Introduction to Emergency Management

Introduction to Emergency Management

Introduction

The profession that deals with management of disasters and other emergencies is termed emergency management. Emergency management is mostly dealt with at the executive level in an organization, simply because it is a process which is strategic in nature, as opposed to being tactical. It, primarily, has an advisory function in an organization aimed at ensuring that all the components of an organization remain committed to the same goal, and thus does not have any direct power or authority. It is extremely important that the emergency plans are integrated at all levels of the organization for effective emergency management. Moreover, there must be clear agreement that the lowest levels of the organization must manage, and seek additional help and resources from higher levels.

The symbols of America's financial and military might were targeted on the morning of September 11, 2001, when hijacked airliners were turned into “missiles” by Al Qaeda terrorists, who took out the World Trade Center towers in New York, and partly damaged the Pentagon in Washington, killing close to 3,000 innocent people and maiming thousands more. Another hijacked airliner crashed in Pennsylvania, killing all the people on board. It is shocking, and at the same time chilling, to note the magnitude of destruction and mayhem a pack of nineteen hijackers can cause. Thus, the tragic events of that fateful day, changed the world as we knew it, and led to numerous changes at all levels, including changes to the emergency management community. An attack of this nature and magnitude had never taken place on American soil before, and it demanded a strong and unified response on the part of all the stakeholders, in order to pre-empt and prepare for any such eventuality in the future. Therefore, the role and definition of emergency management had to be revisited and looked into, in order to deal with any such occurrence.

Discussion

Disasters could be man-made or natural. A kind of man-made disaster is conflict disaster, which could be either within or among nations. In recent years, however, the potential for violence by non-state actors has become a matter of great concern. Such blood thirsty zealots direct violence towards non-combatants, in order to achieve their political ambitions and goals. The barbaric and dastardly attacks on New York, Washington DC and Pennsylvania claimed the lives of around three thousand people, who belonged to almost all religions, including Muslims. Hence, this fact dispels the notion that these attacks on America's values were somehow the handiwork of those who truly depict Muslims, even though the perpetrators only represent a very small minority of Muslims, bent upon portraying a negative and incorrect depiction of Islam.

The day the world changed forever

The happenings of September 11 came as a rude shock to most Americans, simply because such a spectacular, yet despicable expression of anger and rage against America and her policies was never contemplated, neither by the agencies, nor by political experts. Ever since the fall of the Soviet Union, America ...