Emerging issues in environmental disaster management Essay

Emerging issues in environmental disaster management - Essay Example The way the US Coast Guard was able to function in such times of emergency speaks for itself about the efficient organization and working system of the agency, and the impact it has had and will continue to have on the lives ofmillions of Americans.Disaster management is a system of relief operations carried out in lieu of any natural or human-afflicted disasters in the country. These operations can be carried out either before or after a disaster strikes. When they are carried before the calamity, they are in the nature of preparing the people for it, and often involve evacuating the pertinent area. In the case of post-disaster operations, they are mostly concerned with the relief and rehabilitation of the stricken area and people, and often involve medical and housing facilities, and the sheltering of the evacuees. Many agencies and organizations, both governmental and non- governmental, have to work in a highly coordinated manner to bring about these measures. There is a high leve l of internal and external organization in and among these organizations respectively to achieve a high degree of efficiency that is a prerequisite for emergency control and management. These organizations can be at city, state or federal level, depending upon the nature and the need of the agency, and also upon the scope and limits of its operations. This paper focuses on the United States Coast Guard and its workings. The United States Coast Guard had its inception on January 28, 1915. ... coasts and inland maritime region. Although originally operating under the Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard, under special circumstances, can also serve the Department of Defense and the Department of the Navy. It embodies the motto Semper Paratus, which means "Always Ready". History: the history of the United States Coast Guard can be divided into two broad factions; the early history, that is before the formal inception of the modern Coast Guard authority, and that of post-modern Coast Guard inception. The early history can be traced back to the 1970s. On the 4rth of August, 1970, the Tariff Act by the Congress authorized the construction of ten vessels, or cutters, with the recruitment of 100 revenue officers, to maintain US maritime laws in the waterways, coordinate the marine taxes and prevent smuggling. This service was known as the Revenue Cutter Service or the Revenue Marine. In 1915, when the Cutter Service was combined with the Life-Saving Service, the organization received the present name of the United States Coast Guard. At that point, it was the single service dealing with both the enforcement of law and the service of personal protection and life saving in the waterways. In 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt transferred the Lighthouse Service to the Coast Guard, so that now the Coast Guard had to carry out maritime navigation and the operation of the country's lighthouses along with its other jobs. But that