The Disaster Accountability Project (http://www.DisasterAccountability.org) provides public accountability and oversight to the U.S. disaster prevention, response, relief and recovery systems through monitoring and policy research.

Since Katrina, there has been significant focus on the botched response, relief, and recovery efforts across the Gulf Region. Seriously lacking, however, is the attention paid to the nation’s broken disaster prevention, response, relief, and recovery systems at the root of the post-Katrina problems and complications that continue to cause extensive suffering for so many.

The non-partisan Disaster Accountability Project monitors the public accountability of the US disaster prevention, response, relief, and recovery systems, engages a community of stakeholders in tracking recommendations for their improvement, and uses a website and Hotline for survivors and disaster response volunteers and workers to raise concerns and publicize critical service gaps.

The basic premise, is that if the American Red Cross, FEMA, Department of Homeland Security, and other agencies and organizations do their jobs correctly, we won’t have the same problems we had after Hurricane Katrina, after the next disaster.

The project focuses on both immediate and long-term disaster accountability and oversight:

Short Term: We have a toll-free hotline and network of “Accountability Monitors” that help verify and report gaps in disaster response/relief services. Publicized gaps are more likely to be addressed than those that are kept under the radar. After Katrina, gaps in services were more likely to be addressed when they were publicized.

Long Term: Right now, we’re tracking over 500 post-Katrina policy recommendations to improve the nation’s disaster prevention, response, relief, and recovery systems. Our website has a public tracking tool that allows visitors to help by submitting information about the status of the recommendations.