The Federal Response Plan that existed from May 1992 until replaced by the National Response Plan (since warped into the NRF) still does not allow the USA to leverage all its resources and respond to catastrophic situations. Where was this issue first identified officially and why has it not been fixed?
See:
United States
General Accounting Office
Washington, D.C. 20548
Resources, Community, and
Economic Development Division
B-253822
July 23, 1993
Congressional Requesters
The nation's management of catastrophic disasters was intensely criticized
after Hurricane Andrew leveled much of South Florida and Hurricane Iniki
destroyed much of the Hawaiian island of Kauai in 1992. Prior to these
storms, other major disasters, such as Hurricane Hugo and the Loma
Prieta earthquake in 1989, also generated intense criticism of the federal
response effort. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the
lead federal agency for disaster management, responds to many smaller
natural disasters every year without extensive public scrutiny. Unlike the
bulk of the disasters requiring FEMA to respond, however, catastrophic
disasters overwhelm the ability of state, local, and voluntary agencies to
adequately provide victims with essential services, such as food and water,
within 12 to 24 hours. The response to Hurricane Andrew raised doubts
about whether FEMA is capable of responding to catastrophic disasters and
whether it had learned any lessons from its responses to Hurricane Hugo
and the Lorna Prieta earthquake.
Congressional requesters asked us to examine the adequacy of the federal
strategy for responding to catastrophic disasters and to develop solutions
for improving it Since January of this year, we have presented the results
of our work at hearings before five Senate and House Committees and
Subcommittees.l This report summarizes our analyses, conclusions,
recommendations, and matters for congressional consideration presented
at those hearings."
So why has this not been fixed by the powers that be? Because they all hope it does not happen on their watch! Get to work ALL!
For a companion post go to http://www.vactionlanegrp.wordpress.com
