Public Accountability Requires Citizen Action (disasteraccountability.org)
Southern Mississippi leaders were just told, as Hurricane Season began, that FEMA would no longer deliver ice after disasters as it had in the past.
According to Mary Hudak, a regional FEMA spokesperson, free ice will only be available for medical emergencies and life saving reasons.
We want to make sure we’re providing ice as a life-saving […]
U.S. Special Counsel Ordered Investigation of Whistleblower Disclosure Still Pending As Hurricane Season Begins
In September of 2007 the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) ordered Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, to conduct an investigation into the allegation that defective pumping equipment was delivered and installed at the three new gated closure structures in New Orleans. […]
Hurricane Katrina demonstrated that some major disasters can exceed the response/relief capacities of the American Red Cross (ARC) and other Emergency Support Function #6 (ESF-6) Mass Care Providers (described in the National Response Framework (NRF) Annex).In response to post-Katrina lessons realized, the NRF shifted primary ESF-6 Mass Care Responsibilities from the ARC to FEMA (Before/After […]
Next to rescue efforts in the face of imminent harm, recovery – bringing life back to normal or something close to it - is the most important post-disaster activity. But, recovery is typically given short-shrift by emergency planners, and federal participation is likely to decrease now that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has […]
Response to FEMA Director, R. David Paulison’s ice, trailer, and possible resignation announcements today<br>
The Department of Homeland Security’s disgraceful response to Hurricane Katrina may have been a reflection of the racial and gender makeup of its senior staff. A new GAO report shows that women and minorities are greatly under-represented in the senior ranks of DHS.
In March 2007, the department’s headquarters staff was one of the […]
On February 11, 2008, FEMA assistant administrator Glenn Cannon told a Congressional Subcommittee:
“We’re changing our whole planning focus now from Louisiana-centric to Gulf Coast-centric.”
Seriously?
This underscores why, when discussing DHS/FEMA readiness for a major disaster at a July 2007 House Oversight Committee Hearing, Matt Jadacki, Deputy Inspector General, Office of the Inspector General, Department […]
This past week, the American Red Cross announced it is cutting one-third of the three thousand jobs at its National HQ in Washington, DC. According to ARC Chief Public Affairs Officer Suzy DeFrancis,
”We really need to reduce the size of our footprint in Washington and get back more to being a field-based, volunteer-driven organization,”
While I […]
Late Wednesday, a class action lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Stanwood R. Duval, Jr. The suit, consolidating 350,000 claims by businesses, government entities and residents, sought relief for damages resulting from the failure of New Orleans canals after Hurricane Katrina made landfall.
Judge Duval ruled that the 17th Street, London and Orleans […]
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies just released its annual ”World Disasters Report,” available online. This year, the focus is discrimination in disaster relief programs - and a sobering report it is.
The 2007 World Disasters Report addresses widely held misconceptions and offers valuable recommendations for making disaster services more responsive to the […]
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