Volume 3, Issue 3

This paper aims to draw a series of generalizable conclusions regarding the incident command system (ICS) as a management tool for structuring the activity of disaster response agencies at the site of disasters in the United States. It identifies the basic elements of the system and makes some observations regarding its range of applicability. The analysis is drawn from several sources of information regarding the use of ICS in nine different disasters in which Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) Taskforces participated. Results suggest the applicability of ICS in a range of emergency response activities, but point to the importance of context as a largely un-examined precondition to effective ICS. Our findings indicate that ICS is a partial solution to the question of how to organize the societal response in the aftermath of disasters; the system is more or less effective depending on specific characteristics of the incident and the organizations in which it is used. It works best when those utilizing it are part of a community, when the demands being responded to are routine to them, and when social and cultural emergence is at a minimum. ICS does not create a universally applicable bureaucratic organization among responders but rather is a mechanism for inter-organizational coordination designed to impose order on certain dimensions of the chaotic organizational environments of disasters. We conclude by extending our observations from the USAR context to the reconstruction, recovery, and mitigation phases of disasters in order to illuminate the general limitations of the approach as an all-encompassing model for disaster-related organizational and inter-organizational functioning and coordination. Our final conclusions suggest that the present-day efforts in the National Incident Management System (NIMS) to use ICS as a comprehensive principle of disaster management probably will not succeed as intended.

Terrorist attacks may involve large-scale systems with multiple points of vulnerability and intervention. For example, chemical and biological terrorist attacks can be targeted at large-scale distribution system, such as those associated with agriculture, meat products, or water. These supply-chain systems can be thought of as having three distinct points of potential contamination: at the source, during processing, or at delivery. Prevention and mitigation strategies can be applied at any of these points. The effectiveness of a risk management program involves the ability to evaluate the trade-offs associated with allocating available resources to mitigation strategies that could be implemented at various points along the supply chain.The paper presents a conceptual model for evaluation the cost-effectiveness of these strategies. Structured as an event tree representing potential contamination entry points at various places in the supply chain, decisions related to where and how resources should be allocated to deterrence, detection and response can be evaluated. This approach focuses on the likelihood of the success of the homeland's actions, rather than on the probability of the terrorists' actions, which can be more difficult to quantify.

This article examines homeland security administration and finance in Texas county governments in the United States. A survey was conducted in the spring of 2006 to determine the extent of funding sources for homeland security and the perception by county officials on the effectiveness of financing homeland security. First, the results of this study indicate that as the size of the county government increases this impacts various aspects of homeland security finances. Second, county officials have indicated that increased funding for homeland security will come from existing revenue sources; raising property taxes is not a feasible option. Finally, there is a belief by county officials that there has not been a radical change in the existing county budget as a result of homeland security initiatives. Counties feel that they are well prepared in their financial management systems to deal with a possible terrorist attack.

This paper introduces the Palo Alto Medical Reserve Corps (PAMRC); a program which focuses on disaster mental health education. The reader will be provided with background information on early intervention following a trauma and be introduced to the challenges encountered by the organization during its conception and development and to those faced by mental health professionals as communicated to PAMRC representatives during their response to Houston, TX in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The conclusion of the article will delineate the philosophy and methodology utilized by the PAMRC and describe the efforts of the PAMRC to set in motion a collaborative approach to disaster-related challenges, regardless of specialty.

This paper explores and demonstrates an innovative application of an input-output model for the assessment of the economic consequences of hypothetical disruption events. Such events in a region are first simulated and their affected areas estimated using a GIS-based geo-spatial simulation approach. Then, the consequences of the simulated events on the regional economy are estimated and disaggregated by industry and sub-region. The research is important because it develops a new simulation and input-output model approach to regional and national security analysis that offers promising results. Further, it provides a methodology for assessing the economic consequences of possible disruption events. Knowledge of economic impacts of disruptions is essential for determining and justifying appropriate protection and mitigation policies and measures.

The U.S. Department of State and experts on terrorism have suggested that the poor are a potential source of recruits for political and Islamic fundamentalist terrorist organizations. This observation is particularly applicable to the poor in Latin American nations (that is, the Caribbean and Central and South American regions). Focusing on al-Qaida, this paper uses Bayat's (2000) classification of the passive, surviving, political and resisting poor to argue that al-Qaida's recruitment efforts would target the surviving poor residing in Latin American nations because, relative to the other categories of the poor, the surviving poor demonstrate more activities in common with al-Qaida: for example, theft, kidnapping for ransom, narco-trafficking, and illegal immigrant smuggling. Such activities relate both to efforts by the surviving poor to escape poverty and to the planning and execution of terrorist acts by al-Qaida.

This is an overview of the recent conference sponsored by the Dept. of Homeland Security. The title of this invitational conference was "Strengthening the Public Safety Response to Terrorism."

Two upcoming conferences that may be of interest to JHSEM readers.

As suggested by the title, this is a collection of essays on the economic effects of successful terrorist attacks focusing on the electrical transmission, and transportation infrastructure of the United States. Those familiar with the literature on the economic effects of natural disasters will find the arguments and economic models quite familiar. The individual essays are by leading experts who do not necessarily agree on the most appropriate methods or policy conclusions. This provides a refreshing measure of potential controversy.

A recent update to an earlier publication by the same authors, this book provides a succinct resource for first responders that addresses issues associated with the recovery and management of dead bodies immediately after natural disasters.

A well-respected author has created an overview of faith-based responses to disaster and the role of clergy in providing mental health and spiritual care to victims. The text surveys a range of issues, including the effects of traumatic events on psychological and spiritual health and the roles of disaster response agencies, both state-sponsored and faith-based organizations, and offers practical guidance in how to prepare for a disaster. He includes a reference section that directs readers to additional resources on the mental health aspects of disaster and disaster response. The author also develops a strategy to overcome barriers to the incorporation of clergy and faith communities into disaster response and strongly encourages collaboration and the building of cross-disciplinary relationships. Overall, the book serves as a good primer on disaster response for persons within faith communities who wish to provide effective disaster relief.

This is a review of the 2nd edition of Introduction to Emergency Management by George Haddow and Jane Bullock (2006). Overall the book covers the emergency management practices and issues common in the United States today. It has expanded discussion of the events and repercussions of September 11, 2001 but does not discuss Hurricane Katrina's impact in 2005. The authors' experiences are put to good use, especially in discussing the history and future of emergency management, but editorial problems hinder the book's application in an academic setting. The book contains several case studies and other resources that will be of interest to emergency management practitioners.