Final answer:
An emergency management plan outlines procedures to manage emergencies, focusing on mitigation, response, and recovery. It includes preparedness measures and infrastructure resilience but requires competent execution, as evidenced by FEMA's challenges during Hurricane Katrina.
Step-by-step explanation:
Emergency Management Plan Overview
An emergency management plan is a set of procedures developed to manage large-scale emergencies or disasters. The goal is to mitigate the impact of the emergencies and ensure efficient and effective response and recovery. These plans are crucial for organizations such as the Center for Disease Control (CDC), which maintains command and control centers to monitor and respond to health threats.
Emergency preparedness measures are key components of these plans, including civil defense and anti-terrorism legislation. Ensuring the resilience of critical national infrastructure is also paramount to maintain societal functions in the event of a major incident.
However, the effectiveness of an emergency management plan is heavily dependent on the competence of its execution. As seen during the response to Hurricane Katrina, when the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) faced criticism for its handling of the disaster. This highlights the importance of skillful, well-coordinated emergency response, which can prevent further harm in crisis situations.