FEMA 'more prepared' than before Katrina
The US disaster response agency won kudos after tornados hit, but '07 hurricane season may prove to be a more rigorous test.
from the June 1, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
National Response Plan is late
But members also questioned why FEMA had yet to finish revising its National Response Plan, which the agency acknowledges will miss its June 1 deadline. The plan, which FEMA says will be released by July 1, lays out guidelines for the responsibilities of all actors involved in disaster response and preparedness. Paulison assured lawmakers that the delay would not affect preparedness.
In his testimony, Paulison said one of the agency's top priorities has been to place more emphasis on developing response plans before disaster strikes, turning hurricane preparedness into a year-round, not seasonal, process.
Prior to Katrina, for example, there were only a "handful" of disaster response plans, which outline the responsibilities of agencies at the local, state, and federal levels in specific areas of disaster response, such as debris clearance and food distribution. Last year there were 40, and today there are 180, Paulison told the House committee.
This is precisely the direction FEMA should be headed, says Andy Garrett, director of preparedness planning and response at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University in New York. Preplanning means FEMA's response can be more organized, a necessity during the otherwise chaotic aftermath of a disaster, he says.
FEMA is still far from fixing all the problems exposed by Katrina. Jeff Smith, acting director of the Louisiana homeland security and emergency preparedness office, says FEMA has yet to commit in writing to supply many of the resources – such as food, water, and generators – it provided last year, although he is optimistic that FEMA will follow through on its verbal promises.
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