This document discusses risks to urban areas from natural disasters and terrorist attacks. It examines fragmentation across jurisdictions and sectors that can complicate response efforts. Case studies of Los Angeles and Biloxi describe their emergency management structures, past responses to disasters like wildfires and hurricanes, and efforts to improve preparation and coordination. Key challenges include communicating with diverse populations, intergovernmental cooperation, and rebuilding tax bases after major events.

1. Ashley Camper, Chakolca Rhodes, Aimee Vesitis

2. Risks to Urban Areas
 Natural disaster
 Terrorist Attack
 Determining an acceptable level of risk
 Magnification of urban environment

3. Fragmentation
 Jurisdictions
 Vertical
 Horizontal
 Overlapping missions/gaps
 Sectors
 Public
 Private
 Nonprofit

4. September 11th Response
 Creation of Department of Homeland
Security
 Movement of FEMA to DHS
 Political Implications

5. Hurricane Katrina Response
 Community Block Grants
 National Response Plan
 National Incident Response System
 National Preparedness Goal
 After-action reports - FEMA

6. Development of Local Plan
 Specific to possible threats
 Can be generalized to all threats
 Role of City Emergency Manager
 Vertical Integration
 Horizontal Integration
 “Point Person”

7. Los Angeles

8. Los Angeles
 3,694,820 residents
 Multiple languages are spoken
Los Angeles Race Percentage of
Population
White 46%
African American 11%
Asian 9%
American Indian & Alaska
Native
0.7%
Native Hawaiian & Pacific
Islander
0.1%
Other Race 25%

9. Los Angeles Preparation
 The City has a very diverse population,
therefore, communication is key
 Under their Emergency Management
Department, preparation materials are
available in different languages

10. Emergency Management
Department
 Coordinates the emergency
preparedness of all city departments.
 Coordinates the response and recovery
efforts during major disasters
 Eliminates confusion among
departments

11. Emergency Management
Department
 Provides definitions and descriptions of
natural disasters that occur in Los Angeles
 Provides information for citizen action in
the event of a terrorist attack
 Offers tips on how citizens should react to
disasters in different environments
 There are also annexes to the City of Los
Angeles Emergency Operations Master
Plan and Procedures that determine what
city departments have responsibility in the
event of a certain type of disaster.

12. Earthquake and Megacities
Initiative
 Los Angeles is partnered with this
international, non-profit, scientific
organization.
 They partner with megacities to develop
best practices for dealing with emergencies
and disasters
 Has four components
 Knowledge and practice
 Training and institutional strengthening
 Disaster risk assessment
 Development of a city-wide disaster risk
management master plan

13. Wildfires of October 2007
 A string of wildfires hit Southern California
in October of 2007.
 Five counties, including Los Angeles
County were affected
 Over 20,000 people from the area had to
be evacuated
 EMD coordinated the efforts of firefighters,
water dropping helicopters
and rescue shelters, among
others.

14. Wildfires of October 2007
 Intergovernmental assistance was
provided
 Former President Bush declared the
area a disaster
 FEMA paid 75 percent of the state’s
eligible firefighting costs.
 During rebuilding, citizens were urged to
use fire resistant materials.

15. Biloxi, Mississippi

16. Biloxi, Mississippi
 Population: 45,768
White alone - 26,343 (67.8%)
Black alone - 6,855 (17.6%)
Hispanic - 2,298 (5.9%)
Asian alone - 2,217 (5.7%)
Two or more races - 758 (2.0%)
American alone - 280 (0.7%)
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
alone - 92 (0.2%)
Other race alone - 22 (0.06%)

17. Biloxi’s Preparation
 With the city being prone to hurricanes
and a few other natural disaster;
residents in Biloxi have to take all proper
precautions.
 All of these efforts are directed at
preparing local communities with
effective planning tools utilizing an all
hazards approach.

18. Emergency Management
Agency
 The Mississippi Management Agency
prepares, trains, and respond to all
natural and man-made disasters that
occur in the state.

19. Emergency Management
Agency
 Provides training and courses for
individuals and groups to attend to learn
more about emergency preparedness.
 Offers several different prevention kits
for all different kinds of disasters.
 Disaster Recovery: for those who lost
their home or property in a storm
assistance is provided. (if approved by
FEMA)

20. Emergency Management
Agency
 Disaster Response: divided into the Operations and
Communications sections of MEMA, which jointly
operate as the state's 24-hour warning point.
 The Operations Section is responsible for
coordinating support for state and local response in
an all hazards concept
 The Communications Section is the designated state
warning point. Operating 24 hours a day, seven days
a week, the Communications Section has the
responsibility for alerting state and local officials to all
natural or man-made incidents throughout the state.

21. Hurricane Katrina 2005
 Hurricane Katrina
unleashed a fury of destruction
on South Mississippi and the
Gulf Coast.
 Hundreds of thousands of lives
were thrown into disarray.
 Mississippi’s hurricane preparedness set
the stage for the state’s post-Katrina
recovery, saving lives and serving the
immediate needs of those affected by the
storm.

22. Hurricane Katrina 2005
 Governor commissioned a Recovery,
Rebuilding, and Renewal program to help
rebuilding after Katrina.
 Intergovernmental assistance was provided
 Nearly 520,000 Mississippi families
registered for federal assistance with more
than $1.3 billion given to those residents
through the FEMA Individual Assistance
program.

23. Hurricane Katrina 2005
More Efforts in disaster response and
hazard mitigation took on major
initiatives.
 Increasing the capacity of state and
local emergency agencies, promoting
flood insurance coverage, and
mandating stronger building codes and
elevation requirements.

24. Best Practices
 Central point of information
 Decentralized decision making center
 Plan practiced frequently
 Personnel “borrowing”
 Formalized roles and responsibilities

25. Financial Context of Relief
 75% Federal
 18% State
 7% Local
 Depleted Tax Base
 Income
 Sales

26. Challenges in Completing the
Report
 Finding direct information for responses
to emergency situations by both Los
Angeles and Biloxi was difficult.
 Determining what information to include
regarding the Emergency Management
process of both cities was also
challenging.