ER 110 - Introduction to Emergency Management

Credit Hours: 3

An introduction to the fundamentals of emergency management. The basic types of hazards threatening the United States are discussed and the differences between hazards, emergencies, and disasters are described. The many players involved in emergency management are identified; and their roles, responsibilities, and responses impacting the socio-economic effects of emergencies or disasters in their communities are examined. The activities required to build effective emergency management organizations and developing an emergency plan are presented. The perception of risk to environmental hazards and the protective action decision model are discussed in detailed. Hazard, vulnerability, and risk analysis concepts and methodologies are learned and applied to different scenarios. The four phases of emergency management: hazard mitigation, preparedness for emergency response, organizational emergency response, and disaster recovery are defined and analyzed. Emphasis is on all hazards for all government levels, business or industry, and nonprofit organizations across the four phases. A performance-based approach is utilized that allows the students to apply what they have learned at the ECC Multi-Scenario Simulator.

Course Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

identify and understand the types of hazards, emergencies, and disasters that impact a community;
explain the roles, responsibilities, and interrelationship among players involved in emergency management;
build an effective emergency management organization;
describe risk, how people perceive risk of environmental hazards, and how to take protective actions;
assess the pre-event conditions that produce disaster vulnerability within communities;
demonstrate an understanding of mitigation and the use mitigation strategies;
examine the functions of the community emergency response organization; and
describe and understand the activities during the recovery phase.

F (C, S)