The size and strength of Hurricane Katrina resulted in one of the largest natural disasters in our nation's history. Unfortunately, the catastrophe raised major questions about our nation's readiness and ability to respond both in a timely and organized manner. Four major issues have emerged from the Government Accountability Office's recent preliminary work:
• The preparation and response to Hurricane Katrina are similar to lessons learned from past catastrophic disasters.
• A risk management decision making approach is vital to develop the nation's capabilities and expertise to respond to a catastrophic disaster.
• Concerns have been raised regarding the agency's organizational placement within the federal government. However, other factors such as leadership and resources may be more important to FEMA's future success.
• Long term rebuilding issues need consensus on what rebuilding should be done, who will pay for what, and what oversight is needed to ensure federal funds are spent for their intended purposes.
Our federal government should not be the only responder to national disasters in our country. However, the Federal Emergency Management Agency's role is leadership in catastrophic disaster preparedness and response. Due to the misguided interests of politicians in the executive and legislative branches of Washington, FEMA's ability to respond to last summer's gulf coast disaster was inadequate at times. By voting out our irresponsible incumbents in this and subsequent elections, we will demand more accountability from our public officials when future natural disasters hit regions of our great nation.
Source: GAO
d.a.n said at :
7:26 PM, 03 17 2006 | Permalink
I guess they shouldn't have gutted FEMA.
Why did they do that (cut spending, staffing, etc.)?
And why did Browne tolerate it.
And, when it all came back to haunt them, all they could do is point the finger at each other.
While some say they take responsibility in one sentence, in another, they blame someone else.
And, it is laughable, since we know none of them will ever be accountable.
d.a.n | March 17, 2006 7:26 PM
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