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Hello Lucien,
Welcome to the May edition of Emergency Management Solutions.
While most people are looking forward to the pleasures of summer vacations, emergency managers in the Unites States Atlantic coast are preparing for hurricane season which begins on June 1. Typhoon season in the Pacific follows soon after on July 1. Climate change means that storms will be more frequent and deadly than those of the past.
In a report issued in April, researchers at Colorado State University predicted above-average activity in the Atlantic owing to warmer than normal temperatures and possible return of El Niño conditions. Researchers estimate there is:
- a 33% chance that a major hurricane will hit somewhere along the Gulf Coast, from the Florida panhandle to Brownsville, Texas
- a 51% chance of landfall somewhere along the entirety of the United States coast,
- a 46% chance that at least one hurricane will hit within 50 miles of Louisiana
- a 18% chance of at least one major storm making landfall within 50 miles of Louisiana.
Scientists at the National Tropical Weather Conference said they expect the season to produce 17 named storms, including nine hurricanes. Four of those are expected to develop into major hurricanes of Category 3 strength or above. Things are unusually quiet in the Pacific now, but it is literally the calm before the storm.
At this critical time, it is disturbing that the Republican administration is "considering" whether FEMA should be changed or eliminated. My article this month discusses why I think the decision was already made in 2024 and we're just going through the motions.
Tim Riecker is on hiatus this month, so I've chosen to reprint his recent article on the future of the emergency management system in the United States. I think it is an important article that considers the impact of some of the proposed changes on local emergency management programs. Please read it if you haven't already and, if you have, it's definitely worth a reread.
Be well!
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Canton on Emergency Management
By Lucien G. Canton, CEM
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Is FEMA A "Dead Man Walking?"
On May 7, the Acting FEMA Administrator, Cameron Hamilton, appeared before the House Appropriations Committee. Hamilton has few qualifications for the job beyond loyalty to the President. So, it came as a stunning surprise when he praised the FEMA staff as “one of the greatest workforces in the entire federal government” and provide a realistic appraisal of needed improvements in the agency. When questioned about the possibility of eliminating FEMA, he replied, “As the senior advisor to the President on disasters and emergency management, and to the Secretary of Homeland Security, I do not believe it is in the best interest of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency.” Hamilton made it clear that this was his recommendation and that the decision about FEMA’s continued existence was not his to make but rather the responsibility of the President and Congress.
Cameron Hamilton was fired on May 8.
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© 2025 - Lucien G. Canton
Lucien Canton is a management consultant specializing in helping managers lead better in a crisis. He is the former Director of Emergency Services for San Francisco and the author of the best-selling Emergency Management: Concepts and Strategies for Effective Programs used as a textbook in many higher education courses.
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The Contrarian Emergency Manager
By Timothy "Tim" Riecker
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The Future of the US Emergency Management System
It’s been a stressful time for emergency management as of late. Obviously, a lot of attention is focused on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and its unknown future. This unknown future stems from criticisms of efficiency and effectiveness, and accusations of fraud. Some have said FEMA is a bloated, overly bureaucratic agency that isn’t agile enough to have optimal efficiency. While some claims may have substantial truth to them, other claims are exaggerated, while some have been proven false. Changes are being enacted, discussed, and speculated.
A council is being formed to advise on the future of FEMA, but changes are already occurring. The National Advisory Council has been disbanded; FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute and partner National Fire Academy have had their operations suspended pending a review of curricula (by who and for what seems to be unknown); employees have been laid off; documents and other information have been removed from the FEMA website; and orders are in place to remove all references to certain concepts and programs related to things such as climate change and equity – which are relevant and important to what we do.
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© 2025 - Timothy Riecker, CEDP
Used with Permission
Tim Riecker is a founding member, partner and principal consultant with Emergency Preparedness Solutions, LLC, a private consulting firm serving government, businesses, and not for profit organizations in various aspects of emergency and disaster preparedness.
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Acting FEMA Administrator Cam Hamilton Testifies Before The House Appropriations Committee
This is the hearing that resulted in the firing of Cameron Hamilton as Acting FEMA Administrator. While the entire hearing has some interesting information about the direction he wanted to take FEMA, the fireworks start at 1:08.40 and is worth watching.
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Disaster Researchers for Justice
Currently, there is no group of disaster scholars organized for the purpose of actively engaging with practitioners and policymakers. Nor is there an established channel for disaster scholars to voice their concerns over imminent hazards and failed disaster responses and recoveries. There is no centralized effort for scholars who wish to partner in solidarity with activist groups and networks, or to speak out with a united voice against all disaster-related injustices. Disaster Researchers for Justice (DRJ) is formed to address these needs. To achieve this DRJ seeks to serve as a space for global affinity groups aligned towards disaster justice.
Emergency Management Network
Emergency Management Network is an independent media organization dedicated to unlocking the knowledge of experts for the public good. We publish trustworthy and informative content in multiple media formats by emergency management experts for the profession and the general public.
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Conferences and Webinars
June 3-4, 2025
Virtual Conference
The Emergency Management Higher Education Colloquium is a virtual gathering for faculty, staff, and administrators in EM and HS programs to discuss curriculum, research, and best practices. It fosters collaboration and innovation to advance education and prepare future professionals for evolving challenges in the field.
50th Annual Natural Hazards Workshop
July 13-26, 2025
Broomfield, Colorado
Since 1975, the Natural Hazards Center has hosted the Annual Natural Hazards Research and Applications Workshop in Colorado. Today the Workshop brings together federal, state, and local mitigation and emergency management officials and planning professionals; representatives of nonprofit, private sector, and humanitarian organizations; hazards and disaster researchers; and others dedicated to alleviating the impacts of disasters.
DRJ Fall 2025
Building Resiliency Through Innovation
September 7-10, 2025
Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
DRJ’s annual spring and fall conferences are the longest-running and best-attended business continuity events in the world. DRJ can help you protect your organization from today’s disruptions and tomorrow’s threats by exposing you to insights from industry leaders and giving you an early look at new BC technologies.
Attending DRJ will give you the tools you need to secure your organization’s data, increase resiliency, reduce downtime, and protect your stakeholders. By improving your ability to prevent and respond to disruptions, DRJ can save your organization money and time.
IAEM 73rd Annual Conference
Nov. 14 – 20, 2025
Louisville, KY
The goal of the IAEM Annual Conference is to improve knowledge, competency level and collaborative skills. IAEM accomplishes this by attracting relevant high-profile speakers to address current topics and practical solutions. Convening in tandem to this annual event, EMEX, IAEM’s Emergency Management & Homeland Security Expo, draws a myriad of exhibitors who are the top suppliers to the fields of disaster preparedness and homeland security.
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by Steve Kroll-Smith
A lethal mix of natural disaster, dangerously flawed construction, and reckless human actions devastated San Francisco in 1906 and New Orleans in 2005. Eighty percent of the built environments of both cities were destroyed in the catastrophes, and the poor, the elderly, and the medically infirm were disproportionately among the thousands who perished. These striking similarities in the impacts of cataclysms separated by a century impelled Steve Kroll-Smith to look for commonalities in how the cities recovered from disaster. In Recovering Inequality, he builds a convincing case that disaster recovery and the reestablishment of social and economic inequality are inseparable.
Kroll-Smith demonstrates that disaster and recovery in New Orleans and San Francisco followed a similar pattern. In the immediate aftermath of the flooding and the firestorm, social boundaries were disordered and the communities came together in expressions of unity and support. But these were quickly replaced by other narratives and actions, including the depiction of the poor as looters, uneven access to disaster assistance, and successful efforts by the powerful to take valuable urban real estate from vulnerable people. Kroll-Smith concludes that inexorable market forces ensured that recovery efforts in both cities would reestablish the patterns of inequality that existed before the catastrophes. The major difference he finds between the cities is that, from a market standpoint, New Orleans was expendable, while San Francisco rose from the ashes because it was a hub of commerce.
About the Author
Steve Kroll-Smith is a professor of sociology and faculty member in the Program for Sustainability at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He is a former research professor and co-director of the Environmental Studies Center at the University of New Orleans. For six years, he was the editor of Sociological Inquiry and a recipient of the Sociological Honors Society Distinguished Editor’s Award. Kroll-Smith received the American Sociological Association Distinguished Contribution Award for Research Hazards and Disasters.
Kroll-Smith served for three years on the Social Science Research Council’s Social Science Katrina Research Study Group. He has two books listed on the University of Texas “Katrina Shelf Series.” He is the author and co-author of eight books and more than eighty journal articles and book chapters. His co-authored book, The Real Disaster is Above Ground, was listed among the American Library Association’s Outstanding Top 10 Book List for 1990. His last book, Recovering Inequality, Hurricane Katrina, the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, and the Aftermath of Disaster was among the University of Texas Press’s top 5 publications in 2018.
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Emergency Management: Concepts and Strategies for Effective Programs
Second Edition
by Lucien G. Canton
This book looks at the larger context within which emergency management response occurs, and stresses the development of a program to address a wide range of issues. Not limited to traditional emergency response to natural disasters, it addresses a conceptual model capable of integrating multiple disciplines and dealing with unexpected emergencies.
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| | Looking for a speaker for your conference? I offer keynotes, seminars, workshops, and webinars, either in person or virtually. You can find more details and sample videos on my website. | | | |
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©Lucien G. Canton 2025. All rights reserved.
You may reprint and excerpt this newsletter provided that you include my copyright, the source,
the author, and "reprinted with permission."
ISSN: 2334-590X
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