Overview

While most Americans associate the Department of Homeland Security with terrorism and the terrorist threat, DHS is actually responsible for the preparation for, the prevention of, the mitigation of, and the response to a much wider portfolio of hazards. In this two week lesson we will further examine the evolving definition of a “hazard” and the increased emphasis on establishing an “all-hazard” approach to combating those threats. 

Mitigation, prevention, and preparedness constitute three important prongs of our emergency management cycle with response and recovery completing the sequence. We will further examine the pre-event components and phases of disaster management during this lesson.

Since the 9/11 attack, DHS has created preparedness guidelines that provide support for developing and maintaining critical homeland security and emergency management capabilities for state and local governments. We will discuss these mitigation and preparedness programs in depth. 

Lesson Objectives

At the end of this lesson, students will be able to do the following:

• Better understand the definitions of mitigation, preparedness, and prevention.
• Discuss the major differences between traditional hazards (hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, hazardous material incidents) and the relatively new hazards associated with terrorism.

Lesson Readings & Activities

By the end of this lesson, make sure you have completed the readings and activities found in the Course Schedule.