U.S. Emergency Management in the 21st Century: From Disaster to Catastrophe

Our understanding of hazards and disasters is rapidly changing, and it is unclear as to whether our existing management systems are adequate to adapt to current and future disasters. Thoroughly updated to include the latest research in the hazards and disasters field, U.S. Emergency Management in the 21st Century continues the tradition of giving readers access to exemplary case studies drawn from a wide variety of hazards and applied fields.

NEW TO THE SECOND EDITION

• Discussion on COVID-19 pandemic and the lacking local capacity for preparedness.
• “Forgotten” hazards (heatwaves and coldwaves) in Phoenix, AZ and Buffalo, N.Y
• New challenges in hurricane preparedness and response with rapid intensification.
• Changing cycles of water volume in the west resulting in storage emergencies.
• Cascading hazards and out-of-sight water crises in the Southwest
• Extreme precipitation resulting in flash flooding in Tennessee, New York City, Montana, and Vermont.
• Updated conclusion describing divergence between federal, state, and local emergency management concerns and priorities.
• A new co-editor, Melanie Gall, recognized for her teaching and scholarship on natural hazards and emergency management.

U.S. Emergency Management in the 21st Century remains an indispensable textbook on disaster case studies, emergency management policy and practice. An essential resource for students, public, and professionals alike.

Susan L. Cutter is Carolina Distinguished Professor at the University of South Carolina where she co-directs the Hazards Vulnerability and Resilience Institute. She is an internationally recognized scholar in the field, producing more than 13 books, and 200 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. She has led post-event field teams across a range of events from September 11th World Trade Center attack to Hurricane Katrina.

Melanie Gall co-directs the Center for Emergency Management and Homeland Security at Arizona State University. She operates the Spatial Hazard Events and Losses Database for the United States which provides the most comprehensive data on the monetary and human impacts of hazards accessible to the public. Her publications have appeared in journals such as Nature Climate Change, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, and Natural Hazards Review.

Claire B. Rubin has almost 40 years of experience in the field of emergency management, having worked as an independent researcher, academic, practitioner, and consultant. From 1998 to 2014, Ms. Rubin was affiliated with the Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She is the co-founder and former Managing Editor of The Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.