1. The greatest vulnerability facing the emergency management discipline is its reliance on personnel. Emergency management personnel must make ethical decisions, but their training, goals, and values could exacerbate problems if not aligned properly. For example, emergency plans sometimes fail to adequately address the needs of vulnerable groups like people with disabilities. 2. Another key vulnerability is the organizational structure of FEMA. As a part of the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA has struggled to maintain its disaster response focus across all hazards. It needs more autonomy to coordinate effectively between different levels of government and relief organizations. The changing nature of risks also makes it difficult to prepare fully for every possible disaster scenario.

1. ****ANSWER THIS QUESTION 250 WORDS MIN
EACH****
Discussion Questions:
What is the most significant vulnerability facing the emergency
management discipline and why?
****REPLY TO EACH POST 100 WORDS MIN EACH****
1. For this week’s question we were asked what is the most
significant vulnerability facing the emergency management
discipline and why? As I contemplated various input for this
question, I wanted to start with what I felt was the most
important aspect of Emergency Management which is its
discipline of avoiding risks and prevent the loss of life. Ideally,
Emergency Management disciplines involves prepping for a
crisis, responding during and after a crisis, as well as support
after a disaster. From our readings I found this statement,
“Emergency management is the responsibility of more than
government; it involves NGOs, community groups, and
individuals (Etkin, 2016).” Understanding these additional
Emergency Management responsibilities, overall, I can see how
personnel play a major role towards ethical choices. Dissecting
more of the article from Etkin, I see how he correlated ethical
theories, utilitarianism, social contract, virtue ethics,
deontology, and environmental sustainability. Etkin really
opened my eyes and helped me understand the relationship
people have on our values to our environment. Understanding
the discipline of Emergency Management is to avoid risks and
prevent loss of life, I can make a better choice on what I feel is

2. its significant vulnerability. I feel the greatest strength is its
greatest vulnerability, which are people. Emergency
management personnel have an important part to play and
essentially, their training, ethics, goals, values, etc. can either
be a part of the solution or part of the problem. Since we are
talking about vulnerabilities of Emergency Management, I will
stick with problem. Vulnerable populations such as people with
disabilities were not part of or thought of when States/Cities
were implementing measures for people with such ailments.
Los Angeles, California violated Federal and State disability
laws by failing to include people with disabilities in their 200
plus page emergency preparedness plan. Why do States/Cities
let this occur when FEMA's Comprehensive Preparedness Guide
(CPG) specifically mentions that emergency preparedness plans
need to include people with disabilities (Flowers, 2016)?
Therefore, this backs up my ideal of a vulnerability when it
comes to Emergency Management.
2. Emergency management is the allocation of resources and
responsibilities when dealing with a disaster. The primary
agency dealing with disasters is the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA). The Federal Emergency
Management Agency was created in 1979 by President Carter.
Although this organization is relatively new, the federal
disaster approach has been around for a longer time. When the
Department of Homeland Security was created in 2003, FEMA
was adopted into this organization. Under the DHS, FEMA took
a unique role in protecting the nation post terrorist attacks
rather than focusing on all types of disasters. It was not until
hurricane Katrina devastated the south east did the roles and
responsibilities once again change to a more all disaster
approach. It is difficult for this organization to complete its
own agenda while falling under the DHS. This issue needs to
be addressed and FEMA needs to become its own organization

3. that falls under the government rather than the DHS. Disasters
come in many different shapes and forms, and due to this it can
be difficult to predict what type of disaster may strike and the
devastation it may cause. “The changes in and interactions
between the social, built, and physical environments are making
some hazards more severe, concentrating risk, and widening
exposure and vulnerability” (Jensen et al., 2016). It is
important for FEMA to identify all the different resources
associated with a disaster. These different relief organizations
range from all levels of government and non-government
agencies. These different agencies need to coordinate with each
other to ensure they can provide the most effective means of
relief. Along with providing relief it is important to mitigate
any potential risk prior to it occurring, prepare for those risks,
respond once a disaster happens and also recover from a
disaster. “Emergency measures in most jurisdictions are rarely,
if ever, activated, public managers find it difficult to evaluate
and assess the quality of existing emergency management
programs” (Henstra, 2010). It is not until a disaster strikes
when an emergency management plan is implemented and tried.
It can be very difficult to simulate the conditions of a potential
disaster and the effects it will have on a region.