Emergencies across the Globe

Utilize external resources such as online searches, journals, texts, and archived newspapers in answering these question sets. Be sure to give proper attribution by referencing and citing any borrowed work that you utilize in answering these question sets and follow the MLA or APA style for your works cited page and in-text citations. Utilize 12 point font, preferably Times New Roman or Arial. Your work should be single spaced and your ideas broken up into appropriate paragraphs. You may use 1 inch margins all around. There are 5 broad question sets that need to be answered. Utilize approximately 1 to 1 1/2 pages worth of material for each question set; therefore your assignment should be about 5 to 7 1/2 pages in length.

Emergencies across the Globe

On December 26, 2004, an earthquake estimated to be of the magnitude 9.2 happened under the Indian Ocean. The resulting tsunami crashed along the coasts of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand. The most destruction was caused in Indonesia where hundreds of thousands were killed. It is estimated that over 230,000 people were killed as the result of this earthquake and resulting tsunami. Many classify this as the worst and most deadly natural disasters in recorded history. The United States, along with many other nations played a vital part in the emergency response. Teams from the United States were flown into the area with cadaver search dogs and search and rescue teams. More than $14 Billion US Dollars was donated from around the world. The UN (United Nations) also played a large part in the response and relief effort.

On January 12, 2010, an earthquake estimated at the strength of 7.0 occurred under the small and economically undeveloped nation of Haiti. Many of the buildings had subpar building standards and simply crumbled under the impending stress. Estimates have ranged widely but it is believed that upwards of 220,000 people were killed as a result of the initial earthquake and aftershocks, with many more injured. The major damage and devastation was experienced in Port-au-Prince. There was a huge response form United States emergency management teams, as the Haitian government was ill prepared for such a catastrophe. The American Red Cross sent many volunteers to help out as well. Even the U.S. Navy played a direct role in moving badly injured survivors to American based hospitals. The United States pledged $100 Million US Dollars towards the relief efforts. In all, over $5.3 Billion US Dollars have been pledged to the Haitian people.

On April 20, 2010, an explosion occurred at the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico near the Mississippi River Delta in the United States. The explosion caused a major fire that engulfed the drilling rig, killing many of the oil workers and causing it to collapse into the water. This caused a massive oil leak that eventually would spew oil unchecked for over three months. The total amount of oil that was leaked is estimated at around 4.9 million barrels, making it the largest marine oil spill in history. The Louisiana and Mississippi fishing communities were devastated by this tragic event. The US Government specifically blamed BP (British Petroleum) as the party responsible for the events that led to explosion, by cutting corners on costs and not taking safety as seriously as they should have. BP is responsible for all costs incurred in cleaning up the affected areas and other costs associated with the event.

On March 11, 2011, a huge earthquake took place off the east coast of Japan. The epicenter was approximately 81 miles off coast and 20 miles in depth. The earthquake was of at least the strength 9.0. The earthquake caused a devastating tsunami wave that crashed violently into Japan. Some of the waves were over 30 feet tall and some traveled as far as 6 miles inland. Up to 20 other nations issued evacuation orders. Thousands of individuals were killed, mostly from the rushing water that swept away entire buildings. Over 100,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed. The loss of electricity caused a shutdown of the water cooling pumps at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. This eventually led to a buildup of hydrogen gas that exploded and destroyed some of the containment walls around the nuclear generators. The military helped in pouring sea water from helicopters onto the nuclear generators to prevent a total nuclear meltdown. The fire department members even risked their lives by spraying the generators with water hoses. Nuclear fallout was still released into the air because of the damaged containment vessels. Many people were treated for high nuclear radiation exposure levels. The US Navy helped ferry in and out supplies. US nuclear experts acted as consultants on best practices in handling the nuclear situation. Thousands of volunteers from the US went to Japan to help out. Insured losses were initially estimated at over $30 Billion US Dollars. This incident should also be taken more seriously because on August 23, 2011 there was an earthquake that happened in Louisa, Virginia in the United States and the North Anna Nuclear Generating Station was located only 10 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake.

As has been described from the scenarios above, international catastrophes are increasingly taking on global implications. No longer are nations unaffected by disasters in neighboring countries. Citizens living abroad and the prevalence of instant global communications have made the world “smaller”. What touches one country touches another. It is almost like the entire world as a whole is one body, and this body “feels” when one part of it is affected, so that no single part of the world is fully insulated. We are also seeing this trend play out with the fact that ISIS/ISIL can affect politics in Europe through their terror campaign.

Questions

1) Given that crises around the world are having more international stakes, should United States emergency management professionals be placing more emphasis on training how to respond to global catastrophes that may take place abroad?

2) What are some of the many ways United States emergency management teams could respond effectively to international disasters? What are some important considerations they should take into account?

3) List and describe some past international disasters where United States emergency management teams played a vital part in responding to and recovering from.

4) What is the likely future of International Disaster Management? Is this area likely to grow in importance? What are some future technologies that could affect International Disaster Management?

5) Is there a conceivable type of disaster that could happen here in the United States whereby we would be in dire need of international assistance to respond to and recover from? What are some theoretical scenarios that could happen here in the United States that would overwhelm our emergency management abilities and necessitate the call for assistance from other nations?