You have held the full-time role of Emergency Manager for the City of Paradise (a fictional city) located somewhere in Arizona for the last two years. The City of Paradise is a community of 500,000 people and contains within its boundaries a local community college, a hospital and six urgent care centers, fifteen parks, a wastewater treatment facility, two transit stations, one public works facility, one public library, a main police station and three police substations, five fire stations, the city hall building, two city office buildings, three city parking garages, a town lake and two public outdoor amphitheatres.
The city has just experienced an unexpected and unusual storm that dropped thirty-six inches of rain in under twenty-four hours causing severe flooding and damage throughout the city. Neighborhoods and residents’ homes have experienced various levels of flooding and damage. In addition several city buildings, including the newly renovated library, two police substations, the third floor of city hall and one of the transit stations has also experienced various levels of flooding and damage, as have several city streets. The newly elected mayor, who has only been mayor for five days and has only lived in the city for six months, has been out of the city arriving back one hour after the storm has passed and the rains have ceased. Upon arriving back in the city the mayor calls you and summons you to his office immediately. Although you are in the middle of disaster response and recovery activities, upon receiving the mayor’s phone call you go to the mayor’s office.
Once you are in the mayor’s office it is apparent to you that the mayor is very distressed about this disaster and wants answers now! As a newly elected mayor and newcomer to the city the mayor is unaware of the city’s disaster plan or how it manages disaster recovery. First and foremost the mayor wants to know what disaster recovery assistance is available to individuals and the city for recovery efforts, in particular for homeowners whose homes have flooded and experienced structural damage, and for the public facilities that have flooded and experienced structural damage. In addition to your verbal responses the mayor has asked you to submit a four to five page report responding to his questions and concerns regarding disaster recovery assistance available to individuals and the city by 5:00 p.m. today.
To complete this four to six (4-6) page case study analysis report you will need to demonstrate how you would respond to the mayor’s concerns regarding disaster recovery assistance as it pertains to this case study by submitting the four to five page report the mayor has requested. Responding to the mayor’s questions and concerns in the four to five page report requires that you carefully consider all of the concepts and material you have learned in this course, (you may find Chapters 8 and 9 as well as the ADRF reading helpful in responding to this assignment) as well as include any of your own personal professional experiences (if any) you have that relate to this case study, and then determine how you will utilize what you have learned in this course, along with your own professional knowledge.
Your written response to the mayor’s questions and concerns (and for this assignment) must demonstrate critical thinking, be well thought out, detailed, specific, logically support your viewpoint and demonstrate your understanding of course readings to date and how you applied them when completing the report (this assignment). In addition, because this is a course assignment you will need to reflect upon and reference/incorporate course readings in order to demonstrate your understanding of course readings, and to validate your analysis, opinions and response to the mayor. (In an actual response to the mayor you would more than likely not include these sources however this is a course assignment!)
Following are some thoughts to guide you in preparing the report to the mayor (this assignment). When you submit your report/assignment it is recommended that you use subheadings in your report (assignment) to ensure clarity and conciseness, which the mayor desires. In drafting your report (assignment) you will want to consider the following:
Based on this scenario and what you know (either through course materials, your own experiences and/or your own thorough research into this subject) thoroughly yet succinctly explain to the mayor the different types of disaster recovery assistance available for this disaster (the case study), paying specific attention to federal and state assistance, and how the city and homeowners can access this disaster recovery assistance. Remember, at a minimum the mayor will need to know (this means that you should prepare your report and response to this assignment in a manner that responds to these questions):
The specific types of disaster recovery assistance available for the city and homeowners provided by the state(s) and federal government. You can also mention assistance provided by NPO and private sector as well. You will need to be very clear on the types of assistance, the purpose of the assistance and who provides the assistance
The process for obtaining this assistance, in particular, the role the governor/state and/or mayor/city has in obtaining this disaster recovery assistance (e.g. what, if any action does the mayor/governor need to take in order to obtain federal aid?) for the city and/or city residents to obtain this government assistance? How will citizens access this aid (e.g. does the federal government have a process?). Describe what, if any, documentation is needed by the city and individuals to obtain this assistance (e.g. damage assessments and the relationship to obtaining funds, etc.) You need to be very clear on the process required of the city and individuals to access this assistance, including what if any documentation the city and/or individuals will need to provide to obtain this disaster recovery assistance
What role does personal insurance play in disaster recovery assistance for individuals? Is personal insurance important for individuals to have when disaster strikes?
Will the city (and/or state) and/or individuals be expected to contribute any financial dollars (e.g. a cost-share of sorts) to obtain this disaster recovery assistance. How is this determined, in particular if the city receives public assistance? For example, if the city’s need is determined to be $500,000 for recovery does the federal government provide the full $500,000, or is the city/state expected to contribute something towards the total need? And if the federal government does not cover the full $500,000 who is responsible (e.g. city, state, individual) for the remaining funds?
Any other information regarding disaster recovery assistance available to individuals and the city can you share with the mayor that you believe would be of interest to him or her
In this assignment (report) make sure to include specific examples/details to explain the disaster recovery assistance available and the process to obtain it. In addition, remember you will need to reflect upon and reference/incorporate course readings in order to demonstrate your understanding of course readings, and to validate your analysis and/or opinions. (While an actual report to the mayor would most likely not incorporate course readings this is a course assignment!)
A few tips/suggestions regarding this assignment/case study report:
The purpose of this case study is to provide you with experience in preparing reports for elected officials. Thus, if you are not familiar with proper etiquette when communicating with an elected official you will need to research this. At a minimum you will need to properly address the report to the mayor, for example ‘Dear Mr. Mayor:’
Write in a clear, concise and well organized manner
Remember you are writing the report for a lay person who is not familiar with emergency management recovery and that most elected officials do not want to spend a lot of time reading materials so it is essential that your report is concise while still providing the mayor with the essential information he needs to communicate with the press and/or citizens
You will also want to include an introductory sentence or two as well, such as, ‘Per your request I am providing you with a response to your questions concerning our recent disaster, the different types of disaster recovery assistance and how to access it,’ or something similar in your own words. The purpose of this introductory sentence is to let the mayor know that you will be responding to his request in the report
The mayor (and this assignment) asks for information on the different types of disaster recovery assistance (not all aspects of disaster recovery). This is a particular aspect of our readings and you will want to pay close attention to the readings in order to appropriately respond to this assignment
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