As demonstrated time and time again through many disasters across America, emergency management requires a team effort.

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Hurricane Katrina left the impression that the Federal Emergency Management Agency handles all federal disasters.

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My mission as Emergency Preparedness Coordinator at Wisconsin Emergency Management is simple: to educate and empower people to prepare for and respond to emergencies and disasters.

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Now FEMA is just one of 22 organizations that make up DHS. As NPR's Ari Shapiro reports, some who work in emergency management are asking whether that's hurt the government's ability to respond to natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina.

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Emergency medicine physicians typically receive extensive training in management of patients exposed to WMD, as well as other chemical, biologic, or radiation-induced disasters.

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Dilip sees that this shift from reactionary disaster management, which is often wasteful and inefficient, to proactive organizing will enable communities to respond to future disasters quickly and efficiently.

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