With President Carter’s 1979 Executive Order, a new FEMA was officially established. Organizational charts depict FEMA’s absorption of the Federal Insurance Administration, the National Fire Prevention and Control Administration, the National Weather Service Community Preparedness Program, the Federal Preparedness Agency of the General Services Administration, and the Federal Disaster Assistance Administration activities from HUD. Civil Defense responsibilities were also transferred to FEMA from the Defense Department’s Defense Civil Preparedness Agency (http://www.fema.gov)/

Contemporary organizational schematics reflect the evolution of FEMA in terms of substantive functional realignments. The present organization provides for: Regional Operations; Readiness, Response and Recovery; Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration; U.S. Fire Administration; External Affairs; Information Technology Services; Operations Support; and Preparedness and Training. 
 

· FEMA Reorganization of 1993. 

The Loma Prieta Earthquake in 1989 and Hurricane Andrew in 1992 placed FEMA in the national spotlight. In 1993, President Clinton nominated James Lee Witt as the new FEMA Director. Witt was the first FEMA Director with extensive experience as a state emergency manager. He became an activist in terms of wide sweeping reform within the agency. Witt’s focus was upon preparedness, mitigation, and customer focus. He streamlined disaster relief and recovery operations. With the end of the Cold War, Witt was able to divert resources from civil defense to disaster relief, recovery, and mitigation programs. The Great Midwest Flood of 1993 and the Northridge Earthquake of 1994 put the “new” FEMA to the test. The success of FEMA in responding to these disasters was recognized in the President’s 1995 “State of the Union” address (www.fema.gov) 
Congress passed the Hazard Mitigation and Relocation Act of 1993, following the Midwest flood disaster. This allowed FEMA to reduce flood risk by increasing funds for hazard mitigation. FEMA could purchase 10,000 homes and businesses in the Midwest floodplains (Source: FEMA, 1999. History of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Washington, D.C.) 

· FEMA Reorganization of 2001.

On February 15, 2001, Joe Allbaugh received Senate confirmation as President Bush’s choice for the Director of FEMA. Allbaugh served as National Campaign Manager for Bush-Cheney, Inc. He had previously served as Chief of Staff for Governor George Bush W. in Texas. Mr. Allbaugh has not had any experience in areas of crisis, emergency, or disaster management.

In a speech presented to the National Emergency Management Association on September 10, 2001, Mr. Allbaugh emphasized three important areas of focus for his organization: (1) Firefighters; (2) Disaster Mitigation; and (3) Catastrophic Preparedness. The issue of catastrophic preparedness has given a new prioritization to FEMA.

· State Organizations.

State Emergency Management Agencies can be located under http://www.fema.gov/. By accessing the Global Emergency Management System (GEMS) within the FEMA site, all state agencies are described, with essential contact numbers and web sites.

The Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) is used as an example of a “typical” state agency for explanatory purposes. MEMA is responsible for coordinating State responses to emergencies and disasters. It has the responsibility of coordinating assistance with FEMA, when appropriate. MEMA is organized within the State Department of Military Affairs, and may answer directly to the Governor in an emergency situation. 

MEMA derives its authority from the Annotated Code of Maryland. The Code authorizes the political subdivisions of the State to create their own emergency management offices.

The MEMA staff consists of 40 emergency management personnel. The Agency coordinates various federal programs. A few of the divisions of the agency are: Plans; Operations; Public Information; and Communications. The Communications Division maintains telecommunications between the State EOC and local governments, the federal government, weather services, and other agencies. MEMA also oversees and coordinates a “Rapid Response Team.”

· Local Organizations.

County and parish emergency management organizations throughout the United States can be located in http://www.fema.gov/. In essence, a majority of these agencies are organized pursuant to State code. They form an integral part of the State emergency management structure. 

· FEMA Regional Offices.

There are 10 regional agencies under the FEMA structure. These agencies provide services and response to the states and territories of the United States.

An example of a FEMA Region would be Region III, which serves Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, District of Columbia, and Virginia. Within the Office of the Regional Director are divisions responsible for Flood Insurance and Mitigation; Readiness, Response and Recovery; and Administration and Resource Planning. Region III works in consonance with the states’ emergency management agencies in the areas of disaster response and recovery.

·  United States Humanitarian Assistance Programs.

A diverse range of programs that focus upon humanitarian aid and assistance exist within parameters of government services in the United States.  Examples of such efforts are the Peace Corps, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), The Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance, the Global Corps, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Key cites for reference are http://www.peacecorps.gov/, http://www.globalcorps.com/, http://www.usaid.gov/, http://www.cdc.gov/. 

· National, Provincial, and Municipal Organizations in Other Countries.

The Global Emergency Management System (GEMS) is a FEMA sponsored service that lists federal emergency management agencies outside the United States. By accessing each site, a plethora of local and provincial organizations can be identified. The Encyclopedia of Associations (37th Edition), International Associations (37th Edition), and the Encyclopedia of Governmental Advisory Associations (16th Edition) are resources that list and identify all such organizations.

Included in the “GEMS” listing of international federal emergency management organizations are: Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency, EMERCOM (Russian Federation), Emergency Management Australia (EMA), Emergency Preparedness Canada, Home Office Emergency Planning Division (UK), Hong Kong Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD), Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management (New Zealand), New Zealand Earthquake Commission, Singapore Civil Defense Force, and the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate ( www.fema.gov ). 

· Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).

The so-called “third sector” organizations, or NGOs, are a key ally in the promotion of disaster resilient communities worldwide. In the USA alone, the Third Sector has operating expenditures in excess of $600 billion.
 

References include: Paterson, Robert. 1998. “The Third Sector: Evolving Partnerships in Hazard Mitigation,” in Cooperating With Nature: Confronting Natural Hazards With Land-Use Planning for Sustainable Communities, Raymond J. Burby, Editor, Washington, D.C. (Joseph Henry Press); Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado (Boulder); U.S. EPA, Office of Water, 1993. Using Non Profit Organizations to Advance Estuary Program Goals, EPA 842-B-093-008. Washington, D.C. (EPA)