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The MPA in Emergency and Disaster Management
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ResourcesMCNY BlogsMCNY's Emergency and Disaster Management Blog “Don’t Touch That Hot Stove!”April 30th, 2009 Not too long ago, Ms. Mary Williams, a Disaster Central reader, posted a very interesting, intelligent, and valuable response to my posting about one of our program’s open houses on the 1912 Titanic disaster. In her comments, Ms. Williams pointed out that she believes middle school students (and, perhaps, even younger students) should be afforded the opportunity to take Emergency Management training courses as part of their regular educational curriculum. From an Emergency Management standpoint, Disaster Central couldn’t agree with Ms. Williams more. In order to reach their full educational and operational potential, Emergency Management and Homeland Security need to become ritualized, need to become a more “natural” and integrated part of our collective culture in the United States. Because all Americans - regardless of their socio-economic level - can and do suffer in disasters, it’s important to the EM field not to exclude the opportunity for all Americans (regardless of age, gender, religious affiliation, and the like) to become better prepared, and to stay that way. Training the citizens of our great nation to better look after themselves, their families, their friends, their pets, and their property before, during, and after an emergency is one of the most important elements in reaching higher levels of preparedness and response, and our efforts should always be directed toward expanding that collective opportunity to save lives through saving systems. Japan is a nation at risk from a number of natural hazards…volcanic eruptions, seismic activity (earthquakes), tsunami (”tidal waves”), typhoons, and actors in rubber Godzilla suits…have all, over the centuries, beset this major global power. But unlike many other nations, Japan (which recognizes that nature is life) hasn’t attempted to downplay the risks of nature, but has instead reduced its collective vulnerability as a civilization to the deadly and destructive elements within these events. There’s no stopping a typhoon - but more robust building codes and practices in Japan have significantly reduced the death tolls that such hazards used to regularly claim. One way in which Japan has accomplished this is through the widespread ritualization of its preparedness message. Every year since 1960, Japan has marked September 1 as “Disaster Preparedness Day”. Disaster Central readers who are familiar with their history of catastrophes will no doubt remember that it was on September 1, 1923, that Japan was struck by the Great Kanto Earthquake, a natural disaster that claimed upwards of 100,000 people, and destroyed large sections of the capital city, Tokyo. Every September 1, Japanese authorities host preparedness educational events for children and adults, as well as drills and field exercises. The efficacy and wisdom of the Japanese model has been adopted by many countries and EM organizations, including our own top-notch New York City Office of Emergency Management, which frequently hosts educational venues for children and their parents. From a very early age, we teach our children to be careful of strangers, to look both ways before crossing the street, and to avoid touching a hot stove. But when it comes to teaching our children (and ourselves) to be prepared for natural and human-made disasters, we sometimes shy away for fear of - ? For instance: on Thursday, April 30, 2009, The New York Daily News ran an article titled, “N.Y.ers see red as FEMA coloring book shows 9/11″. The article severely criticizes FEMA for sponsoring a downloadable coloring book for children that contains a “horrific 9/11 image” which children can color in. In its usual tongue-in-cheek fashion, The Daily News helpfully re-published the “horrific 9/11 image” (why is that, do you suppose?), while at the same time including soundbites from “offended” New Yorkers, one of whom stated that he, ”…should punch the person who did this in the face.”(!) If you, too, want to “see red” (but for different reasons), you can access the article I’d like to thank The Daily News for providing us with such a valuable discussion point. But clearly, the American people cannot rely solely on corporate news media to objectively look after their best interests when it comes to devising and implementing a mature, sensible, accessible emergency preparedness educational program. For too long now, Americans have relied too greatly on the established news media to tell us what to think about disasters, about the government and quasi-governmental organizations designed to manage disaster operations, and even when and what to fear. But, over time, that twisted paradigm has started to change. Just as Americans no longer believe a fraction what is told to them by the corporate media, they have likewise begun to start looking after themselves when it comes to preparedness, response, and recovery. That’s not only a change we can believe in, but a change that one day may save your life. And the best way to keep up this progress is through education on just what preparedness means, what response means, and how great recovery from a disaster event can feel. FEMA is to be commended for its excellent efforts to educate the American people on how to be better prepared for disaster situations. Disaster Central encourages its readers to take emergency preparedness seriously, and without fear of ridicule or derision simply because cynicism and greed are apparently more important to us as cultural priorities than are preparedness and prosperity. It’s cool to be prepared. It’s a happy hipster who’s got a hip Go-Bag ready to go in an un-hip emergency. And it’s a responsible, caring parent who knows when and how to help a child understand that sometimes the winds blows, and the earth moves… Okay, Disaster Central readers, you’ve read some of my thoughts on this issue – what do you think? I’m quite certain we have some parents out there – how have you addressed disasters and emergency preparedness with your children? Email this · Subscribe to this Feed · Bookmark This! Posted by David Longshore in Uncategorized, Emergency Management Planning, Emergency Preparedness, Disaster Preparedness. 3 Comments » David Longshore is the Director of MCNY’s Emergency and Disaster Management MPA Program. 2008 North Atlantic Tropical Cyclone SeasonJune 2nd, 2008 On June 1, the 2008 North Atlantic tropical cyclone season began. While there have, of course, been instances where hurricanes, tropical storms, and tropical depressions have formed outside of the June-November season, the bulk of tropical systems in the Atlantic occur within this six month period. Although the seasonal peak for New York and the northeastern United States comes in August and September, now is the time to take a moment to review your preparedness levels as they pertain to tropical cyclone activity. The New York City Office of Emergency Management (NYC OEM) provides New Yorkers with useful information on those steps that must (not should) be taken to better protect your family, friends, and property in the event a hurricane or tropical storm “sets its sights” on the Big Apple. Please keep in mind that a mature-stage tropical cyclone can extend several hundred miles across, so even if the eyewall should pass away from your location, you can still be affected by high winds, heavy rains, and high surf conditions. NYC OEM’s excellent website can be accessed using the link on Disaster Central’s menu bar. Remember, preparedness is a decision best made early, so make the decision today to be better prepared tomorrow! Have you ever experienced first hand the effects of a hurricane or tropical storm? If so, please share your experiences with Disaster Central. As the lessons of Emergency Management and Homeland Security are largely experiential in nature, it’s important that readers understand the mechanics and nature of tropical cyclones - and one of the best ways to accomplish this is through a sharing of such experiences. Professor Longshore Email this · Subscribe to this Feed · Bookmark This! Posted by David Longshore in Uncategorized, Natural Disasters, Emergency Preparedness. Post a Comment » David Longshore is the Director of MCNY’s Emergency and Disaster Management MPA Program.
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