Local emergency management systems in the United States and Korea

Kyoo-Man Ha, PhD, CEM; Ji-Young Ahn, MD

doi:10.5055/jem.2010.0020

Authors

Kyoo-Man Ha, PhD, CEM
Ji-Young Ahn, MD

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.2010.0020

Keywords:

local emergency management, the United States, Korea

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to contribute to emergency management by systematically comparing the similarities and differences between the United States and Korean local emergency management systems and subsequently drawing related inferences. For this purpose, three major factors have been carefully compared: (1) local government and policy, (2) home and strategy, and (3) volunteers and activity in the two nations. The major tenets of this article are as follows: the United States has been managing local emergencies more comprehensively than Korea, although the United States has had its share of failures. Also, more American homeowners establish and practice family emergency plans. On the other hand, in Korea, the local government should try to deal with all types of emergencies. It is necessary for Korean homeowners to set up and practice emergency plans, recognize the different types of emergencies, and learn how to deal with them by incorporating interdisciplinary studies. In addition, volunteers should receive further systematic training in the communities, and at the same time the correlation between the extent of government support and the level of voluntary activity should be utilized.

Author Biographies

Kyoo-Man Ha, PhD, CEM

Senior Researcher, National Institute for Disaster Prevention, National Emergency Management Agency of Korea, Mapo-Gu, Korea.

Ji-Young Ahn, MD

Adjunct Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, Seoul-Paik Hospital, Jung-Gu, Seoul, Korea.

References

Federal Emergency Management Agency: An In-Depth Guide to Citizen.Washington, D.C.: FEMA, 2004.

Mileti DS: Disasters by Design. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press, 1999.

Federal Emergency Management Agency: Protecting your home or small business from disaster.Washington, D.C.: FEMA, 2005.

National Emergency Management Agency: The White Paper for Firefighting and Civil Engineering (written in Korean). Seoul: National Emergency Management Agency of Korea, 2007.

Federal Emergency Management Agency: Principles of Emergency Management.Washington, D.C.: FEMA, 2006-2.

Alexander D: Principles of Emergency Planning and Management. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Federal Emergency Management Agency: A Citizen’s Guide to Disaster Assistance.Washington, D.C.: FEMA, 2003.

Federal Emergency Management Agency: Emergency Manager: An Orientation to the Position.Washington, D.C.: FEMA, 2007-1.

Federal Emergency Management Agency: Hazardous Materials Prevention.Washington, D.C.: FEMA, 2007-2.

Baker F: Fireground strategies & tactics. Prof Saf. February 2008: 20-31.

Ventura County Sheriff’s Department: The website of Office of Emergency Services. Available at http://www.vcsd.org/oes/index.html. Accessed June 4, 2008.

Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office: Emergency management. Available at http://www.wcso.org/emergency-management.html. Accessed June 4, 2008.

Choi Y-H: A study on the effectiveness of pre-disaster management system of local governments (written in Korean). Korean Law Stud. 2005; 20: 675-695.

Gangneung Fire Station: The website of Gangneung fire station. Available at http://www.gn119.go.kr/. Accessed June 5, 2008.

Cho H-D: A study on the police role of disaster management (written in Korean). J Korean Assoc Public Safety Criminal Justice. 2005; 20: 473-502.

Gentile A: Giving notice. Am City County. 2007; 122: 40-44.

Wiley MK: Fire drills for your home: Do you have an escape plan? Mobility Forum. September/October 2007: 24-25.

Baeg G-Y: Planning on urban disaster prevention (written in Korean). Chungbuk Report. 2001; 8): 6-13.

Lee D-G: Evaluating fire and disaster service administration from customers satisfaction (written in Korean). J Korean Assoc Local Govern Stud. 2006; 18: 105-124.

National Institute for Disaster Prevention: Emergency Management in Korea (unofficial document and written in Korean). Seoul: NIDP, 2009.

Federal Emergency Management Agency: The Role of Voluntary Agencies in Emergency Management.Washington, D.C.: FEMA, 1999.

Federal Emergency Management Agency: Developing and Managing Volunteers.Washington, D.C.: FEMA, 2006-1.

Federal Emergency Management Agency: Introduction to CERT. Washington, D.C.: FEMA, 2007-3.

Lee W-K: A study on volunteer service local governance in the local government (written in Korean). J Korean Assoc Local Govern Stud. 2007; 19: 157-176.

National Emergency Management Agency: The website of the National Emergency Management Agency of Korea (written in Korean). Available at http://www.nema.go.kr. Accessed February 2, 2009.

Ha K-M, Ahn J-Y: Developing voluntary agencies in emergency management: The United States and Korea. J Emerg Manage. 2008-1; 6: 39-50.

Kwon T-H, Oh K-H: Disaster resistant community approach and community-based autonomous disaster-prevention organization toward sustainable community development (written in Korean). J Korean Assoc Policy Sci. 2006; 10: 151-170.

Huh Y-J: Problems in toxic materials information systems for disasters and mass casualties in Korea (written in Korean). J Korean Soc Emerg Med. 2007; 18: 443-449.

Ha K-M: Emergency management in Korea: Just started, but rapidly evolving. Comparative Emergency Management Book Project. Available at http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/CompEmMgmt BookProject.asp. Accessed August 1, 2009.

Ha K-M, Ahn J-Y: National emergency management systems: The United States and Korea. J Emerg Manage. 2008-2; 6: 31-44.

Hyer K, Polivka-West L, Brown LM: Nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Disasters Old Adults.Winter 2007-2008: 29-33.

Bachman EG:Volunteer Hazmat response. Fire Eng. September 2008: 16-20.

Peters WC: The importance of training highlighted in aerial waterway fatality. Fire Eng. June 2008: 47-54.