Assignment: Hurricane Katrina Preparedness
The two major assignments in this course will combine to produce an in-depth analysis of the preparedness, communication, mitigation, response, and recovery coordination among the various public safety and private sector organizations involved in Hurricane Katrina. It will also include a detailed assessment of the Incident Command System (ICS) process used. These assignments give you an opportunity to apply the concepts discussed in this course to a real-world incident.
You will assess the emergency management process used during Hurricane Katrina, and you will include your own thoughts and ideas for improving the system. Your opinions and thoughts must be supported by resources such as peer-reviewed journals, books, or credible articles on government websites. Carefully evaluate your sources of information.
This first major assignment requires you to assess the actions and policies at work prior to and following Hurricane Katrina's landfall. This assignment should total 6-8 pages of text and cover the following points:
• Background
o Identify the agencies responsible for emergency preparedness and response.
o Describe (don't just identify, but describe) the area impacted by Katrina.
Assume your reader does not know about this incident, and provide the background necessary for a reader to understand the analysis that will follow.
• Definitions
o Define key terms that will be important to the understanding of your analysis. Demonstrate your understanding of terms such as hurricane, levee, and storm surge.
• Hurricane Katrina
o Describe the storm, specifically.
o What made this storm so special?
• Pre-existing vulnerabilities in Louisiana. Many believe that the damage from Katrina would not have been so severe had the local areas been better prepared.
o Assess the state of readiness prior to Katrina's landfall and discuss any particular vulnerabilities.
• Describe the ICS process
o Include information pertaining to the elements of preparedness, communication, mitigation, response, and recovery coordination among the various public safety and private sector organizations specifically involved in Hurricane Katrina.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.