When studying emergency management, students can complete capstone projects that allow them to apply the knowledge they have learned in classes to real world scenarios. These projects can be related to transportation for refugees, calculating the costs of repairing damage and identifying equipment that could help victims. Moreover, a student might create a guide that will allow a region’s residents to prepare for natural disasters, and the manual can provide a list of injuries that could affect citizens and analyze items that each first aid kit should contain. Here is some further discussion on possible capstone projects for emergency management students.
Resource: 50 Most Affordable Schools for an Emergency Management Degree 2015
Supplies for a Town’s Residents
A student could create a comprehensive list of resources that a community might need after a natural disaster, and the checklist may include bottles of water, tents, warm clothing, flashlights and numerous types of vehicles. The student’s project may help readers to calculate the amount of first aid kits that a town requires and ensure that each package has certain supplies, such as gauze, antibacterial creams, gloves, various types of bandages, scissors and gels that could reduce the effects of burns.
Choosing Equipment
Students can develop capstone projects that may allow organizations to determine the types of equipment that would help responders to locate and to treat victims who have experienced hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes or sizable fires. The manual could describe the capabilities of each type of equipment and the average cost of every device.
If a natural disaster could cause severe flooding, organizations should have access to many small boats that are able to transport supplies and injured residents. Furthermore, the organization can plan to rent numerous helicopters in advance to allow responders to rescue citizens who are stranded on rooftops or in trees.
Ensuring That Citizens Are Ready for Numerous Types of Emergencies
Some students develop programs that allow citizens to prepare for natural disasters that are relatively common in their areas, and the guidelines encourage individuals to stockpile certain types of foods, store at least 150 bottles of water, purchase emergency blankets and buy numerous flashlights that are resistant to moisture. The project could also help citizens to locate underground shelters and to determine the locations of at least three nearby hospitals.
If an area is susceptible to hurricanes or floods, the guide may teach residents to waterproof certain types of backpacks that contain supplies, and the program can help readers to decontaminate water by boiling the liquid or using numerous types of filters. When creating a guide for a local community, the student should add a map that indicates elevated areas and highlights routes that offer easy access to the safe locations.
Evaluating the Strength of Various Structures
Many students develop step-by-step manuals that allow inspectors to analyze a building’s components and to determine whether or not a structure could withstand certain natural disasters. The essay could help analysts to evaluate windows, a building’s shingles and beams that support the roof. Furthermore, the analyst should examine the sections that surround the windows because these areas may be more susceptible to wind or flying debris than most parts of a structure’s walls.
Helping Responders to Practice
The expert may create guidelines that allow responders to rapidly learn to use new techniques and transmitters that can help an organization to determine each rescuer’s location. Some manuals provide tips for organizations that are searching for victims who may be laying underneath rubble, and the guides could offer strategies that may allow rescuers to lift or to cut certain types of debris.
The capstone project can describe techniques that could give individuals the ability to safely move through a building that contains smoke and traverse an area that has several feet of murky water. Some detailed guides also help responders to rapidly test the strength of a damaged structure’s floor.
When completing the project and performing research, a student may partner with an organization that manages responses to natural disasters, and an experienced professor will generally evaluate and approve every section of the program. In general, the student will develop the project throughout two semesters and will submit it within one month of graduation.
Additional Resource: Top 10 Online Emergency Management Degree Programs 2015