ABSTRACT
Emergency management is the term commonly used in the United States, Australia, Canada, and some other English-speaking nations. It is called crisis management in Europe and disaster management in India and within the United Nations and other international organizations. Emergency management practitioners and scholars frequently use stereotypical air raid warden or civil defense coordinator as a reference point in describing how far the profession and practice of emergency management have come in last half century. The phases or functions of emergency management are mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. The civil defense stereotype also provides a reference point for the changes in the profession of emergency management. Emergency management is like other policy areas. Issues arise, often borne of crisis, and policies may change. Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) was created as an agreement among southern states after Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and was opened to all states and territories in 1995 and chartered by Congress in 1996.
