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The main argument of this article is that the emergency response to 9/11 could have been more efficient and effective. The article cites a lack of communication between fire chiefs and firefighters in the towers, minimal cooperation between police and fire, as well as the determination of responding units to save as many people as possible even against orders to evacuate.

Twine provides information and software to set up compatible data collection systems that pool information into the larger system, which the app then makes available to its users. The system also includes a publishing and collaboration aspect which allows groups of people from all over the globe to access the same data and report on the findings together.

The bibliography shows that the article used extensive resources for accurately describing the programs and funding options for displaced residents of New Orleans, as well as to cite statistics. A significant portion of the article was interviews conducted by the authors about the evacuation, flooding, and lasting effects of Katrina. While some of these interviews were cited, many seem to have been conducted for this article specifically.

Emergency response is addressed primarily through preventative measures that may minimize the trauma of a disaster. The article suggests that high risk locations need stronger adherence to regulations for buildings, as well as constantly stocked shelters for evacuated individuals to go to during a disaster. Emergency response is also discussed through the statistics given on mental illnesses present in emergency responders after a disaster. The article does not suggest methods of minimizing risk to emergency responders, however the focus on community and government support for victims of a disaster also applies to the strong communities that form among emergency responders.

The article shows that the Chernobyl explosions continue to devastate the surrounding area, defining a society of those exposed to radiation with complex politics and health care systems to which individuals are entirely dependent.

The main argument is supported primarily with a detailed description of the events surrounding the Fukushima Daiichi plant disaster on March 11th, 2011 as an example of the need for a specilized group to respond to nuclear emergencies. Schmid also supports the effectiveness of such a group by tracing the recent shift in opinion away from an accident prevention mindset to the idea that nuclear disasters are a risk in the nuclear industry and therefore plans for the effective response to future nuclear disasters must be made in order to mitigate the damage caused. Several other works addressing similar problems in risk management, such as Risk Society by Ulrich Beck, as also cited to support the main argument.