Assignment:
Case Assignment
You live in Moonachie, New Jersey, and your community just experienced a widespread disaster caused by Superstorm Sandy. You have recently been designated by the city council and the City Manager to determine if the community's emergency response plan was effective in reducing property loss.
1. Prepare a short plan to investigate the disaster and assess the flood damage in the city. Identify specific persons you will meet with during your investigation.
2. You found that over 70% of the property in the flood-prone area was damaged and that there was no significant improvement in damage control since the last flood, which occurred five years ago due to a failure of the levee system. List at least four reasons that may explain the apparent failure to implement an effective mitigation program. Adequately support your reasons for this apparent failure.
3. Develop two recommendations that you would make concerning improvements in the city's mitigation plan based on the latest disaster experience.
4. State and discuss the general principle in this case concerning the necessity and implementation of mitigation measures.
Upload your Case Assignment by the last day of Module 3. Papers should be at least three pages long.
Assignment Expectations
A comprehensive analysis of the causes, response, and mitigation of flood disasters including clear delineation of the complex reasons for repeated flood losses should be demonstrated.
References: At least two references should be included from academic sources (e.g., peer-reviewed journal articles). Required readings are included. Quoted material should not exceed 10% of the total paper (since the focus of these assignments is critical thinking). Use your own words and build on the ideas of others. When material is copied verbatim from external sources, it must be enclosed in quotes. The references should be cited within the text and also listed at the end of the assignment in the References section (preferably in APA format).
Organization: Subheadings should be used to organize your paper according to the questions.
Format: APA format is recommended.
Grammar and Spelling: While no points are deducted for minor errors, assignments are expected to adhere to standard guidelines of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and sentence syntax. Points may be deducted if grammar and spelling impact clarity.
The following items will be assessed in particular:
• Relevance: All content is connected to the question.
• Precision: Specific question is addressed. Statements, facts, and statistics are specific and accurate.
• Depth of discussion: Points that lead to deeper issues are presented and integrated.
• Breadth: Multiple perspectives and references, and multiple issues/factors are considered.
• Evidence: Points are well-supported with facts, statistics, and references.
• Logic: Presented discussion makes sense; conclusions are logically supported by premises, statements, or factual information.
• Clarity: Writing is concise, understandable, and contains sufficient detail or examples.
• Objectivity: Paper avoids use of first person and subjective bias.
INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM; PRINCIPLES AND FEATURES PART I; MITIGATION AND RISK REDUCTION
In the Module 2 SLP you identified specific emergencies and disasters which could impact your community. You also conducted a Hazard and Vulnerability Analysis for the greatest threat to your selected community or organization. In this SLP for Module 3 you will identify the following:
1. Who will be responsible for the direction and control of the disaster operations?
2. What are the criteria you would establish for determining the lead position during an emergency?
3. How much authority would this person have during an emergency?
4. What methods of communication would you recommend to maintain control during an emergency?
5. How many persons or what type of personnel would you allow to make independent decisions in the field?
6. In your opinion is it necessary or prudent to allow for input into the disaster management process during an emergency?
Be sure that your response is related to or applies to the types of disasters identified in the Module 1 SLP.
Note to the student: It is impractical to require that you prepare an entire Emergency Management Plan for your community as a SLP for this course. Therefore, you should respond to the above questions in a general manner. For instance, under direction and control of the operations you should indicate who is in charge of the overall disaster and how you anticipate controlling the response to the disaster. What are your plans for life safety related to the ability of your community to respond to various levels of a disaster? The planned response is always a function of the severity of the disaster. If you need help with any aspect of this SLP, send the instructor an e-mail and you will receive a response as soon as possible. The main point is not to panic over the assignment and "calmly" think through its basic issues. Think of this as "performing under stress" as you may need to do under emergency conditions.
Papers should be no longer than three pages.
SLP Assignment Expectations
Clear recognition and critique of the leadership, communication, and flexibility needs of disaster response must be demonstrated.
References: At least two references should be included from academic sources (e.g., peer-reviewed journal articles). Required readings are included. Quoted material should not exceed 10% of the total paper (since the focus of these assignments is critical thinking). Use your own words and build on the ideas of others. When material is copied verbatim from external sources, it must be enclosed in quotes. The references should be cited within the text and also listed at the end of the assignment in the References section (preferably in APA format).
Organization: Subheadings should be used to organize your paper according to the questions.
Format: APA format is recommended.
Grammar and Spelling: While no points are deducted for minor errors, assignments are expected to adhere to standard guidelines of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and sentence syntax. Points may be deducted if grammar and spelling impact clarity.
The following items will be assessed in particular:
• Relevance: All content is connected to the question.
• Precision: Specific question is addressed. Statements, facts, and statistics are specific and accurate.
• Depth of discussion: Points that lead to deeper issues are presented and integrated.
• Breadth: Multiple perspectives and references, and multiple issues/factors are considered.
• Evidence: Points are well-supported with facts, statistics, and references.
• Logic: Presented discussion makes sense; conclusions are logically supported by premises, statements, or factual information.
• Clarity: Writing is concise, understandable, and contains sufficient detail or examples.
• Objectivity: Paper avoids use of first person and subjective bias.
Required Reading
Introduction to incident command system, ICS-100.b, FEMA Interactive Web-based Course (2010).
Miller C. (2007). The introduction and expansion of GIS into a small local health department drinking-water program. Journal of Environmental Health. 69(6), 35-41.
Required Websites
Case study - Innovative floodplain management, Kinston, North Carolina, FEMA.
Promoting mitigation in Louisiana-Performance analysis of mitigation projects-A case study, FEMA.
Standardized Emergency Management System.