Volume 19, Issue 2

The management of flood risk poses significant challenges for communities across the United States. At the forefront of managing flood risk in the U.S. are local floodplain administrators (FPAs). Despite the importance of their role in addressing flood hazards at the local level, little is known about those who serve in this capacity. Using survey data gathered from local floodplain administrators in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, this study provides an overview of floodplain administrators in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region 6. Specifically, this research examines perceived strengths and challenges of floodplain administrators in their ability to carry out their roles and responsibilities, and explores how perceived strengths and challenges in ability vary based on location, experience, and previous floodplain management training. This study provides new insights into the strengths and challenges individuals experience in this role and analyses suggest that significant differences exist in the perceived abilities of floodplain managers based on whether they work in an urban and rural setting, their years of experience, and previous training. Based on the findings, this study offers recommendations about training needs and strategies that would benefit current floodplain administrators as they enhance resilience to floods in their communities.

There are many recognized use cases for small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) in emergency and disaster management, but there are obstacles to the full realization of this technology’s potential. More stringent training and certification requirements for public safety use of sUAS is a crucial step in achieving standardization of operations, a common operational picture, interoperability, increased airspace safety, and public acceptance. The purpose of this study is to move toward standards for public safety sUAS pilot training requirements. This research employs a mixed methods approach to investigate the current state of training requirements and trends in public safety sUAS programs. This included a review of the relevant literature, an analysis of survey data, and a combination of structured and semi-structured interviews. While the literature clearly shows many sUAS emergency management applications, it also identifies dangers that must be mitigated. Synthesizing the literature findings with the survey and interview data resulted in four categories of possible sUAS training standard recommendations: progressive levels of certification, flight time minimums, task-focused practical training, and proficiency demonstrations. These recommendations have both national and international applicability.

Emergent volunteer groups play a significant role during disasters. There is a rich literature on the role of volunteer groups in disasters and disaster volunteerism. However, the rapid proliferation of social media platforms in the last decade made a significant impact on human lives, and disaster volunteerism is no exception. This article argues that there is a need for understanding social media’s impact on disaster volunteerism. Using Harvey as a case, this article analyzes 74 Facebook groups that were created during the storm. The article compares the emergence and lifespan, structure, and function of online volunteer groups to those of volunteer groups before social media. Findings show important distinctions between online groups and those mentioned in the literature. First, online groups are easier to observe and analyze because of the digital traces they leave. Online groups emerge in different phases of disaster (response, early recovery) depending on people’s needs. Their structure can possess elements of hierarchy as opposed to structural characteristics of groups mentioned in the literature. Finally, online groups mostly function as information sharing hubs; however, they also carry out a wide variety of functions, some of which request special attention. The article makes suggestions for future research.