The Federal Emergency Management Agency - 1403 Words

Definition of ‘crisis’ from the on-line dictionary defines the word as â€Å"a condition of instability or danger, as in social, economic, political, or international affairs, leading to a decisive change†. (Dictionary, n.d.). The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has created a chart in which there are several criteria for determining when a situation is qualified as a disaster, only then, may federal aid be available to the communities. According to authors Timothy Sellnow and Matthew Seeger, the criteria allow â€Å"the FEMA to assess the relative magnitude of disruption and harm created by any event† (Sellnow Seeger 2013, 4), so that it can be determined how much and what form of assistance the community may require. Some of the†¦show more content†¦(Sellnow Segger 2013, 10). Over the years, communications developed and broader concepts were created, many from lessons learned over the years. Hurricane Katrina brought to light the defi ciencies of emergency communication systems. In the Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned put out by the Bush administration in 2006, noted that the Department of Homeland Security reports described the emergency communications infrastructure as ‘non-existent’ and that Katrina devastated other communication infrastructures across the Gulf Coast, â€Å"incapacitating telephone and cell service, police and fire dispatch centers, and emergency radio systems†. (White House 2006). Katrina hit its second landfall on Monday, August 29, 2005 and because of the widespread destruction of the communication infrastructures, authoritative reporting, which â€Å"incapacitation of many State and local responders, and the lack of Federal representatives in the city. As a result, local, State, and Federal officials were forced to depend on a variety of conflicting reports from a combination of media, government and private sources, many of which continued to provide inaccurate or incomplete information throughout the day, further clouding the understanding of what was occurring in New Orleans†. (Ibid). Communications are a necessary and critical to manage the potential