ACTIVE DISASTER NEWS
2006
IAEM News | E.M. News
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report on "Hurricane Katrina: Better Plans and Exercises Needed to Guide the Military's Response to Catastrophic Natural Disasters." click for link
The White House has released a report on "The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned." The stated objective of the report is to identify and establish a roadmap to lay the groundwork for transforming how the United States - from every level of government to the private sector to individual citizens and communities - pursues a real and lasting vision of preparedness. While the report notes that disaster preparedness and response to most incidents remains a state and local responsibility, this review did not include an assessment of state and local responses. The President specifically requested that the response of the federal government be reviewed. Where actions at the state and local level had bearing on federal decisions or operations, they are included in order to provide full context. Download full report.
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The United Telecom Council (UTC) has issued a report on "Hurricanes of 2005: Performance of Gulf Coast Critical Infrastructure Communications Networks." This report provides evidence of the reliability of critical infrastructure communication systems of affected UTC member utilities during and immediately after the hurricanes of 2005. To download the report and UTC President & CEO William R. Moroney's Feb. 16 testimony on "The State of Interoperable Communications: Perspectives From the Field" before the U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee's Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science and Technology, click here.
Rep. Dave Reichert, chairman of the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science and Technology of the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee, began a series of hearings on Feb. 15 on "The State of Interoperable Communications: Perspectives From the Field." The hearings are especially timely as they coincide with the publishing of the final report of the U.S. House Select Bipartisan Committee for the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina. Download Rep. Reichert's press release and opening statement. Also, see news item below.
On Feb. 15, the U.S. House of Representatives' Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina issued its final report, "A Failure of Initiative." Download report.
On Feb. 15, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff testified before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. "It is completely correct to say that our logistics capability in Katrina was woefully inadequate. I was astonished to see we didn't have the capability most 21st century corporations have to track the flow of goods and services," Secretary Chertoff told the Committee, promising remedies by the start of the 2006 hurricane season in June. His remarks covered the unprecedented scope of damage, highlights of the response, shortcomings of the response, federal and state/local roles in emergency response, issues within FEMA, logistics, claims management, debris removal, and communications. Read text of statement .
FEMA has announced that FEMA-funded mitigtation and public infrastructure recovery projects - including those in the heavily impacted areas of the Gulf Coast region - are to be tied to new, higher floodplain elevations updated by FEMA using the most accurate flood risk data available. Communities recovering from disasters in Louisiana, Mississippi and elsewhere will be required to use the new elevations when available. Called Advisory Base Flood Elevations (ABFEs) - the height at which there is a one percent or greater chance of flooding in a given year - the rebuilding standards will be required for all FEMA-funded mitigation and public infrastructure grant-based recovery projects. Learn more.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report outlining preliminary findings on the federal response to Hurricane Katrina. The report recommends that a single individual directly responsible to the president be designated to act as the central focal point to lead and coordinate overall federal response in the event of a major catastrophe. click for link
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