ABSTRACT
Public Law 81-875 was designed to “provide an orderly and continuing means of assistance by the Federal Government to States and local governments in carrying out their responsibilities to alleviate suffering and damage resulting from major disasters,” and to “supplement the efforts and available resources of States and local governments.” Emergency response structures and measures are necessary for the two broad categories of disasters – natural and man-made – although the former can exacerbate the latter due to actions that humans take or fail to take. The quintessential responsibility of government is to protect its citizens from danger, and since the establishment of FEMA in 1979, the federal government has developed a network of national, state, and local government institutions to mitigate the impact of all types of disasters. The terms emergency, disaster, catastrophe, and hazard have been used interchangeably, often synonymously when referring to events that disrupt the normal functioning of communities, local and national.
