Free Essay On Other, Federal Mitigation

Federal Preparedness and Mitigation Programs

Federal Preparedness and Mitigation Programs
Disasters or challenges are inevitable. These disasters cause huge losses to the affected areas. Nevertheless, these disasters and hazards that befall various areas can be handled through prevention and development of effective and various programs of mitigation to annihilate the extensive effects of the challenges. As such, the Federal Government has established different mitigation programs and preparedness activities that assist in dealing with the disasters. These federal preparedness and mitigation programs encompass various stages from early warning and communication up to contingency plans (Anderson, C. V, 2002). These programs aim are reducing the impacts of these disasters on the activities and aspects of the affected regions.

Early Warning and Communication

The Federal Government has programs of early warning and communication to the likely affected areas and the entire nation. Early warning of various disasters and the dissemination of this information to the areas likely to be affected is a significant Federal preparatory measure of reducing property and lives during disasters. Due to the heavy investments channeled in the management, operation and installation of modern systems of early warning and communication, this program is also deemed as an elemental component of the structural mitigation by the Federal Government. For instance, there are powerful radar systems such as Doppler that can track the atmospheric depression movement. Moreover, issuing of early warnings can take place 48-72 hours prior concerning the cyclone probability, wind speed and its intensity, possible landfall location and direction (Bea, Keith, 2006). Such warnings are broadcast on television networks and the radio for the information of individuals in the vulnerable regions. Based on the data that is generated by the numerical modeling of the system on the surge of a storm and flooding, there can be forecasting of inundation levels from the regions where affected populations can be evacuated to places that are safer.

Risk Financing and Risk Transfer

The Federal Government can find it challenging to compensate the huge economic losses caused by the disasters because its role is also limited to the provision of ex-gratia relieves to the next of kin of individuals who died during the disasters or to those individuals who sustained injuries. Additionally, the Federal Government’s role would be limited to the provision of support for livelihood generation and reconstruction of houses for lower middle-class and poor individuals. The support of the Federal Government would also be necessary to reconstructing the public assets damaged during the disasters (Bea, Keith, 2006). The risks of commercial, industrial and other assets and infrastructure in the household and private sectors can be secured only through well-established mechanisms of risk insurance and risk financing.
As such, the Federal Government understands that as the country continues developing, the private sector share in the GDP would also increase. Therefore, risk financing would, on the other hand, be assuming increasing significance. As such, the Federal Government ensures that more than eighty percent of all the assets in the country are covered by insurance against aspects such as natural disasters. This aspect has encouraged collateral investments in disaster-resistant infrastructure and housing in order to reduce the insurance premiums. With this development, the Federal Government ensures that the individual and private sector benefit in terms of transferring risks to insurance companies. It also ensures that the insurance companies benefit in terms of generating businesses. Lastly, it ensures that the government itself benefits in terms of minimizing expenditure on reconstruction and relief while also encouraging the private investments for better standards of safety for infrastructure and buildings. In order to ensure appropriate and efficient risk financing and risk transfer, the Federal Government has facilitated the development of various innovative products and services like micro credit and micro insurance to increase resilience of the vulnerable regions.

Education and Awareness

The generation of awareness through education sensitizes the masses concerning the risks, disaster vulnerabilities, preparedness, mitigative and possible preventive measures of disasters. As such, the Federal Government uses the print, folk and electronic media as important avenues for generating awareness on a large scale throughout the nation. The Federal Government organizes sensitization and awareness programs for the more limited and specific audiences such as the media, the policy makers, and other selected audiences (National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Risk-Based Analysis for Flood Damage Reduction, 2000). Most of the schools and education institutions have disasters management inclusive in their educational curriculum, which is a move by the Federal Government to create awareness on the issue surrounding disasters, especially the management.
For instance, architectural and civil engineering courses have curriculum on earthquake resistant infrastructure and housing. Additionally, some of the mental health and medical sciences have course modules on trauma management and emergency health for individuals affected by cyclones. The Federal Government also provides that the Communication Sciences have courses or units on communication and early warning. Such curriculums at different levels of professional and general courses are significant in the development of required professional expertise and knowledge to support the federal programs of preparedness and risk mitigation.

Contingency Plans

The Federal Government understands the disastrous consequences of neglecting to have pre-disaster contingency plans. As such, one of the most elemental aspects of managing disaster risks is having contingency plans in readiness. These contingency plans clearly delineate the responsibilities and the roles of different agencies outside and within the government, define exact functions of these agencies, the processes to be followed by the performance of the functions, equipment and tools to be kept in readiness, the procurements, evacuation drills and the emergency medical plans (United States. Government Accountability Office, 2009). The Federal Government prepares such a contingency plan vertically at the Federal, State and Local level and horizontally for various sectors in the nation including the water supply, bridges and roads, agriculture, civil and food supplies, fire services the police and the civil defense among others.
The Federal Government has laid down standard operating procedures for every activity during disasters to prevent confusion and ensure coordination and efficiency among the agencies involved in relief, response, reconstruction and rehabilitation programs after disasters. The Federal Government reviews the contingency plan periodically in order to update it according to the changing situations and create awareness among the stakeholders. As such, the Federal Government keeps the plan in readiness through conducting mock drills regularly in order to sort out the operational difficulties in implementing the plan at the ground level (United States. Government Accountability Office, 2010). These mock drills also aim to ensure that the agencies outside and inside the government can work together in an efficient and coordinated manner during disasters. In addition, the Federal Government conducts the mock drills at different levels to ensure the operational readiness of the whole system. Various Federal preparedness and mitigation programs in place ensure reduction in losses and prevention of higher levels of damage during the disasters.

References

Anderson, C. V. (2002). The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers.
Bea, Keith. (2006). Federal Stafford Act disaster assistance: Presidential declarations, eligible activities, and funding. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.
National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Risk-Based Analysis for Flood Damage Reduction. (2000). Risk analysis and uncertainty in flood damage reduction studies. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
United States. Government Accountability Office. (2009). Emergency communications: National Communications System provides programs for priority calling, but planning for new initiatives and performance measurement could be strengthened : report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Govt. Accountability Office.
United States. Government Accountability Office. (2010). U.S. tsunami preparedness: NOAA has expanded Its tsunami programs, but improved planning could enhance effectiveness. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Govt. Accountability Office.