2883 Highway 71 E
P.O. Box 285
Del Valle, TX 78617-9998
Founded in 1998, Domestic Preparedness continues to be a pioneering thought leader in the emergency preparedness, response, and recovery space. The multidisciplinary editorial focus helps professionals acquire critical information to develop collaborative, real-world solutions. With relevant, multidisciplinary, whole-community intelligence from the front lines, practitioners can learn from diverse perspectives. The authoritative, practitioner-centered, multimedia information platform disseminates intelligence the way busy management-level public- and private-sector professionals want to learn. This is the trusted source for content written by practitioners, for practitioners, with relevant, real-world best practices.
2883 Highway 71E
P.O. Box 285
Del Valle, TX 78617-9998
Founded in 1998, Domestic Preparedness continues to be a pioneering thought leader in the emergency preparedness, response, and recovery space. The multidisciplinary editorial focus helps professionals acquire critical information to develop collaborative, real-world solutions. With relevant, multidisciplinary, whole-community intelligence from the front lines, practitioners can learn from diverse perspectives. The authoritative, practitioner-centered, multimedia information platform disseminates intelligence the way busy management-level public- and private-sector professionals want to learn. This is the trusted source for content written by practitioners, for practitioners, with relevant, real-world best practices.
Modern Responses to Today’s Disasters
Disaster plans of previous generations do not adequately reflect the risks, threats, and needs of modern society. Changing demographics, aging populations, and increasing natural and human-caused disasters each reinforce the need for emergency and disaster preparedness professionals to gain the knowledge and training needed to make informed decisions to mitigate threats and execute effective responses when mitigation is not enough.
In 2015, the U.S. Census estimated that 47.8 million people in the United States were at least 65 years of age. By the year 2060, that number is estimated to more than double. As the population ages, the potential for a spike in people with chronic illnesses also increases. These factors must be considered when developing emergency preparedness and response plans.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse reported that drug-related deaths have risen every year since 2002. As more synthetic drugs like K2 (Spice) and fentanyl permeate through communities, these numbers are likely to rise even more in 2019. In addition, people with drug addictions may pose threats to themselves and others. Such incidents raise additional concern and threaten the safety of not only the public, but also the emergency responders deployed to protect their communities.
Children – whether of the human or animal variety – are often not able to care for themselves. Past active shooter incidents have inspired some school-aged children to take action against school violence and encouraged advocates to push for more security and infrastructure protection. However, acts of violence like the mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue on 27 October 2018 continue to take the lives of innocent civilians and threaten the lives of those responding to the incident.
What each of these factors has in common is vulnerability – vulnerability of people and animals to protect themselves from risks and threats as well as the physical and psychological vulnerabilities of those tasked with responding to disasters. Addressing the challenges of current emergency preparedness and response environments requires a whole community approach, including collecting data, examining best practices, and analyzing potential effects of public safety threats. Emergency preparedness and response plans must continually be reviewed and updated to provide the most effective responses to today’s disasters.
Catherine L. Feinman
Catherine L. Feinman, M.A., joined Domestic Preparedness in January 2010. She has more than 35 years of publishing experience and currently serves as editor-in-chief of the Domestic Preparedness Journal, DomesticPreparedness.com, and The Weekly Brief. She works with writers and other contributors to build and create new content that is relevant to the emergency preparedness, response, and recovery communities. She received a bachelor’s degree in International Business from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a master’s degree in Emergency and Disaster Management from American Military University.
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