**September 10, 2007 FEMA Emergency Management Higher Education Project
Report**

\(1\) DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY:

Epstein, Reid J. \"Schumer: Feds Fall Short on Terror Security.\"

Newsday, September 10, 2007. At:
<http://www.newsday.com/news/local/am-schumer0910,0,7938909.story?coll=ny_home_rail_headlines>

\[Excerpt: \"The federal government is still not doing enough to protect
the country from another terror attack, Sen. Charles Schumer said Sunday
in his annual Homeland Security Report Card. Schumer (D-N.Y.) gave the
federal government a C overall, a slight improvement from the C-minus he
gave last year. \"If your son or daughter came home with a C on their
report card, you would say, \'You\'re not failing, but you could do a
lot better,\'\" Schumer said. Schumer gave the Department of Homeland
Security an F for its preparedness for other major disasters, citing its
inability to help local governments build communications networks they
would need in an emergency.\"\]

New York Times. \"Lagging on Homeland Security\" (Editorial). September
10, 2007. Accessed at:
[[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/10/opinion/10mon3.html?hp]{.underline}](http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/10/opinion/10mon3.html?hp)

\[Excerpt: \"In response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the federal
government began the most sweeping bureaucratic overhaul in half a
century. The result was the creation in 2003 of the Department of
Homeland Security - a behemoth designed to consolidate 22 separate
agencies and 220,000 employees into a battle-ready shield against
terrorists and natural disasters.

Two years ago, Hurricane Katrina glaringly and shamefully demonstrated
the unreadiness of that shield. Now a new assessment by nonpartisan
Congressional investigators says that the department has failed thus far
to meet even half the performance goals it set for itself when it was
created. The only area of significant improvement found was in maritime
security, according to analysts from the Government Accountability
Office.\"\]

\(2\) EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT HIGHER EDUCATION:

Whitaker, Barbara. \"Ready for Anything (That\'s Their Job).\" New York
Times, 9 September 2007.

<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/09/jobs/09starts.html?ex=1190001600&en=e8ba55e2a17d4c68&ei=5070&emc=eta1>

\[Excerpts: \"ASKED to describe his job, Michael D. Selves, director of
Emergency Management and Homeland Security in Johnson County, Kan.,
recalls what he once told county commissioners who also posed the
question. My job,\" he said, \"is to tell you things you don\'t want to
hear, asking you to spend money you don\'t have for something you don\'t
believe will ever happen.\"

It is a grimly humorous description of a job that involves preparing for
everything from floods to terrorist attacks to a flu pandemic. The
people who hold these jobs, often known as emergency managers, work on
many levels with public agencies, volunteer organizations and businesses
to plan for disasters and mitigate their impact\....

Emergency planning, in various forms, has been around for decades. But
in recent years it has emerged as a much more formal career path.
Colleges and universities are offering bachelor\'s, master\'s and
doctoral degrees, and professional certifications are available.

In 1994, four universities were offering programs in emergency
management, three with undergraduate degrees\... Now, there are at least
144 college programs in the United States, and at least another 100 are
in the works\....

While many emergency management jobs are in the public arena,
corporations like Wal-Mart Stores and Walt Disney, along with
universities and hospitals, are also hiring emergency managers, who may
have titles like continuity planner or business recovery planner. In
addition, a small number of businesses specialize in disaster
management\....

THE field is still evolving, and the number of jobs continues to grow.
According to Bureau of Labor Statistics projections, the number of
emergency management specialists is expected to increase 28
percent\....Tammy N. Karlgaard, a regional emergency management planner
for a commission in Chesapeake, Va., said that she had many
opportunities when she began looking for a job two years ago.\"

\(3\) FEMA:

The Daily Advertiser (Louisiana). \"FEMA No Better Prepared Than In
2005.\" September 9, 2007. At:

<http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070909/OPINION01/709090334/1014/OPINION>

\[Excerpt: \"There is bad news in a report released last week by the
U.S. Government Accountability Office. It says that, two years after
hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated portions of South Louisiana, the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security has not shown that it could handle
a similar catastrophe. The 320-page report was prepared for the Senate
Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. The Federal
Emergency Management Agency was the principal target of the probe. It
has been criticized - often harshly - for its response to Katrina and
Rita\....

It is disturbing to consider the possibility that FEMA is no better
prepared today than it was when Katrina and Rita hit. In all fairness,
FEMA was a victim of the national focus on terrorism - demoted from
cabinet status, folded into the Department of Homeland Security and made
a vehicle for repaying political favors. In 2004, the American
Federation of Government Employees warned Congress that experienced
people were being pushed aside \'to make room for inexperienced novices
and contractors.\'\.... Crippling of FEMA was tightly linked to the
development of the Department of Homeland Security - a process in which
Congressional representatives from both sides of the aisle not only
concurred, but also had input. Who spoke out for FEMA? Somehow
Washington became so caught up in the essentials of preparing for
terrorist attacks that it lost sight of the fact that nature on a
rampage could be as destructive as legions of terrorists.

After the GAO report, we are more convinced than ever that FEMA must be
rebuilt. It should be returned to cabinet level status, with a leader
capable of blasting through bureaucratic red tape, and with the stature,
knowledge and skills to command Washington\'s respect and cooperation.
Meanwhile, we urge a probe of state preparedness similar to the GAO
investigation of the Office of Homeland Security. Preparedness at every
level should be thoroughly investigated.\"\]

\(4\) HAZARD AND DISASTER RELATED TERMS AND DEFINITIONS:

Thywissen, Katharina. \"Components of Risk: A Comparative Glossary.\"
United Nations University, Institute for Environment and Human Security,
Studies of the University: Research, Counsel, Education (SOURCE),
Publication Series of UNU-EHS, No. 2. 2006, 52 pages. Accessed at:
[[http://www.ehs.unu.edu/file.php?id=118]{.underline}](http://www.ehs.unu.edu/file.php?id=118)

Thywissen, Katharina. Core Terminology of Disaster Reduction. United
Nations University, Institute for Environment and Human Security. Not
dated. Accessed at:

<http://www.ehs.unu.edu/moodle/mod/glossary/view.php?id=1&mode=&hook=ALL&sortkey=&sortorder=&fullsearch=0&page=-1>

\(5\) HOMELAND SECURITY:

Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Confronting the Terrorist Threat to the Homeland: Six Years After 9/11
(Hearing). September 10, 2007. Witness Prepared Statements accessed at:

<http://hsgac.senate.gov/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Detail&HearingID=479>

Panel 1 Witnesses:

DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff \--

[[http://hsgac.senate.gov/\_files/091007Chertoff.pdf]{.underline}](http://hsgac.senate.gov/_files/091007Chertoff.pdf)

J. Michael McConnell, Director of National Intelligence \--
[[http://hsgac.senate.gov/\_files/091007McConnell.pdf]{.underline}](http://hsgac.senate.gov/_files/091007McConnell.pdf)

John Scott Redd, Director, National Counterterrorism Center, Office of
the Director of National Intelligence \--
[[http://hsgac.senate.gov/\_files/091007Redd.pdf]{.underline}](http://hsgac.senate.gov/_files/091007Redd.pdf)

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III \--

[[http://hsgac.senate.gov/\_files/091007Mueller.pdf]{.underline}](http://hsgac.senate.gov/_files/091007Mueller.pdf)

\(6\) HURRICANE KATRINA:

Department of Homeland Security. \"Hurricane Katrina Lessons Learned:

Stakeholder Summit March 10, 2006, Executive Summary of Facilitator\'s
Summary (Discussion Draft). April 7, 2006, 42 pages. Accessed at:

<http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/nrp-katrina-stakeholders-summit-0306.pdf>

\(7\) MITIGATION:

Howell, Webb. \"We Must Prepare Nationally, Locally For Post-Katrina
Disasters\" (Opinion). Jackson Clarion Ledger (MS). September 10, 2007./
Accessed at:

<http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070910/OPINION/709100313>

\[Excerpt: \"As more Americans move closer to our coastlines, the risks
placed on individuals, businesses and government agencies increase.
Today it is estimated that nearly 50 percent of the United States\'
population lives on or near coastlines. The total value of insurance
coastal exposure nationwide is more than \$7 trillion\.... More than
three-quarters of the states have a statewide building code. Mississippi
is one of only two states in the U.S. hurricane coast from Texas to
Massachusetts that does not. It makes sense that Mississippians would
want and need to build their structures, both residential and
commercial, according to the latest nationally recognized building codes
and standards. Meeting these minimum standards reduces deaths, injuries
and property damage. A Louisiana State University Hurricane Center study
found that statewide building codes would have saved Mississippi \$3.1
billion in economic damage and spared nearly 20,000 buildings from
destruction during Katrina.\"\]

\(8\) NATIONAL RESPONSE FRAMEWORK:

Crittenden, Michael R. \"Emergency Plan Deemed a Disaster-in-Waiting.\"

Congressional Quarterly Weekly, September 10, 2007.

\[Excerpts: \"If the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks highlighted the
importance of a national policy to quickly and effectively respond to
catastrophic events, the dual natural and man-made disasters sparked by
Hurricane Katrina showed how little progress Washington had made in four
years to reach that goal. Plagued by miscommunication, a lack of
coordination among emergency responders and a failure to grasp the scope
of the crisis, efforts by the federal government were themselves a
catastrophe. The Federal Emergency Management Agency shouldered much of
the blame, but experts and local officials say a major source of
dysfunction was FEMA\'s parent, the Department of Homeland
Security\...Created after Sept. 11 amid the specter of future attacks,
the department turned the federal focus away from natural disasters and
toward the threat of terrorism. After Katrina, Congress directed federal
emergency response officials to work with their state and local
counterparts to clarify the chain of command and draw up a plan to deal
with man-made or natural disasters of that scale.

Now, six years after Sept. 11 and two years after Katrina, experts and
local officials say the federal government has fallen short in making
changes that would allow it to deal effectively with a major emergency.
Federal officials are set this week to unveil a new disaster-response
plan that already has been sharply criticized by first-responders for
ignoring state and local concerns. The critics say the shortcomings
could result in an inadequate or bungled response to a future disaster
that could also doom recovery efforts. And they caution that there is no
margin for error after the nation\'s response system was shown to have
significant weaknesses twice in this decade\....

Local Issues, National Consequences Critics of current federal policy
say the department\'s decision to write the national response framework
with little-to-no input from state or local officials goes against the
basic tenets of emergency response. Every disaster, whether it be a
catastrophic hurricane or a single tornado, starts out as a local event,
said Mark Smith, spokesman for Louisiana\'s Homeland Security
Department\....\"We are being dictated to by the last line of defense on
how the first line of defense should work,\" he said, dismissing the
plan as \"stupid.\"

FEMA spokesman Aaron Walker denies that state and local officials were
closed out. \"We\'ve had an open and transparent process,\" he said.
\"They\'ve had every chance to express their opinions.\" But Manning
(Director of New Mexico\'s Office of Homeland Security), who was on a
steering committee drafting the framework before the group was
effectively disbanded earlier this year, said federal officials\'
interest in their ideas was limited. \"The collaboration, when it
happens, is cursory,\" he said. \"But they don\'t really take any of the
opinion and make changes based on that.\"\....

Critics say much of the blame lies not with FEMA, but with the
Department of Homeland Security. FEMA\'s progress has been offset by
missteps such as the drafting of the response framework, some state
officials say. \"Nobody is thrilled with the way DHS headquarters has
handled this issue to date,\" Smith said.

\(9\) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES:

Obama, Barack. Rebuilding the Gulf Coast and Preventing Future
Catastrophes. August 2007. Accessed at:
[[http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/KatrinaFactSheetFinal.pdf]{.underline}](http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/KatrinaFactSheetFinal.pdf)

\[Excerpts: \"NEVER AGAIN: Barack Obama will take the lessons of Katrina
seriously and will ensure that we never face the same problems again.

Fix FEMA: FEMA\'s failures to adequately respond to Hurricane Katrina
contributed to the loss of life and property across the Gulf Coast. As
president, Barack Obama will professionalize and depoliticize the
appointment of FEMA\'s director. Like the Director of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation, the FEMA Director will have a fixed term of office to
insulate him or her from politics. The FEMA Director will report
directly to President Obama, serve a six-year term and will have
professional emergency management experience\....

Adequately Plan for Emergency: Even though federal officials long knew
of the possibility of a catastrophic levee failure and had several days
warning of Katrina\'s potential threat to New Orleans, it took four days
for National Guard troops to begin relieving victims at the Superdome,
the city\'s shelter of last resort. Our nation\'s emergency response
needs to improve. In the Senate, Barack Obama successfully pushed for
legislation to plan for evacuating people with special needs including
the poor, the elderly, the disabled, and those with limited English
skills. He also successfully pushed for a National Family Locator System
so that those displaced by emergencies can quickly be reunited with
their loved ones. As president, Obama will dramatically improve disaster
planning. He will work with emergency management officials, emergency
responders and other experts from all 50 states to create a real
National Response Plan that provides for real cooperation between
states, locals and the federal government in the face of a disaster.
Obama\'s FEMA will provide real training to emergency responders and
professionals in states and localities to ensure that all areas of the
country have the human resources necessary to respond to disasters.\"\]

\(10\) SPECIAL NEEDS POPULATIONS:

Foster, Mary. \"Before Storms, A Nursing Home Dilemma.\" Associated
Press, September 7, 2007. At:
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/07/AR2007090701510.html>

\[Excerpt: \"The first victims of Hurricane Katrina never felt the
raging winds, never saw the floodwaters. They were two elderly
nursing-home residents who died on a school bus that took three hours to
load and five hours to travel from New Orleans to Baton Rouge. A third
resident of the Ferncrest Manor Living Center died later at a hospital,
and 21 others were treated for dehydration after riding buses that
officials said were not air-conditioned, lacked water and had no
certified nurses aboard. Authorities blamed the deaths on the stresses
of the evacuation. The tragedy illustrates the dilemma facing nursing
home operators: Hurricanes can kill, but evacuating frail and elderly
people can prove deadly, too.\"\]

Markley, Melanie. \"Patients To Get A Lift In A Storm.\" Houston
Chronicle, September 10, 2007. Accessed at:
[[http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5118221.html]{.underline}](http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5118221.html)

\[Excerpt: \"It\'s not easy to evacuate a hospital during a major
disaster. But the Harris County Hospital District now has equipment that
could make that task a little more manageable.

Employees at the district\'s three hospitals - Ben Taub, Lyndon B.
Johnson and Quentin Mease - are being trained in how to get
nonambulatory patients down stairs with full-body transporter sleds and
specially designed traction wheelchairs. The hospital district recently
bought the 60 sleds and 15 wheelchairs with a \$108,000 grant from the
Department of Homeland Security.\"\]

\(11\) WAR ON TERROR:

Kean, Thomas H. and Lee H. Hamilton. \"Are We Safer Today? Six Years
After 9/11 and Three Years After the 9/11 Report, Is the U.S. Ready to
Get Serious About Terrorism? Washington Post, September 9, 2007.

Accessed at:
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/07/AR2007090702050.html>

\[Excerpts: \"Outside our borders\...the threat of failure looms. We
face a rising tide of radicalization and rage in the Muslim world \-- a
trend to which our own actions have contributed. The enduring threat is
not Osama bin Laden but young Muslims with no jobs and no hope, who are
angry with their own governments and increasingly see the United States
as an enemy of Islam. Four years ago, then-Defense Secretary Donald H.

Rumsfeld famously asked his advisers: \"Are we capturing, killing or
deterring and dissuading more terrorists every day than the madrassas
and the radical clerics are recruiting, training and deploying against
us?\" The answer is no.

Temple-Raston, Dina. \"Enemy Within? Not Quite.\" Washington Post,
September 9, 2007. At:
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/07/AR2007090702049.html>

\[Abstract: \"\...the Lackawanna Six arrests \"gave shape to American
fears of post-9/11 homegrown terrorism. Headlines called them the enemy
within, and U.S. authorities called them an al-Qaeda sleeper cell. But
after I spent three years researching the case\...what emerged was
something much more nuanced and complicated: a story about how young
Muslims reared in the United States can be swept up in the undertow of
international jihad, and about just how clumsy preemptive justice has
become in the age of sacred terror.\" Temple-Raston added, \"Officials
both inside and outside the FBI told me that if they were handling the
Lackawanna case today, they would do it differently: They would have
allowed the situation to play itself out, and they would have waited
longer to see what kind of intelligence they might have gleaned from the
group. But the political environment in 2002 required a heavier hand,
and decisions about suspected terrorists still had a tang of
vengeance.\"\]

Washington Post. \"National Security Bubble (Editorial).\" September 8,
2007.

Accessed at:
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/07/AR2007090702285.html>

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, K-011

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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