ABSTRACT
The terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001 and the tragic consequences of Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005 were followed by significant attention to the national capacity to protect the American people from harm. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been the United States governments lead agency in responding to and recovering from many of the nations greatest moments of crisis. Throughout its history, FEMA has built upon the more than 200 years of federal involvement in disasters. In the May 21, 2013 US Statement to the Fourth Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva, Ambassador Betty E. King, US Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Other International Organizations, spoke about the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) and the upcoming HFA2, which are ten-year plans intended to make the world safer from natural hazards.
