Emergency Response in California Essay Example

million for the funding of the earthquake early warning systems in the West Coast region which was over $3 million increase from the previous year. It has also been made clear that about $38.3 million and other $16.1 million will be required annually to make this process a success. This budget was majorly aimed at ensuring that the state puts in place enough infrastructure and strategies to help in averting such destructions in future.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) effectively responded to the earthquake ensuring that the recovery process was successful. This emergency body coordinated activities in the majorly affected areas effectively making sure that no much sufferings were felt. The body successfully implemented the Nation Response Plan ensuring that they overcome and substantially mitigated any operational challenges. Lastly they effectively partnered with the locals thus ensuring a coordinated resource utilization thus saving on the operation costs in several regions of the affected area. In February, 2015 FEMA allocated $3.4 million mainly for public assistance program and over $10.9 million set for individual assistance. However this body was faced with various challenges during its response to the earthquake since most of the region’s infrastructure had been damaged making accessibility a major challenge. Power lines, water mains and also gas lines and also the Napa Airport. All these pitfalls made it expensive to have the emergence responded at immediately. The fact that this earthquake was followed by severe fires brought about drought all over the state destabilizing the state’s resources. As a result of this California is now facing five consecutive droughts leading to the government authorizing $678 million to relief the citizens from the disaster (Grapenthin

Johanson & Allen, 2014).

In conclusion therefore it is necessary for the state to fully collaborate and enhancing its working with the FEMA so as to ensure that the necessary information pertaining disasters are responded to at the right time. Since the U.S. Geological Survey has financed four institutions to conduct research which will help in supporting the transition of the shakes and provision of early warning, this information needs to be disseminated to all the people in the state (Manoj &Baker, 2007). This can be done through civic education.

References

1. Grapenthin, R., Johanson, I., & Allen, R. M. (2014). The 2014 Mw 6.0 Napa earthquake, California: Observations from real?time GPS?enhanced earthquake early warning. Geophysical Research Letters, 41(23), 8269-8276.
2. Manoj, B. S., & Baker, A. H. (2007). Communication challenges in emergency response. Communications of the ACM, 50(3), 51-53.
3. Pepper, D. A., & Jocoy, C. L. (2013). A climatological analysis of emergency homeless shelter openings in Long Beach, California, USA. Applied Geography, 37, 168-175.