Steven Arnold
MSGIS PORTFOLIO
Geography of Disasters and Emergency Management
Image 1: This home is Located near the Ninth Ward and shows the long lasting impact of Hurricane Katrina to the homes during the month of August 2005. Note the search and rescue markings in orange and black. Steven Arnold took this picture January 1, 2009, during his visit to the City of New Orleans.
Image 2: Ninth Ward area of New Orleans, LA.. Picture of a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) trailer. These temporary shelters were still being used after Hurricane Katrina made landfall August 2005. Steven Arnold took this picture January 1, 2009, during his visit to the City of New Orleans.
Skills: Communication
Geography of Disasters looks at population growth in hazardous areas and potential new threats that may arise. Emergency Management is the application of science, technology, and management to the protection of life and property. The overall goal is to reduce losses from a disaster by focusing on four aspects: mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.
Communication skills were developed by writing a term paper from an emergency management perspective and presenting an emergency management topic to the class. Field trips to the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in South Salt Lake, UT and a campus tour of mitigation projects completed at the University of Utah (i.e. Marriott Library) and the processes used to determine mitigation projects are prioritized.
This course gave me the opportunity to meet with working professionals in the emergency management field, ask questions and network with them.
Prior to the MSGIS graduate program I had received work related training with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Emmitsburg, MD. This course was complimentary to that training and with my current employer; where I would be deployed to the EOC in South Salt Lake, UT or to our backup EOC in Midvale, UT during an emergency event.
Image 3: Ninth Ward area of New Orleans, LA. Picture of housing foundations left from Hurricane Katrina during the month of August 2005. In the background is the levee wall on top of the levee. Steven Arnold took this picture January 1, 2009, during his visit to the City of New Orleans.