Assessing practical knowledge of FEMA's responsiveness and effectiveness in the aftermath of Hurrican Bonnie, in Wrightsville Beach and Topsail Island, North Carolina.

Includes references

With the passage of the National Flood Insurance Act in 1968 and the creation of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in 1979, federal and state governments committed themselves to a long-term and wide-ranging program of hazard management. Given FEMA's goal of developing "a public educated on what to do before, during and after a disaster to protect themselves, their families, their homes and their businesses," the effectiveness of its organization and programs must be assessed on the basis of case study analysis of: 1) before and after disaster planning by the agency; and 2) the extent and substance of the public's "practical knowledge" of a particular hazard. This research undertakes the second of these tasks through a case study assessment of the public's preparation for, and response to, Hurricane Bonnes, which hit the coastal communities of southern North Carolina, August 26-28, 1998