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Assessing Hurricane Hugo in the Context of Schneider's Emergency Management

Framework

Student’s Name

Institution

Course

Date
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Caribbean Islands

The Caribbean Islands were severely impacted by Hurricane Hugo, resulting in an

extreme top-down implementation pattern for the governmental response. This response has been

characterized as an ultimate failure, although federal authorities made extraordinary initial

response efforts (Schneider, 2011). Specifically, the unprecedented scope and intensity of

Hurricane Hugo across islands like Puerto Rico overwhelmed local capacity to respond,

necessitating that federal agencies step in to take comprehensive. Regarding human behaviour

patterns, the shock of Hugo's devastation led to pronounced public milling behaviours, including

widespread looting and riots emerging in heavily affected communities (Schneider, 2011). Major

disaster characteristics leading to the case includes Hugo's intensely destructive winds and

flooding, striking islands with already strained power, water and transport systems; entrenched

poverty levels leaving populations vulnerable; the geographic isolation of many impacted areas

complicating access and aid delivery; and simmering racial/cultural tensions that boiled over

when outside assistance was slow to arrive during the traumatic aftermath.
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South Carolina

In South Carolina, Hurricane Hugo caused mass destruction across isolated rural towns to

major cities, leading to a confusing policy implementation pattern marked by simultaneous but

uncoordinated local, state and federal response efforts, according to Schneider (2011). The

resultant recovery effort has been widely perceived as an unsuccessful, fragmented or outright

failed response, especially regarding the Federal Emergency Management Agency's leadership

role. Initial collective behaviours in directly affected populations aligned with typical disaster

milling patterns of public confusion, panic, shock, and disorientation in reacting to the

unprecedented scope of damages across South Carolina. Core disaster characteristics impeding a

more effective response included South Carolina's lack of robust disaster planning for a

catastrophic event like Hugo; insufficient emergency resources/personnel at state and local levels

to respond adequately to the expansive disaster zone; and isolated, economically disadvantaged

rural communities proving impossible to locate or assist using standardized response procedures

(Schneider, 2011).
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North Carolina

Finally, while also severely impacted statewide, North Carolina's experience with

Hurricane Hugo involved a governmental response that followed a relatively successful bottom-

up implementation pattern, as highlighted in Schneider's framework (Schneider, 2011). Here,

response activities flowed logically from local to state to federal levels under a strong multi-

jurisdictional coordination model, avoiding much interagency confusion plaguing other Hugo

disaster theatres. Regarding collective public behaviours, only relatively brief disaster milling

occurred in directly affected communities before emergency responders and victims pulled

together efforts to restore core functions rapidly. Major reasons this response succeeded despite

the challenges posed by Hugo included North Carolina's more substantial investments in

emergency preparedness through disaster planning, simulations/training and skilled personnel;

greater clarity around agency responsibilities during complex responses; and adherence to

standardized procedures designed to enable an integrated reaction by involved local, state and

federal authorities (Schneider, 2011).

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Reference

Saundra K. Schneider (2011). Dealing with Disaster. Public Management in Crisis Situations

Second Edition. 2011, 1- 320. https://www.routledge.com/Dealing-with-Disaster-Public-

Management-in-Crisis-Situations/Schneider/p/book/

9780765622433#:~:text=Description,can%20lead%20to%20system%20breakdown.