A REVIEW AND COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PREPAREDNESS IN PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, MARYLAND

Abstract

Natural disasters have become more common, where there was an average of 5.4 disasters a year in the 2000s that increased to an average of 10.5 in the last decade. Since the year 2000, the State of Maryland has had just under 20 federal disaster declarations. Prince George’s County had 12 disaster declarations, where the majority were attributed to hurricanes and snowstorms. The threats and hazards vary across the county, and across the state of Maryland. With that, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requires jurisdictions across the country to complete a Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA) every three years to ensure emergency plans/planning processes take into consideration jurisdiction specific hazards. The data from the THIRA also helps to inform preparedness efforts taken within a jurisdiction. As instances of natural disasters continue to increase across the nation, it is more important than ever to ensure that citizens are prepared for natural disasters.