Emergency Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Emergency Management - Essay Example According to the Texas Impact (2008), at the time of the flood, â€Å"the ARC set up food and water stations, provided medical care, and established mass shelters to house the disaster victims.† Leading on from the performance of the American Red Cross in this disaster, it organization was granted a federal charter in 1900 by congress to provide support in time of disaster. A lot more non-governmental agencies and charity organizations were given similar recognition in major disasters such as â€Å"the Galveston Hurricane and Storm Surge in 1900, San Francisco Earthquake in 1906, the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, and the droughts of 1930-1931† (Texas Impact). Though the efforts of the non-governmental organizations were commendable, the task seemed just too much to be left to their care alone especially as government least supported them with funds (Sylves, 2008). Concerns were therefore raised in the mid 1900s as the situation was eventually curtailed in 1950 when congress passed what came to be known as the Federal Disaster Relief Program (FDP). The FDP transferred power to the president from congress. With this power, the president was then mandated to be the sole authority that could declare disaster. FEMA (2011) notes that the Stafford Act (1988) â€Å"constitutes the statutory authority for most Federal disaster response activities especially as they pertain to FEMA and FEMA programs.† The Stafford Act is quite limited in the kind of relief or support it can give out in time of a major disaster or an emergency (Meola, 2011). The first of these relief assistances is emergency work, which is carried out upon the instruction of the president. The emergency work includes such activities as clearing and removing debris, restoration of public facilities and freeing wreckage. The support also includes the provision of legal services, giving out unemployment assistance, giving out of food coupons for the onward