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Lesson 6: Hazards: Mitigation/Prevention and Preparedness

Hazards

Bullock, Haddow, and Coppola (2013, p.58) use the National Governors Association's definition of a hazard:

A hazard is defined as a "source of danger that may or may not lead to an emergency or disaster" (National Governors Association, 1982), and it is named after the emergency/disaster that could be so precipitated. Each separate hazard is distinct and over the years a more specific definition has fallen into three groups; natural hazards, technological hazards and terrorist hazards.

Traditional Hazards vs. Terrorist-Related Hazards

Terrorism has introduced an expanded set of hazards, often referred to by the acronym CBRNE (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive). These hazards must now be planned for in concert with traditional natural and man-made hazards. The main differences between traditional hazards and terrorist related hazards are as follows:

  1. More is known about traditional hazards because of years of research, actual occurrence, and first-hand experience. Local and state first responders, emergency managers, and the public have learned how to mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from a whole host of recurring natural disasters including floods, earthquakes, forest fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, and new man-made accidents such as hazardous material spills. Specialized equipment, training protocols, and practice in conjunction with revised construction standards and community planning events have certainly been updated, in many instances in reaction to events (e.g., Hurricane Katrina).
  2. Terrorism in the United States has been a relatively recent phenomenon whereby individuals, organizations, or even nation states attempt to cause as much death and destruction as possible by finding weaknesses in local, state, or national security and emergency management procedures. The objective of terrorist violence is to ferment fear, panic, and distrust in government organizations with the hope of destabilizing civil society so as to advance their political, ideology, or religious agendas.

Reference

Bullock, J. A., Hoddow, G. D., & Coppola, D. P. (2013). Introduction to homeland security (4th ed.). Waltham, MA: Elsevier, Inc.


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