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Managing an Emergency
August 28, 2005
My friends and family know that I have been interested in the fire service and police for quite a while (an interest that borders on over-the-top). But, with my interests in engineering, planning and politics as well, it’s hard to focus on one certain career path that would combine them all.
Except, however, Emergency Management. There are numerous aspects to the management of an emergency, from coordinating local, state and federal agencies and volunteers, to public information and disaster mitigation.
Some day, I hope to become more involved in these processes. One great thing about being employed by a city in tornado alley is that I may have a greater chance to becoming involved in some aspect of emergency planning and/or management. Also, I will be attending the Oklahoma City Fire Department Citizen Academy for eight weeks beginning on September 8. That will also lead me to new opportunities. Finally, I have looked into obtaining an associates degree in emergency management from OSU-OKC. It’s all quite exciting for me…
The hurricane approaching New Orleans is what has me thinking about this at the moment. Watching The Weather Channel and other news outlets, I’m provided with many interesting stories about planning and management, as well as information on humanitarian needs other people might not think about. For instance - what happens to the homeless, the carless, the disabled, when evacuation orders are issues?
Posted by paul at August 28, 2005 07:35 PM
Comments
Murph said on August 29, 2005 12:54 PMOne of my housemates was just asking last night why NO hadn't been thoroughly emptied - why a hundred thousand or more people were still there when it was predicted to be deep underwater soon. Transportation systems nowadays just aren't set up for it, and so those thousands of people if the categories you mentioned just aren't set up for it.
I remember talking to a planner in NJ during early 2002 who was working on smallpox vaccination plans for one county - given the window between detection and when a vaccine is effective, can you get everybody in the County vaccinated? At the time, nope. Having people drive to the vaccination sites would totally overwhelm the road network, while using NJ TRANSIT, local transit vehicles, and every private coach in the County for a park-and-ride style vaccination plan just couldn't provide the throughput.
Every planner ought to know something about emergency management - since we're the ones who know the transportation systems, for example, and know where to find the people who can't evacuate themselves, we need to be the ones looking for ways to address this.