FEMA is Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. This organization aim to prepare for, response to, recover from disaster.
There are 27 federal agencies that FEMA absorbed included, The Federal Insurance Administration, The National Fire Prevention and Control Administration, The national Weather Service Community Preparedness Program and so on. Besides, it cooperate with non-government organization such as Red Cross.
FEMA has involved in fire grants, preparedness, mitigation and individual assistance in different emergency response. FEMA aim to recover after disaster in short term, and also rebuild and finance support for local government in long term.
However, from some research shows that FEMA seems is not good to approach disaster or emergency response. For the Hurricane Katrina in 2005, FEMA received negative criticism because of the slow response, un-effective assistance. Besides, FEMA also has intense criticism in others disaster, such as Buffalo snowstorm (2006) and California wildfires (2007).
FEMA has a new mission which is help to ensure that the nation’s first responders were trained to deal with weapons of mass destruction, and help communities face the threat of terrorism. Especially, it more influenced when 911 happened.
The terrorist attacks of Sept.11th have motivated FEMA more think about the homeland security and set a new department to approach to national security from both natural and man-made emergency.
The law has signed for emergency triggers financial and physical assistance through the FEMA. It is also funding for training as agency’s preparedness effort. It shapes the way of prepare for hazards, and make a better intergovernmental coordination.
There is an interactive tool which can search some grant data by location and disaster. They apply diagram to show the data and easy to analyse. For example, Summary of Disaster Declarations and Grants which can see the Federal declared disaster occurred in each state, and also summary of FEMA’s support for fire, preparedness, mitigation, and assistance. There are also other graphics show different data of disaster and FEMA assistance.
There are many equipment and tool that FEMA authorized. There are respirator which is a positive-pressure respiratory protective device and deliver air, CBRN SCBA which is self-contained breathing apparatus certified, Respirator that is Powered Air-Purifying (PARP) and so on.
FEMA seem to concerning help the state to prepare to the disaster and lessen the hazard and loss. The challenging for FEMA is how to manage effectively, and response in quickly.
Byron Good, Ph.D., is a professor of Medical Anthropology at Harvard Medical School. His primary area of research is mental illness and how social perceptions evolves around these issues, in terms of both treatment and social acceptance. Dr. Good has several works on these issues, including several that explore the perspective of bio-medicine in non-western medical knowledge, the cultural meaning of mental illness, and patient narrative during illness. His publications including several papers, books, and edited volumes; he is regarded as a major contributor to the field of psychological anthropology.