Managing a disaster is difficult and complicated but having access to social scientists can take some of the burden off the emergency manager. Learn how social scientists fit into emergency management and why they may be the most important tool an emergency manager can have in their toolbox.

Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on October 28th as a Category 5 hurricane, leaving devastation behind that’s “never been seen before.”

In an urban setting, interdependencies between complex infrastructure and utility systems can profoundly complicate response and recovery operations. Learn how geography, population, and resources impact emergency management in urban places.

The mechanics behind FEMA, its workforce, functions, budget, and ability to transfer payments, are all complicated by nuance during a shutdown.

Climate change is often cited as a key contributing factor to the rise in costly disasters over the past 40+ years, but less widely discussed is the role urban sprawl has to play. Learn how sprawl development increases the impact of disasters and how we can reduce our vulnerability.

It’s the last day of September, so we may as well jump right in…The moon is rusting, Imelda and Humberto are hanging just offshore, the entirety of New England is suffering worsening drought conditions, and wildfire smoke could kill 70,000 Americans by 2050.

While the sophistication of government action (and its attendant bureaucracy) is a rather recent development, the very concept of disaster response, hazard mitigation, and emergency management as components of a larger social contract can be seen throughout history.

Occasionally we run into news, research, case studies or other useful things we find worth sharing. Check out our inaugural wrap-up, which coincides with National Preparedness Month.

The Public Assistance (PA) program is FEMA’s largest and most crucial grant program, devoted to helping communities stabilize, maintain operations, and return to “normal” as quickly as physically possible after a disaster.

Following Superstorm Sandy, FEMA’s response came under fire for bureaucratic delays and general inefficiency. The Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013 (Pub.L. 113-2) was enacted to accelerate FEMA’s delivery of post-disaster recovery funds and streamline the agency’s grant application processes.