencies as they prepare for and respond to emergencies. For those of you in the military or the intelligence community, this knowledge facilitates your ability to work as part of the interagency process. For other students, this knowledge will improve your understanding of how your government deals with emergencies and disasters. Should you decide to get involved in emergency preparedness and response as a volunteer, (e.g. in the American Red Cross, Community Emergency Response Team, or Medical Reserve Corps) this knowledge will improve your ability to work with civilian government agencies at all levels.

Deliverables: NIMS and ICS Online Certifications

When you have completed your online certifications, return to the Lesson 07  folder in ANGEL. Look for the Lesson 07 - GRADED Drop Box where you will submit your pdf copies of the NIMS and ICS certifications. You will find directions for submitting your pdf files when you enter the Drop Box.

Looking Ahead

Next week is another heavy reading week capped off by your second reflection paper. In our next lesson we are going to consider:

  • Cutter's concept of an "All Hazards" approach to disaster management.
  • Capabilities and limitations of geospatial intelligence in support of the disaster management process.
  • How geospatial intelligence can be of value to the first responder and provide examples.
  • Social justice issues in the disaster management process.
  • Differences in the practice of geospatial intelligence for disaster management and other national security applications.

Please submit your two FEMA training certificates as .pdf (Adobe Acrobat) files to the Lesson 07 - GRADED Drop Box as soon as you receive them.

If you have not already taken the Midterm Course Assessment Survey, please consider completing the survey.