Jeanine Neipert

2^nd^ Round of Thursday, June 7, 2007

Afternoon Breakout Session

Emergency Management Graduate Student Research Projects

There were seven presenters at this session. The presenters represented
universities throughout the nation and most presented research related
to their graduate or post-graduate studies. The name and title of each
presenter is included below, along with a brief summary of each of the
twelve minute presentations.

**Presenter One**: Henrike Brecht

Graduate Research Assistant

Louisiana State University

**Title:** Assessing Natural Hazard Risk in Urban Areas

**Summary:**

Ms. Brecht presented a risk index used to assess natural hazard risk in
urban areas. This study has the intent of reducing risk in urban areas
and enabling informed policy making. The index was created because it is
easy to understand and facilitates comparisons while summarizing a body
of knowledge. The urban risk index is a multi-hazard index which
examines risk in approximately 3,000 cities with populations greater
than 100,000. Risk was determined by comparing hazards, exposed
elements, and the vulnerability of each city. Ms. Brecht examined the
effects of five major hazards: cyclones, floods, earthquakes, volcanoes,
and landslides. Vector data was gridded and overlayed using GIS tools.
The exposed elements compared included city populations, gross domestic
product and city footprints (GRUMP). Vulnerability assessments were not
based on social vulnerability, but rather damage rates and data from the
Emergency Disasters Database (EM-DAT). The urban risk index is able to
provide mortality and economic risk indices as well as relative risk
levels for each city.

**Presenter Two**: Meghan Butasek, MPH, J.D. Candidate

Emergency Health Service Graduate Student

University of Maryland

**Title:** Information Sharing and Emergency Collaboration Manual for

Children in Foster Care during Disaster Events

**Summary:**

Ms. Butasek presented a summary of what happened to 2,000 of Louisiana's
5,000 children within the foster care system in Louisiana after
Hurricane Katrina. She identified system barriers that made tracking
these displaced children difficult and offered suggestions for improving
this population's access to health care, education and social services
following a disaster. Two thousand children were displaced during the
aftermath of Katrina. This segment of the population was particularly
vulnerable as there were multiple stakeholders involved in their care.
Social services determine placements, the healthcare system diagnoses
and treats conditions and the education system is tasked with
maintaining academic continuity. Barriers exist within the current
system and prevent accurate tracking and appropriate care for displaced
children. Some of these barriers include inadequate planning, emergency
coordination, and information sharing, as well as differences among
state and local laws and practices. Ms. Butasek's research advocates
applying emergency planning principles within the context of the child
welfare system and promotes active participation among all stakeholders
and an emphasis on partnership building.

**Presenter Three:** Jack Breese

Emergency Management Graduating Student

University of Akron

**Title:** The Federal Emergency Management Agency's Failed

Leadership: An Assessment of Reorganization and

Emergency Management Student Perceptions

**Summary:**

Mr. Breese, a recent graduate of the University of Akron, experimentally
examined student perceptions about FEMA's leadership. He surveyed 79
undergraduate students at the University of Akron. The survey asked
students to rate their level of agreement or disagreement about FEMA's
performance and leadership abilities during recent disaster events.
Findings indicate that students feel FEMA's leadership is lacking.
Ninety-five percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that FEMA's
director should have previous emergency management experience and 64%
felt that FEMA should be removed from the auspices of DHS. Based upon
the survey findings, Mr. Breese offered several suggestions for
strengthening the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He recommends
early presidential involvement during federal disasters to ensure a
timely and well coordinated federal response. He feels that FEMA should
report directly to the president and that these advisors should be
culled from the ranks of emergency management professionals. He further
recommends that the number of political appointees be reduced and FEMA
hiring practices emphasize emergency management experience and education
among its employees.

**Presenter Four:** Brandi Lea

Graduate Student

University of North Texas

**Title:** "Uncharted Waters": The Waterborne Evacuation of

Lower Manhattan on 9/11

**Summary:**

Ms. Lea's research focused on the waterborne evacuation of lower
Manhattan after 9/11. Vessels evacuated between 300,000 -- 500,000
people, the effort was unplanned, and no injuries or accidents were
reported during the evacuation. Utilizing qualitative inductive methods,
Ms. Lea and colleagues at the University of Delaware interviewed 80-100
individuals or approximately 10% of those involved during the
evacuation. This study examined how the evacuation was organized and
identified specific harbor operations that contributed to a successful
and spontaneous evacuation. Findings indicate that existing knowledge of
the harbor and marine practices, including the number of years working
in the harbor, apprenticeships (some as long as fourteen years), and
coastguard licensing, contributed to a coordinated evacuation. Effective
communication among mariners, previous relationships, and an innate
allegiance to the Mariner's code also contributed to the success of the
evacuation. In addition, Ms. Lea's research indicates that harbor
construction, closed piers, and the loss of working waterfronts hindered
evacuation efforts. The findings also indicate that longstanding
relationships are the precondition for an effective evacuation. ICS
cannot always simulate these relationships and cities on the waterfront
should be aware of the valuable asset available to them in the form of
their mariner community.

**Presenter Five:** Michael Kemp, M.S.

Instructor/ Ph.D. Student

North Dakota State University

**Title:** The 1997 Red River Valley Flood: Vulnerability and

Disaster---a 10-Year Review

**Summary:**

In an expansive review of flood events in the Red River Valley Mr. Kemp
explained why flooding occurs frequently in cities built along the Red
River of the North. The river has a lengthy history of flooding and
flood events affecting the Red River Valley have been chronicled as
early as 1510. Mr. Kemp provided a thorough review of the unique
characteristics of this river that explain why it floods so often. In
addition to providing a substantial review of the geographic
characteristics that cause flooding along the Red River of the North,
Mr. Kemp's research examined social, economic, and political factors
that have contributed to increasingly higher flood-related damages in
the Fargo region. Rapid economic growth, a thriving job market and an
influx of new residents have provided the impetus for increased building
in historically flood prone areas surrounding the Red River. Mr. Kemp
promotes continued mitigation efforts in the Fargo region, including,
land-use practices aimed at minimizing damages from flooding---the
effectiveness of mitigation efforts after a major flood in 1997 have
provided substantial protection from flood events in 2001 and 2004.

**Presenter Six:** Jane Rovins, MPH, CEM

Ph.D. Candidate

Tulane University

**Title:** Effective Hazard Mitigation: Are Local Mitigation

Strategies Getting the Job Done?

**Summary:**

Ms. Rovins, curious as to whether mitigation efforts supported by the
Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 have been effective in reducing damages
and loss of life, reviewed local mitigation strategies employed by the
eleven regions in Florida and examined their efficacy in the face of
twenty-five Presidentially declared events over a ten year period. Ms.
Rovins, a staunch proponent of mitigation, believes that mitigation is
the driving force behind effective preparedness, recovery, and response.
Planning is paramount and continued research that focuses on examining
the benefits of local mitigation planning is essential. Her findings to
date have indicated that mitigation efforts have been successful. Her
research is on-going and has been hampered by limited access to local
plans, missing data, inaccuracies in data, and incomplete insurance
figures. She anticipates completing her study later this year.

**Presenter Seven:** Namkyung Oh

Doctoral Candidate

University of Pittsburgh

**Title:** The Effectiveness of the Disaster Management System in

Response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

**Summary:**

Mr. Oh examined the effectiveness of response efforts during Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita in an attempt to suggest strategies for rebuilding
damaged communities after disasters. He employed content and network
analysis methods as a means of comparing these two hurricanes. His
findings indicate that developing the capacity to function effectively
under rapid changing and nonlinear complex conditions is a critical task
for public agencies. Mr. Oh's comprehensive content and network analysis
illustrated patterns of collaboration among agencies in response to each
hurricane and clearly showed that these patterns differed greatly
between Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Mr. Oh's research also illustrated
that rapid adaptation in risky environments and new models of learning
and adaptation are important precursors for effective response efforts.