Federal Response Measures to Natural Disasters

Abstract

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is developing a coordinated national plan for response, recovery, mitigation, and preparedness with respect to natural disasters. The program features a partnership between potential impact victims and various levels of government. Cooperation between FEMA and managers of museums and historic properties may be expected to occur as part of this program's operation. The FEMA program provides for the mobilization of a broad spectrum of federal resources following a major disaster. Before the event and in the hours after a disaster, however, building owners must take steps to minimize losses. The Southern California Earthquake Preparedness Project, in which a partnership between national response activities and local pre-disaster preparation is the cornerstone, is one example of such a step. This chapter describes the FEMA concept, a national coordinated plan for response to man-made and natural disasters, and presents the principal FEMA programs in the area of natural disasters. An explanation of the national disaster assistance system will show how local, state, and federal officials work together in time of a major natural disaster.