Paper Example on Huntsville: Alabama's 4th-Largest City Since 1805

Introduction

Founded in 1805, Huntsville is located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama. In 1811, Huntsville became the first incorporated town in Alabama. Huntsville, formerly known as Twickenham, was discovered by LeRoy Pope. In honor of John Hunt, a Revolutionary War veteran, Twickenham was later changed to Huntsville. With a population of 190,501 and a metro population of 444,908, Huntsville is the fourth-largest city in Alabama and the second-largest metropolitan city in the state and the fastest-growing metro area. Huntsville is considered to be the most educated population in the state.

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Based on a study conducted by U.S. News, Huntsville was ranked number eleven out of 125 metro areas as one of the best places to live. Value of living, quality of life, and the job market are some of the factors considered when ranking these metropolitan areas. Huntsville is also home to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, the United States Army Aviation and Missile Command on Redstone Arsenal. The Official website of the City of Huntsville Alabama is: https://www.huntsvilleal.gov

Interviewees

On Monday, August 12, 2019, I conducted interviews with Emergency Management Officers, Chris Reed and Scott Worsham of the Huntsville-Madison County Emergency Management Agency. Both Chris and Scott have over 40 years combined with the Huntsville-Madison County Emergency Management Agency. The responses to the questions below will be based on the interview conducted on the 12th of august 2019 about the disasters that have occurred in the Huntsville Madison county. The interviews were conducted in their respective offices which made it easy for the interviewee to retrieve data files for reviews and confirmation of the previously classified information. The respondents were chosen because of the many years they have stayed and worked in the department and their access to the necessary data files.

Describe how emergency management has changed over the last 50 years?

Over the last 50 years, the biggest change that has occurred in Huntsville is the use of social media. Typically used by businesses to market products, promote brands and reach customers, or by everyday people to connect with family and friends, the Huntsville-Madison Emergency Management Agency uses social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram to communicate with the population. Unlike the traditional means of communication such as newspaper, TV and radio broadcasting, social media can spread information quickly and reach many people at once. While social media has become an integral part of the Agency over the years, it does not go without its share of challenges. For example, access has been a problem since some populations, for example, the elderly, people that live in poverty, or the homeless, may not have access to social media.

Compare those years to that of the Post-Katrina era.

Post-Katrina era, the Agency has seen a decrease in statewide mutual aid; the creation of specialty teams, i.e. swift water teams, hazardous rescue teams, search and rescue teams, community teams, law enforcement teams; the creation of best practice; the inclusion of information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), and increased information dissemination. These teams must now meet varying qualifications Statewide mutual aid, creation of specialty teams, swift water rescue, hazard resume, saw teams are activated, search and rescue teams, community team, law enforcement is certain statewide, must meet qualifications to be on one of these teams, police and sheriff departments, best practices including information from CDC, preparedness - put out pre-prepared information. Ex. safety, team are certified, senior centers - hear, ex places to go to relieve had, siren tests regularly, Preparedness - water, hydration, info to prevent heat strokes, information that reminders elders to prepare medication in the event of a power outage, oxygen tanks, senior care academy.

What are some lessons learned and what improvements have come from major disasters that have occurred specifically since Hurricane Katrina?

Hurricane Katrina is the poster child for what not to do in the event of a disaster. Mitigation is an essential part of emergency preparedness. Specifically, prior to Hurricane Katrina, states failed to adequately plan for a disaster. In most cases, emergency preparedness plans were created but never rehearsed. After Hurricane Katrina, mitigation grants were awarded for the purpose of building individual and community storm shelters. Huntsville received a mitigation grant to build shelters. The grants received in Huntsville for the construction of pre-fabricated safe rooms varied. The federally supported grants programs ensured that safe rooms were constructed costing less than $5,000 each. The total grant was $15,908,622. $5,251,545 was to be used to immediately to cover the beginning of Phase II of the three-phase project. FEMA committed to give $14,954,105 grant.

Hurricane Catrina was one of the main disasters of our time. The main lesson learned for the disasters is the overall lack of disaster preparedness for category five disaster. The state was not prepared. The state underestimated the magnitude and severity of the disaster and the lack of preparedness made the situation worse for the everybody who was directly or indirectly affected. The United States might have experiences category give disasters but did not expect it to happen that so. The main chalking was in relations to national preparedness as the systems for homelands security did not provide the necessary framework that would effectively help in managing the challenged posed by such catastrophic threats. There were structural flaws in then systems for addressing catastrophic events. The processes for unified management of that national disaster responses was flawed, the command, as well as the control structures, were also flawed then the overall knowledge of the country's preparedness plans, and regional disaster preparedness planning and coordination was also flawed.

The states learned to integrate the federal government and homeland security partners to review and revise the existing disaster preparedness plans, improve the functionality of the operational structures by developing a clear, and accountable process that would be followed by the national disaster preparedness efforts. The federal government decided to ensure that the executive brand agencies are more organized in dealing with disasters. The staff has been retrained, and they are currently more equipped in dealing with the disaster response. The national government has also ensured that the national preparedness goal is finalized and implemented at all levels.

Additionally, the department of homeland security has jointly planned the department of defense's overall support of all the federal disaster response activities. This means that all the extraordinary circumstances are covered whenever it is appropriate for the department of defense to intervene. The department of defenses has also improved and transformed the national guard to improve its focus on increasing integration with all the active-duty forces when implementing the homeland security plans and activities.

Has emergency management been affected based on any events? How?

Emergency management was affected drastically after 9/11. After 9/11, emergency management took a backseat to 9/11. Took a back seat after 9/11. FEMA took over. Compete for funds for terrorism prevention. Could get funds for some things but not others. Ex. Mitigation programs, ex flood prevention. Funding was inadequate for the disaster preparedness. The budgetary allocation for disasters was almost negligible because such disasters were not common. Currently, there are also nonprofit organizations that oversee disaster training. the charges for training are highly subsidized to enable everyone to gets the necessary training they need. For example, the charges have been reduced from 25K years ago to only $500 a year. Also, work with volunteer organizations such as VOAD - a volunteer organization disasters. Is an umbrella organization. Also the American Red Cross, radio is now under VOAD, faith-based organizations, minimize duplication because faith-based organizations do certain things. To protect the health and safety of recovery teams, hazardous material supplies include suits, meters, and assisted-breathing devices.

What changes have there been in mitigation?

"The implementation of mitigation programs is a key component to achieving a sustainable community, one in which the economic and social needs of people, businesses, and institutions coexist with natural environmental constraints and are protected from the disruptions and impacts of emergencies and disasters." The absence of mitigation programs and projects increases a community's vulnerability to hardships and costs of disasters. Unfortunately, the lack of funds decreases an agency's ability to conduct mitigation developments. It is often difficult to obtain funding before a disaster. For example, repairing damaged streets before a disaster is more economical than replacing an entire street after a disaster. Unfortunately, it is easier to obtain post-disaster funds than it is to obtain pre-disaster funds. Both Chris and Scott had the opportunity to travel to the Capital in hopes of receiving funds to repair streets and roads pre-disaster but were not successful. Also, mitigation projects often require a historical and environmental study. This is the case when requesting funds to build an individual or community shelter. Based on the findings, you may or may not be able to build a shelter. In some cases, the individual or community may be required to match the available funds to construct a shelter.

What changes have there been in preparedness?

There have been numerous preparedness changes over the years especially as it pertains to faith-based and volunteer organizations. ServeAlabama is a faith-based organization created by the governor of Alabama's office to increase volunteerism and disaster response donations. Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) is another organization that provides volunteer services in Alabama. VOAD coordinates volunteer organizations, manages and disseminates donations, provides resource assistance to local communities and takes an active role in community resilience after a disaster. Team Rubicon, an international non-governmental organization (NGO), is comprised of military veterans and first responders. Through the use of their military and first responder knowledge and experience, Team Rubicon can quickly deploy to any community impacted by a disaster. The Cajun Navy is also a volunteer organization that assists communities affected by disasters in Louisiana and neighboring areas. Members of the Cajun Navy use their privately owned boats to conduct search and rescue missions. The Cajun Navy participated in rescue efforts during Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Harvey, and Hurricane Irma to name a few. As a result of their heroic efforts, thousands were rescued.

Has your community been involved in any major disasters?

Based on the data from the U.S. Geological Survey, the documented history of earthquakes in Alabama can be traced back to 100 years and includes about six small- to moderate-sized damaging events. Some of the earthquakes are outlined below. The first earthquake in Alabama shook was on February 4, 1886, and was experienced by residents of Sumter and Marengo Counties. The second one was in October 18, 1916 (magnitude of 5.10) the other earthquake was on April 23, 1957 followed by another one on August...