This document provides a detailed overview of the history and evolution of emergency management law in the United States from ancient times to the modern era. It traces the increasing role of the federal government over time, from early fire hazards addressed by volunteer brigades to the establishment of FEMA in 1979 and the Department of Homeland Security after 9/11. The document discusses key laws and policies that have shaped the field, such as the Stafford Act, various presidential directives, and the Homeland Security Act of 2002.

1. Azhar Hussain
Assistant Professor, Aviation Management
College of Technology
Department of Aviation Technology
1

2. Why does the history of
emergency management
law matter?
2

3. 
Ancient roots
◦ Cave paintings
◦ Biblical disasters

In U.S., first effort: fire hazards – still most
common kind of disasters
◦ Volunteer fire brigades
◦ Now more full-time, professional firefighters
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4. Definition: “Emergency management” is the
discipline dealing with risk and risk avoidance.
 Risk involves

◦ Many issues
◦ Many players
Integral to all lives
 Need to use every day

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5. Essential role of government
 Perhaps most essential?
 “Public health and safety” = public risks
 States responsible
 Federal role secondary
 History of constant increase in federal role

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6. 1803 Congressional Act – assistance for NH
town after huge fire
 1930s Reconstruction Finance Corporation,
Bureau of Public roads

◦ Disaster loans
◦ Public facilities only

Flood Control Act of 1934
◦ Army Corps of Engineers authority for flood control
projects
◦ Man controls nature
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7. 
World War II
◦ Air raid wardens
◦ Enforce blackouts

Cold War – 1950s
◦ Retired military
◦ Few natural disasters
◦ Hurricanes – dealt with one by one
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8. Federal Civil Defense Administration assists
states and locals
 Office of Defense Mobilization located in DoD

◦ Included “Emergency Preparedness” function

Merger in 1958 into Office of Civil and Defense
Mobilization
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9. More natural disasters
 Earthquakes, hurricanes
 1961 – Office of Emergency Preparedness in
White House
 Civil Defense still in Pentagon
 1964 Alaska earthquake 9.2
 1965 Hurricane Betsy huge damage
 No flood insurance for homeowners

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10. National Flood Insurance Act of 1968
 National Flood Insurance Program
 Introduced Community Based Mitigation

◦ Community agrees to forbid building in floodplains
◦ Feds make low-cost flood insurance available
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11. 
Flood Insurance Act of 1972
◦ Required flood insurance for loans backed by federal
mortgages
Need for national focus on EM
 Many agencies responsible

◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Dept. of Commerce
General Services Administration
Treasury Dept.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Housing and Urban Development
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12. 
Disaster Relief Act of 1974 - HUD most authority
◦
◦
◦
◦
NFIP
Federal Disaster Assistance Administration
Still over 100 federal agencies involved in disasters
Similar scattering of authority in states
States push for single agency
 Governor Carter elected President in 1976

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13. 






President Carter in 1978 sent Congress Reorganization
Plan Number 3 stating intent to create FEMA
FEMA officially established in 1979 by Executive Order
EO mandated moving agencies, programs, and personnel
into FEMA
Why by Executive Order not by Congressional enactment?
Downsides of Executive Order approach
Many programs, operations, policies, people needed
integrating into FEMA
23 Congressional Committees oversight
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14. 




Effort to unite natural hazards preparedness and civil
defense
Led to INTEGRATED EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM
Comprehensive emergency management
Addresses all hazards
Four phases
◦ Mitigation
◦ Preparedness
◦ Response
◦ Recovery
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15. Civil defense again high priority
 Cold war heated up under President Reagan
 Challenges

◦
◦
◦
◦

FEMA lead for Continuity of Government
Love Canal, Times Beach pollution
Cuban refugee crisis
Corruption charges
Funding to fallout shelters not natural disasters
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16. 
1988: Robert T. Stafford Disaster and
Emergency Assistance Act
◦ Codified federal agency duties in disasters
◦ Still main source of guidance

1988: Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
◦ Led to Oil Pollution Act of 1990
◦ HAZMAT plan
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17. 
Responses criticized
◦ Hurricane Hugo hit southeast US
◦ Loma Prieta earthquake in CA
◦ Slow FEMA response contrast with rapid CA state
response
◦ FEMA thinking nuclear war, CA preparing for earthquake
1992 Hurricanes Andrew and Iniki
 Result: many calls to abolish FEMA

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18. 
Many huge natural disasters
◦ Midwest floods 1993 - 9 states
◦ Northridge CA earthquake 1994
◦ Tornados, ice storms, hurricanes, floods, wildfires,
drought

Major terrorist attacks
◦ 1993: first World Trade Center attack
◦ 1995: Murrah Building bombing in Oklahoma City
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19. 
1995: Presidential Decision Directive (PDD) 39
◦ FBI – crisis management
◦ FEMA - consequence management
1998 PDD 62: more systematic approach to
fighting terrorism
 1998: PDD 63 critical infrastructure protection
 1998: PDD 67 Ensuring Constitutional
Government and Continuity of Government
Operations (COOP)

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20. 
FEMA launches Project Impact: Building
Disaster Resistant Communities mitigation
program
◦ Incorporate risk avoidance into every day community
decisions
◦ Build grassroots support for EM

Hazard Mitigation Act of 2000
◦ States to create Hazard Mitigation plans
◦ Promote sustainable economic development

Project Impact eliminated in 2001
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21. Old reality – Survivable skyjackings
 Old reality – Many domestic terrorists
 First World Trade Center bombing and Murrah
Building attack begin to change perspective
 After September 11 attacks, immediate legal
action

◦ USA PATRIOT Act
◦ Homeland Security Act of 2002
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22. 
Uniting and Strengthening America By Providing
Appropriate Tools Required To Intercept and
Obstruct Terrorism Act (USA PATRIOT Act) of
2001
◦
◦
◦
◦

Department of Justice’s “wish list”
Redefines terrorism
Broader meaning for “terrorist organization”
Association triggers immigration bans
Title III: International Money Laundering
Abatement and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act of
2001
◦ Goal – cut off terrorist financial support
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23. 
Aviation and Transportation Security (ATS) Act of
2002
◦ Federalizes screeners
◦ Establishes TSA (later moved to DHS)

Homeland Security Act of 2002 (HS Act)
◦
◦
◦
◦
Creates Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
180,000 Federal workers from 22 agencies
DHS mission to stop terrorism
Mandates National Incident Management System (NIMS)
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24. 
Public Health Security and Bioterrorism
Preparedness and Response Act of 2002
◦ Improves ability to prevent, prepare for, and respond to
bioterrorism & public health emergencies
◦ National preparedness plan by HHS

National Emergencies Act of 2003
◦ Establishes procedures for Presidential declaration
and termination
◦ Declaration is prerequisite to exercising special or
extraordinary powers in Act
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25. 
Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of
2003
◦ Improve ability to prevent and respond to terrorist incidents
with WMD
◦ DOD to provide expert advice on WMD
Emergencies Involving Chemical or Biological
Weapons 2003
 Emergencies Involving Nuclear Materials 2002

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26. Homeland Security Act of 2002
 Terrorism focus
 Natural hazards deemphasized
 Structural complement to USA PATRIOT Act

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27. 


Homeland Security Act of 2002
Law enforcement has leadership role in DHS
HS Act of 2002 SEC. 101. EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT;
MISSION.
(b) Mission. (1) The primary mission of the
Department is to-(A) prevent terrorist attacks within the United
States;
(B) reduce the vulnerability of the United States to
terrorism; and
(C) minimize the damage, and assist in the recovery,
from terrorist attacks that do occur within the United
States.
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28. Homeland Security Act of 2002
 HS Act § 507 ROLE OF FEDERAL
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY
(a) IN GENERAL.—FEMA functions include:
(1) Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act
(2) Carrying out its mission to reduce the loss of
life and property and protect the Nation from
all hazards by leading and supporting the
Nation in a comprehensive, risk-based
emergency management program—

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29. 
Executive Order (EO) 13224 – Sept. 23, 2001
◦ Defined “terrorism”
◦ Blocked Property and Prohibited Transactions

EO 13228 – Oct. 8, 2001
◦ Established Office of Homeland Security
◦ Homeland Security Council
◦ Coordinated federal activities

EO 13231 – Oct. 16, 2001
◦ Critical Infrastructure Protection in the Information Age
◦ Supersedes PDD 63
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30. 
Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 1:
Establishing the Homeland Security Council (2001)
◦ Coordinated federal activities

HSPD 2: Combating Terrorism Through Immigration
Policies (2001)
◦ Foreign Terrorist Tracking Task Force
◦ Locate, detain, prosecute, or deport terrorist aliens already
present
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31. HSPD 3: Homeland Security Advisory System (2002)
– color coded warnings
 HSPD 4: National Strategy to Combat Weapons of
Mass Destruction (2002)

◦ Counterproliferation to Combat WMD Use,
◦ Strengthened Nonproliferation to Combat WMD Proliferation,
and
◦ Consequence Management to Respond to Use
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32. 
HSPD 5: Management of Domestic Incidents (2003)
◦ Federal agencies to take specific steps for planning and
incident management
◦ Single, comprehensive approach to domestic incident
management
◦ Repeals PDD 39
◦ DHS to create, enforce emergency responder standards
◦ No compliance means loss of preparedness funding
◦ Mandates creation of National Response Plan (NRP)
and National Incident Management System (NIMS)
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33. 
HSPD 6: Integration and Use of Screening
Information (2003)
◦ Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) consolidate terrorist
watchlists
◦ provide operational support

HSPD 7: Critical Infrastructure Identification,
Prioritization, and Protection (2003)
◦ Identify and prioritize United States critical infrastructure
and key resources
◦ Provide protection for them from terrorists
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34. 
HSPD 8: National Preparedness (2003)
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
National domestic all-hazards preparedness goal
Defines “first responder” to include emergency managers
Access to federal preparedness grants and information
Rapidly set equipment, training, and exercise standards
Annual status report of national preparedness
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35. 
HSPD 9: Defense of United States Agriculture and
Food (2004)
◦ Food safety
◦ Identify and prioritize sector-critical infrastructure and key
resources
◦ Develop early warning
◦ Mitigate vulnerabilities
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36. 
HSPD 10: Biodefense for 21st Century (2004)
◦ Comprehensive framework
◦ Federal agency roles and responsibilities

HSPD 11: Comprehensive Terrorist-Related
Screening Procedures (2004)
◦ Detect, identify, track, and interdict people, cargo,
conveyances

HSPD 12: Policy for a Common Identification
Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors
(2004)
◦ Government-wide standard for federal identification of
employees and contractors
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37. 
National Strategy for Homeland Security (2002)
◦ Direction to federal government
◦ Established strategic objectives
◦ Critical mission areas: intelligence and warning, border
and transportation security, domestic counterterrorism,
protecting critical infrastructure, defending against
catastrophic terrorism, emergency preparedness and
response
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38. 
NIMS’ Chapter III – “Preparedness cycle” that
includes:
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦

planning
training
equipping
exercising
evaluating
taking action to correct or mitigate
Groups must be multijurisdictional in nature
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39. 
National Strategy for the Physical Protection of
Critical Infrastructure and Key Assets (2003)
◦ Identify and assure protection of assets
◦ Specific initiatives - collaborative environment for
federal, state, and local governments and private sector
◦ Private sector must take a key part
39

40. 2006 Appropriations Act
 Secretary Chertoff’s “second stage review”
 Enacted October 18, 2005 (AFTER Hurricane
Katrina struck)
 Broke preparedness away from FEMA into new
Preparedness Directorate
 FEMA’s low point?

40

41. Congressional hearings on emergency
management failures during Hurricane Katrina
 Suggestions that military should be in charge of
disaster response
 Bills in Congress to restore FEMA
 Biggest Issue: Inside DHS or independent?

41

42. Congress sees benefits in emergency
management “all hazards” approach
 H.R.5441 2007 Appropriations Act resulted
 Title V of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6
U.S.C. 311 et seq.) amended
 HR 5441 Title VI `Post-Katrina Emergency
Management Reform Act of 2006'
 Direct result of lessons learned through
Hurricane Katrina

42

43. 503 b 1 FEMA PRIMARY MISSION- The
primary mission of the Agency is to reduce the
loss of life and property and protect the
Nation from all hazards, including natural
disasters, acts of terrorism, and other
man-made disasters , by leading and
supporting the Nation in a risk-based,
comprehensive emergency management
system of preparedness, protection, response,
recovery, and mitigation.
 Note that natural disasters now listed first

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44. Sec. 502 FEMA Administrator head of US
Emergency Management Authority
 Must have demonstrated 5 years leadership
experience (was emergency management and
homeland security)
 Presidential Signing Statement challenges
qualification requirements

44

45. Administrator is principal advisor to President,
Homeland Security Council, and DHS Secretary
for all emergency management issues in United
States
 After informing DHS Secretary, Administrator
may make recommendations to Congress
 President may designate FEMA Administrator
Cabinet status during natural disasters, acts of
terrorism, or other man-made disasters

45

46. Supervise grant programs
 Supervision of National Response Plan – NIMS
Center
 Supervision of credentialing – with EMAC
 Supervise plans for

◦ continuity of operations
◦ continuity of government; and
◦ continuity of plans
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47. We will explore these and many more relevant
issues in this class.
 Questions or comments?

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