This is because most disasters are small and local, and do not involve state or federal agencies. For example, the Federal Emergency Management Agency estimates that 2-3 million Americans are affected by disasters every year. In the category of home fires, The American Red Cross alone helps over 50,000 individual families each year following the destruction of their homes by fires. Most of these disasters are handled within the victim's community and, therefore, depend on local resources. As a local resource, Extension's investment in long-term community recovery and redevelopment allows it to bridge immediate response, recovery and mitigation efforts.
Extension is an obvious, but often under utilized, resource in disaster education.
Involvement and experience in dealing with local disasters is the best preparation for responding realistically and effectively to large scale disasters. EDEN was formed originally as a North Central Region committee with the coordinating function located with Illinois Cooperative Extension. Membership stood at thirty-one states plus Puerto Rico and USDA when the coordinating role was assumed by Missouri in October 2000. The web site, developed originally by Dr. Aaron Ebata at the University of Illinois, now resides on an LSU Agricultural Center server, and Louisiana continues to maintain the website and keep membership records. EDEN's communications are served by a group e-mail system hosted by Michigan State University.