Unit 1: Foundational Concepts

In this unit, you will learn to identify natural hazard risks, to rank hazards in terms of event frequency and costs, and to use hazard management tools to evaluate preparedness for risk.

Homework before Class 1, Unit 1

To prepare for Unit 1, you should review the basic terms related to storm events included in the vocabulary document: Vocabulary of storms and storm systems (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 20kB Jul14 24); also available as a PDF (Acrobat (PDF) 95kB Jul14 24). This will be an important resource to keep handy throughout the module.

Unit 1.1

In the first class, you'll be reviewing Chapter II from Case Study - State of New Hampshire Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan 2013, which you'll use for an activity to learn about probability, frequency, and hazards.

Homework Unit 1.1

Before the next class, you will have homework to help you prepare for and conduct in groups a Hazard Vulnerability Assessment (HVA) for the city of New Orleans using the Kaiser Permanente Tool.

Materials:

• HVA Activity download available here HVA Activity (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 24kB Nov4 16); also available as a PDF (Acrobat (PDF) 83kB Nov4 16)
• Hazard Vulnerability Analysis Tool

Readings:

• [link http://web.archive.org/web/20161210012151/https://training.fema.gov/hiedu/aemrc/booksdownload/fem/ 'Fundamentals of Emergency Management'] by Lindell, Prater, and Perry
  • Chapter 5: Principle Hazards in the United States, pages 120-152;
  • Chapter 6: Hazard, Vulnerability and Risk, pages 153-191;
  • Chapter 7: Hazard Mitigation, pages 192-220.
• FEMA Plan Review for Local Mitigation Plans
• Also review local mitigation plans in the context of Hurricane Katrina, using:
• Hazard Mitigation Plan, City of New Orleans
• The Federal Response To Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned
• Chapter One: Katrina in Perspective
• Chapter Four: A Week of Crisis (August 29-September 5)
• Chapter Five: Lessons Learned

Unit 1.2

In is class, you will work in groups to begin a critical analysis of your assigned Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP). You will need to have access to the internet to start this work in class. Your instructor will let you know if you should bring a laptop or other wifi-enabled device to class. Based on your analysis, you will develop a Mitigation Proposal that addresses issues raised in your analysis. After starting the work in class, you will complete it for homework before the next class.

Additional Resources for Unit 1

You may wish to explore some of the concepts and ideas you are learning about in class even further! The below materials can provide you with greater detail about the hazards and weather events that you are studying.

• The Ready website provides emergency preparedness guidance from the US Department of Homeland Security. Its pages on planning and risk assessment can provide you with a broad overview of concepts that are needed to complete Unit 1 of the storm module.
• The Accuweather website provides location- and region-specific weather reports. In addition to written weather reports, the site provides details on weather alerts and videos. Read some of Accuweather's reports or watch videos to become familiar with weather-related vocabulary.
• FEMA, Mitigation Ideas: A Resource to Reducing Risk to Natural Hazards reviews different actions that can be taken to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to hazards.
• National Weather Service (NWS) Reference Guide is another resource to help you become familiar with weather-related vocabulary and concepts.