**March 23, 2006 FEMA Emergency Management Higher Education Project
Activity Report**

\(1\) CASE STUDIES IN CRISIS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT \-- BOOK
DEVELOPMENT PROJECT:

Reviewed 2nd draft of Chapter 7, \"Statutory Authority,\" by Damon
Coppola, George Washington University, and provided review comments to
lead book developer George Haddow, also of GWU. Forwarded chapter to EMI
Webmaster to upload to Project website \-- Free College Courses and
Books section \-- to replace 1st draft. Should be accessible shortly.
From Introduction:

\"No emergency management system anywhere in the world can properly
function without statutory authority and consistent budget
appropriations. Statutory authority defines disasters programs,
determines who is eligible for these programs, provides the legal
support needed to implement disaster programs and establishes the legal
foundation for funding the programs and activities of the disaster
agency. Without such authority, a government agency is powerless.\"

\(2\) CHEMICAL PLANT SAFETY, SECURITY AND PREPAREDNESS:

Boston Globe. \"Unprotected Factories\" (Editorial). March 23, 2006.

Accessed at:
<http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2006/03/23/unprotected_factories/>

Roanoke Times (VA). \"Getting Half-Serious About Chemical Security - AN
Ineffective Proposal for \'Quick\" Congressional Action Comes a Full 54
Months After 9/11.\" March 23, 2006. Accessed at:
[[http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/wb/wb/xp-57876]{.underline}](http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/wb/wb/xp-57876)

\(3\) DISASTER MYTHS AND DISASTER RESEARCH LITERATURE:

Read an interesting article by John Handmer:

Handmer, John. \"American Exceptionalism or Universal Lesson? The
Implications of Hurricane Katrina for Australia.\" The Australian
Journal of Emergency Management, Vol. 21, No. 1, Feb. 2006.

Includes a table of several topics hazards and disaster researchers have
for decades treated as myths \-- widespread looting, helplessness,
abandonment of the weak, duty abandonment, citizen versus outside
uniformed services rescue, and other topics. Handmer: \"\...table 2 sets
out some myths, the research understanding of reality, and what appears
to have occurred in New Orleans. The most striking feature of the Table
is that the New Orleans experience appears to call into question the
relevance of long standing research results, and the assumptions they
generate for practice. In summary, does it contradict decades of
disaster research findings? Or is it simply an exceptional event or one
reported with exceptional exaggeration?\" (P.33)

There is another possibility worth thinking about and investigating. It
may well be that the disaster research community is right on target on
disaster \"myths\" and \"disasters\" but that these positions begin not
to hold water when it comes to \"catastrophes\" \-- that, in other
words, amongst the ways catastrophes are different from disasters is in
the area of divergence from disaster \"mythology.\"

\(4\) DISCIPLINES, DISASTERS, AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT \-- BOOK
DEVELOPMENT PROJECT:

Reviewed and approved 5th draft of chapter on \"The Contributions of
Management Theory and Practice to Emergency Management,\" by Dr. John
Pine, Louisiana State University. Forwarded chapter to EMI Webmaster for
upload to Project website \-- Free College Courses and Books section \--
where it should be accessible shortly. Abstract:

\"This chapter takes a look at the impact that management theory and how
the basic functions and practice of management as well as the role of
the manager and approaches to management have contributed to the
practice of emergency management. Current views of management theory
stress the changing nature of the external environment and the need to
understand and address these external forces for change. The
contribution and role of systems theory and contingency theory to the
emergency management process is stressed. Although some might view that
we do not manage disasters, there is an overlap between the contribution
of management theory and emergency management. Management theory
stresses the need for effective planning to ensure that organizational
goals are obtained. Emergency and crisis management emphasize that
effective emergency response and recovery is based on good planning.
Building sustainable organizations and communities is a common goal of
both management and emergency management. Management and
disaster-related issues and concerns along with strategies to improve
emergency management practice from the field of management are provided.
Finally, recommendations are provided for including emergency and crisis
management in management curriculums.\"

\(5\) FEMA:

Birmingham News (AL). \"The Storm At FEMA\" (Editorial). March 23, 2006.

Accessed at:
<http://www.al.com/opinion/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/opinion/1143109126267890.xml&coll=2>

\(6\) PAY ME NOW OR PAY ME LATER:

Millhollon, Michelle. \"Governments Lack Funds To Link Communications.\"

Baton Rouge Advocate, March 23, 2006. Accessed at:

[[http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/politics/2509931.html]{.underline}](http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/politics/2509931.html)

Notes that the Louisiana legislature \"does not include \$2.8 million
needed to ensure that the southwest portion of the state stays connected
in a storm. The lack of state funding is not the only problem. Calcasieu
Office of Emergency Preparedness Director Dick Gremillion said many
local governments cannot afford their share of the cost for the 700
megahertz radio system that the state wants.\"

This is the case in large sections of the country \-- not just
Louisiana. Just about the ONLY solution I see to these decades old
lingering funding problems is The Florida Solution \-- state
legislatures coming up with imaginative, creative surcharges, fees
and/or other funding mechanisms that permanently fund emergency
management capability building throughout a state through guaranteed
yearly funding sufficient to hire, train and exercise professional
emergency managers and staffs and fund their programs.

\(7\) WAR ON TERROR:

Schweizer, Peter. \"An Effective Weapon Against Terrorists: Ridicule.\"

USA Today, March 23, 2006. Accessed at:

[[http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20060323/opcom23.art.htm]{.underline}](http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20060323/opcom23.art.htm)

Note: The article above is about the following, highly recommended,
White Paper:

Waller, Michael J. Ridicule: An Instrument In The War On Terrorism
(Public Diplomacy White Paper No. 7.). The Institute of World Politics,
February 9, 2006. Accessed at:
[[http://www.iwp.edu/news/newsID.258/news_detail.asp]{.underline}](http://www.iwp.edu/news/newsID.258/news_detail.asp)

\(8\) WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT MINOR:

Received news from Larry Larson at the Floodplain Management Association
that Western Kentucky University recently approved a Floodplain
Management Minor through the Engineering and Geology/Geography
Departments. This minor requires 21 semester hours with required courses
in floodplain management, GIS, surveying, and hydrology. Eight
additional hours may be selected from classes in water resources,
advanced surveying, meteorology, GIS, and engineering hydraulics
classes. A unique aspect of the program is that completion of the minor
requires that students pass the CFM exam. Means of offering the minor
and floodplain-related classes to a wider audience are now being
explored. This could include web based classes, interactive television
classes, correspondence courses, and a certificate or minor program
through the Kentucky Virtual University. For additional information,
contact Warren Campbell at <warren.campbell@wku.edu> or by phone
(270-745-8988).

\(9\) WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY EM PROGRAM & BELLINGHAM HERALD
EDITORIAL:

Received copy today of a Bellingham Herald editorial congratulating
Western Washington University for stepping up to the plate and
implementing an emergency management program. From the editorial:

\"Last year exposed a great need in our country for better-qualified and
trained people to plan for emergencies and coordinate community response
after they happen. It was a big year in that respect, with many
emergencies across the country and many of them handled poorly by the
local, state and federal officials supposedly in charge of the efforts.

Few Americans are happy with the way our fellow citizens in New Orleans
were treated in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, for example. The
fact that the man who led the Federal Emergency Management Agency at the
time of the hurricane had little legitimate experience in emergency
management did not help matters. It seems obvious our country needs more
people with expertise in emergency planning and coordination. That\'s
why our community should salute Western Washington University for
quickly stepping up and launching the state\'s first undergraduate
program in emergency management this fall.\"

The full article can be accessed at:

[[http://www.bellinghamherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006603230346]{.underline}](http://www.bellinghamherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006603230346)

B. Wayne Blanchard, Ph.D., CEM

Higher Education Project Manager

Emergency Management Institute

National Emergency Training Center

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Department of Homeland Security

16825 S. Seton, N-430

Emmitsburg, MD 21727

\(301\) 447-1262, voice

\(301\) 447-1598, fax

wayne.blanchard@dhs.gov

[[http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu]{.underline}](http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu)

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