Emergency management is one of the most important spheres of human life, especially nowadays. The events of September 11, 2001, have changed the world drastically in all respects, and emergency management was one of them (Bullock et al., 2006, p. 142). The level of preparedness for the terrorist attacks as one of the emergencies has been improved. However, with the much emphasis put on the management of terrorist threats, other natural and man-made disasters have been paid less attention to. This paper will focus on the discussion of the single hazard approach as contrasted to the all-hazard one in emergency management.
To begin with, emergency management incorporates the four major components which, if properly developed, help fight any hazard with the least possible damages and with the fastest hazard recovery speed (Greenberg et al., 2006). These components are preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery. In respect of the terrorist threats, these components are especially significant as their diligent development allows saving lives of numerous people and eliminating the terrorist threats and their consequences (Bullock et al., 2006, p. 142). After September 11, 2001, the cities of the United States started developing their terrorist threat management programs. For example, the town of Boone, North Carolina, identified the following aspects as basic for fighting the terrorist threat:
- Identify the types of terrorist events that might occur in the community;
- Plan emergency activities in advance to ensure a coordinated response to terrorist attacks;
- Build capabilities necessary to respond effectively to the consequences of terrorism;
- Identify the type or nature of a terrorist attack when it does happen;
- Implement the planned response quickly and effectively;
- Recover from the incident (Bullock et al., 2006, p. 143).
This plan can be viewed as the role model for other cities in their attempts to prepare for terrorist attacks management. It encompasses all the four above-mentioned components as the first three points of the plan illustrate the preparedness to the hazard, the third and the second point are mitigation activities, while the fifth and the sixth ones represent the response and recovery readiness respectively. Thus, the United States system of terrorist threat management is developed rather substantially nowadays as it allows even small cities to have clear programs of terrorism hazard management.
Moreover, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), created in 2002, allows the cities to coordinate their actions at the state level. Nevertheless, such a unidirectional approach in hazard management has its drawbacks. First of all, other possible areas of hazard and emergency occurrence are left with less attention, and the programs of their management are developed with less diligence.
September 11, 2001, made the US government concentrate exclusively on fighting terrorism in all its aspects, but there are such hazards as natural disasters, man-made disasters, maritime risks, etc. that constitute a substantial part of hazards faced by the country and cause considerable losses to its economy and lives of ordinary people. For example, maritime transportation constitutes 95% of the US foreign trade, and risks of grounding and capsizes of ferries and ships are rather high in it (Merrick & Dorp, n.d.). The single hazard approach is of no help here, and it is necessary to widen the focus of the US hazard management to embrace these spheres as well.
References
Bullock, J. A., Haddow, G. D., Coppola, D., Ergin, E., Westerman, L., & Yeletaysi, S. (2006). Introduction to homeland security, Elsevier.
Greenberg, M. D., Chalk, P., Willis, H. H., Khilko, I., Ortiz, D. S. (2006). Maritime terrorism: Risk and liability. Santa Monica, CA: RAND. Web.
Merrick, J. R. and Dorp, J. R. (n.d.). Speaking the Truth in Maritime Risk Assessment. Arlington, VA: National Science Foundation. Web.