ABOUT FEMA
Both nature and mankind can be incredibly dangerous, and they can create immense disasters that can threaten millions of lives. When those disasters happen within the United States of America, a state governor can ask for the assistance of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA.
FEMA is tasked with preventing and responding to natural and man-made disasters on U.S. soil. In addition to operating response teams themselves, they assist in training state, tribal,
and community-based teams to handle disasters in their respective areas. Since FEMA only needs to be called in when local and state resources prove insufficient, FEMA promotes disaster competency among other emergency services and agencies. This is a key part of FEMA’s mission, and it ensures that both citizens and first responders have the level of expertise necessary to contain disasters, while being aware of and protected against threats to themselves.
Similarly, when they are called in to assist with disaster responses, they work with local and state authorities to handle problems. They are often tasked with assisting these agencies rather than commandeering the relief efforts themselves. For specialized and extremely dangerous situations, such as those involving nuclear, biological, and chemical threats, FEMA can dispatch specially-trained operatives who are very capable of containing and resolving such threats.
History
Created in 1978, FEMA is the descendant of many older agencies and measures that were established to prevent and address natural and man-made disasters. One of the oldest of such measures was the 1803 legislation established in New Hampshire in the wake of a devastating fire. One of the earliest agencies to be created was the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, which was a 1932 response to the Great Depression. In the midst of the Cold War, civil defense and disaster control became consolidated into the same entity: FEMA. Since the end of the Cold War, the agency has been able to move away from defense concerns and has focussed more closely on natural disasters. This is not to say that FEMA doesn’t take potential attacks very seriously; terrorist attacks, whether conventional, biological, chemical, or nuclear, are key concerns for FEMA.
Department of Homeland Security
Due to their involvement in counter-terrorism and disaster prevention, FEMA was absorbed into the Department of Homeland Security in 2003. This move has increased FEMA’s access to information regarding terrorist threats, increasing their capacity to prevent and respond to such threats. The absorption has not transformed FEMA into a terrorism-centered agency; it has simply increased its efficiency in dealing with such potential disasters.
Wherever disaster strikes in the United States, there will be a need for a coordinated and effective response. The mission of FEMA is to provide excellent response capabilities to as many other agencies and institutions as is necessary to minimize damage and loss of life from disasters. They keep both citizens and first responders prepared for the worst, while remaining
ever ready to step in and get their hands dirty no matter how catastrophic the disaster.
Contact FEMA:
