
Katrina review suggests bigger role for U.S. military CBC \|\| February 24, 2006 A new White House report on what went wrong after hurricane Katrina lashed Louisiana and Mississippi in August suggests the U.S. military should play a bigger role in disaster efforts. U.S. President George W. Bush had ordered White House officials to prepare the review, amid criticism of how the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reacted to the hurricane. "We will learn from the lessons of the past to better protect the American people," Bush said after the release Thursday of the Lessons Learned report, stressing that he "wasn't satisfied with the federal response" to Katrina. The report makes 125 detailed recommendations, and urges that they be tackled before the next Atlantic hurricane season. They include: That the military be prepared to take over disaster response co-ordination from the Department of Homeland Security in "extraordinary circumstances" when other agencies appear overwhelmed. Better co-ordination among federal, state and local government agencies, including a single reporting system so key information flows to decision-makers. More advance planning to prepare for major disasters. Better training for "inexperienced" disaster-response managers, whose shortcomings were apparent when Katrina struck. "In any emergency, there is a before, a during and an after, and we've got a lot of work to do on all of them," said Frances Fragos Townsend, the homeland security advisor who wrote the report Article Posted at www.KnowledgeDrivenRevolution.com Among other things, she said the 600-page National Response Plan contains "enough government acronyms and jargon to make your head spin... When we're fighting a deadly hurricane or a terrorist threat, red tape can no longer be tolerated." As for the ability of federal agencies to deliver aid supplies to where they are needed in an emergency, she pointed to the example of a well-known courier company. "FedEx can track a package anywhere in the world in real time. FEMA should be able to do the same thing with [supplies of] ice, water and food." A separate House of Representatives report released last week blamed "passivity" for the failure to safeguard lives and property before the hurricane hit. More than 1,300 people are known to have died when Katrina came ashore as a category hurricane in late August 2005. The storm caused levees protecting New Orleans to break, sending polluted water flooding over much of the city. Hundreds of thousands of people were left homeless. Many still have no place to live. About KDR \| \| Home \| \| Weekly Features Archive	Weekly Weekly Features Archive
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Katrina review suggests bigger role for U.S. military

CBC || February 24, 2006

A new White House report on what went wrong after hurricane Katrina lashed Louisiana and Mississippi in August suggests the U.S. military should play a bigger role in disaster efforts.

U.S. President George W. Bush had ordered White House officials to prepare the review, amid criticism of how the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reacted to the hurricane.

"We will learn from the lessons of the past to better protect the American people," Bush said after the release Thursday of the Lessons Learned report, stressing that he "wasn't satisfied with the federal response" to Katrina.

The report makes 125 detailed recommendations, and urges that they be tackled before the next Atlantic hurricane season.

They include:

That the military be prepared to take over disaster response co-ordination from the Department of Homeland Security in "extraordinary circumstances" when other agencies appear overwhelmed.

Better co-ordination among federal, state and local government agencies, including a single reporting system so key information flows to decision-makers.

More advance planning to prepare for major disasters.

Better training for "inexperienced" disaster-response managers, whose shortcomings were apparent when Katrina struck.

"In any emergency, there is a before, a during and an after, and we've got a lot of work to do on all of them," said Frances Fragos Townsend, the homeland security advisor who wrote the report

Article Posted at www.KnowledgeDrivenRevolution.com

Among other things, she said the 600-page National Response Plan contains "enough government acronyms and jargon to make your head spin... When we're fighting a deadly hurricane or a terrorist threat, red tape can no longer be tolerated."

As for the ability of federal agencies to deliver aid supplies to where they are needed in an emergency, she pointed to the example of a well-known courier company.

"FedEx can track a package anywhere in the world in real time. FEMA should be able to do the same thing with [supplies of] ice, water and food."

A separate House of Representatives report released last week blamed "passivity" for the failure to safeguard lives and property before the hurricane hit.

More than 1,300 people are known to have died when Katrina came ashore as a category hurricane in late August 2005.

The storm caused levees protecting New Orleans to break, sending polluted water flooding over much of the city.

Hundreds of thousands of people were left homeless. Many still have no place to live.

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