Emergency Planning and Preparedness

Catalog description

This course uses real-world disaster planning strategies and structures to prepare students for roles encompassing the construction of community or organizational disaster-preparedness programs. Various types of threats and hazards to communities and organizations will be studied. Using a scenario-based approach, students will examine existing real-world planning strategies intended to prevent or mitigate the consequences of a disaster event on communities. Students will use the latest guidelines and strategies from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Emphasis is on assessing risk, threats, and vulnerabilities to safeguard against disaster incidents. Emphasis will be on using FEMA systems and tools to assess and construct community disaster preparedness plans. Topics include: all aspects of the all hazards analysis, proper emergency management program building, including the use of community working groups, The National Preparedness System, the National Incident Management System, resilience planning, the whole community concept, the construction of community emergency management plans with FEMA standards, and roles and responsibilities of local, state, and federal government. Students who have completed this course will be well-prepared to plan and prepare for different types of emergencies, using the same FEMA guidelines and tools for disaster planning and program building currently in use by emergency managers throughout the county.