FEMA Reacquires Disaster Authority
01/29/2008 17:40
FEMA Reacquires Disaster Authority
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has announced that the much-maligned Federal Emergency Management Agency will once again take the lead role in disaster response.
The Associated Press’ John Moreno Gonzales says the change not only put disaster authority back into FEMA’s hands, but also gives the agency “an amenable, computer-driven doctrine to coordinate federal, state, and local resources.”
Chertoff announced the “National Response Framework” at a press conference last week. The Framework is a 90-page electronic document that can be changed by local emergency officials if they find kinks in its guidelines after responding to an incident. “It replaces the 427-page “National Response Plan” that emphasized a response to terrorist attacks and was set in stone when hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the Gulf Coast in 2005,” Gonzales says.
“Unlike past plans, the national response framework is always active, emphasizing and implementing lessons learned every single day,” said Chertoff at the news conference. “This is a living document.”
The framework still gives Homeland Security officials management responsibilities if there is a disaster, but Gonzales says it also allows FEMA to make urgent decisions on where to shift federal resources.
It also discards a rule that Homeland Security must name a disaster an incident of national significance to allow a sweeping federal response, a declaration that took days after Hurricane Katrina.
To read the full article, click here: http://www.nola.com/newsflash/louisiana/index.ssf?/base/news-36/1201045547305500.xml&storylist=louisiana
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has announced that the much-maligned Federal Emergency Management Agency will once again take the lead role in disaster response.
The Associated Press’ John Moreno Gonzales says the change not only put disaster authority back into FEMA’s hands, but also gives the agency “an amenable, computer-driven doctrine to coordinate federal, state, and local resources.”
Chertoff announced the “National Response Framework” at a press conference last week. The Framework is a 90-page electronic document that can be changed by local emergency officials if they find kinks in its guidelines after responding to an incident. “It replaces the 427-page “National Response Plan” that emphasized a response to terrorist attacks and was set in stone when hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the Gulf Coast in 2005,” Gonzales says.
“Unlike past plans, the national response framework is always active, emphasizing and implementing lessons learned every single day,” said Chertoff at the news conference. “This is a living document.”
The framework still gives Homeland Security officials management responsibilities if there is a disaster, but Gonzales says it also allows FEMA to make urgent decisions on where to shift federal resources.
It also discards a rule that Homeland Security must name a disaster an incident of national significance to allow a sweeping federal response, a declaration that took days after Hurricane Katrina.
To read the full article, click here: http://www.nola.com/newsflash/louisiana/index.ssf?/base/news-36/1201045547305500.xml&storylist=louisiana