Emergency management university programs have experienced dramatic and exponential growth over the last twelve years. This new, fully updated edition introduces majors and minors to the field and provides content accessible to those students taking introductory emergency management courses. The book's strength is in looking at the regional, state, and local level response, as well as some of the often misunderstood or overlooked social aspects of disasters. Real-world cases are described throughout including considerations of international emergency management and disasters.