Explain the nature of presidential disaster declarations

Assignment Help Other Subject

Reference no: EM131542339

Respond to discussion

The federal government, through a series of historical precedents, has an obligation to assist states when an incident "causes damage of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant major disaster assistance under the Stafford Act to supplement the efforts and available resources" (Sylves, 2015, p. 92) of already participating actors. However, the nature of presidential disaster declarations relies on loose delineations on its use, and many requests may be viewed as controversial and politically charged in choice. The fact that declarations are highly discretionary and subjective must not be forgotten, and it is important to consider each approval and denial of aid and its amount with a critical eye that not only takes in the human and economic loss of the disaster, but also the political forces behind each decision based on previous and future intergovernmental relations and status.

Let's say there is a hurricane poised to hit Florida and nearby states in two weeks' time. The hurricane has been rated on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale as a category three hurricane with winds liable to hit up to 110 miles per hour, meaning possibly that "structures (may) sustain damage; manufactured housing (is) likely to be destroyed; trees (may) be blown down. Inland and coastal flooding" (Phillips, 2015, p. 13) are completely possible. In this instance, it may be wise for a gubernatorial request to be made before the hurricane hits Florida or the president may move forward and offer assistance even without a request or preliminary disaster assessment (PDA) (Sylves, 2015, p. 114). Requests carried out this way are beneficial as agencies in coordination with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) can immediately dispatch anticipated resources needs, set up an Emergency Operations Center (EOC), and begin the process of fully utilizing and supporting emergency management systems up to the national level. However, there are limits on presidential disaster declarations due to the bureaucratic nature of its process. While PDAs can be provided for initial disaster and response needs, declarations appear to be far more concerned with immediate, short-term response and recovery operations rather than long-term recovery, which is where the bulk of assistance is needed to return communities to normalcy. Response must concern itself with strategic objectives rather than just the operational needs of the moment, and while the nation and national government may feel that they have reasonably met the needs of a disaster after the first few weeks, the people and communities need months or even years to progress and move forward personally, socially, and economically into an environment of normalcy and security.

From what I have read, I think disaster declarations are a significant and necessary part of the measure of any functioning emergency management system, and that assistance should always be considered a bottom-up phenomenon. Yet, it is a pliable and often politically motivated set of actions that utilizes offering assistance as a strategy of "political responsiveness more than...on the basis of objective need" (Sylves, 2015, p. 121). Though there are issues with the system, it is always better to have more than enough resources, than to be lacking in response, as past generations of government have found.

References

Phillips, B. D. (2015). Disaster recovery (2nd ed.). Boca Raton, FL: Taylor & Francis Group.

Sylves, R. (2015). Disaster policy and politics: Emergency management and homeland security (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: CQ Press.

Reference no: EM131542339

Questions Cloud

Review the mcdonald case : Explain the justification for BOTH personal and subject matter jurisdiction requirements for each court (state & federal). Review the McDonald's case

What is the purpose of federalism : What is the purpose of federalism? What happens when state and federal laws conflict? Compare the Gonzales case and the York case

Write a paper based on the trials of socrates : You are going to make an argument about the text or idea, while also incorporating outside research to enhance your analysis.

How can the government avoid entrapment issues : How can the government avoid entrapment issues in undercover narcotics investigations

Explain the nature of presidential disaster declarations : However, the nature of presidential disaster declarations relies on loose delineations on its use, and many requests may be viewed as controversial.

Which forms would be particularly problematic : If Ms. Liebeck had sought an alternative dispute resolution before bringing her case to court, Which forms would be particularly problematic

Current account and the capital account : What is the important difference between the current account and the capital account, given that the sum of the two values must equal 0?

Alternative to a negotiated agreement : We negotiate everyday establish your best alternative to a negotiated agreement (BATNA) and identify your counter parties BATNA for a negotiation.

Analyze opportunity that sick provide for the healthy monks : After reading all three, compose a response to one of these questions. In your answer, do not use the word "faith" at all. That word is being used far.

User Account

All Pages