ABSTRACT
Thenext emergency is out there. There will be small isolated incidents such as a house —re to catastrophic disasters that affect multiple countries. If history is any indicator of the future, the future will present situationsthis generation has never experienced. The trend is toward more frequent and more expensive events occurring due to the socioeconomic and climatic changes occurring around the globe. Over the last 60 years, since 1950 there have only been 2 years-1952 and 1958-where there were no recorded natural catastrophes.1 At the same time, the world is trending toward mega-cities. This translates into more people living and working in smaller spaces closer together. This same population is increasingly dependent upon technology and power to facilitate the fast pace of living.
