FEMA Interventions

This case summarizes events preceding the Hurricane Katrina, which was one of the worst natural catastrophes in the modern history of the USA. It raises questions about the lack of reasonable prevention and preparation actions due to flimsy structure and management of the responsible organizations and persons, invalidity and inconsistence of their actions and incapability of making the decisions in a timely manner. As a result of the unstructured and incoherent activities, we could observe several ineffective and costly attempts to mitigate floods and hurricanes. In the beginning the local officials, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and “White Houses past and present always seem penny-wise and pound-foolish” because of the chain of the wrong

FEMA was established after a number of serious natural disasters that took place, but after that there were very few disasters so FEMA has not been in practice. Secondly FEMA has a history of poor planning, people with skill sets not suited for emergency response, FEMA was therefore not considered to be a priority agency when Hurricane Katrina

time of crisis by R. David Paulison, who unlike Brown, has had a career focused on disaster

The reason the communication breakdown was because Citizens couldn't contact their government officers because their cell phones and land lines weren't working. Officers couldn't communicate with each other because of bad communication. Hurricane Katrina showed some of the government’s greatest mistakes. It gave teaching to focus on in the matter of politics, race, and society.

Since its inception, FEMA has dealt with quite many disasters. In all these disasters, at least, people’s lives and property have been saved. Public opinion on the performance of FEMA is quite divergent. However, there is a feeling that FEMA has several weaknesses that if corrected will help the agency achieve its objectives and even exceed public expectations about its performance. In particular, FEMA’s responses to 9/11 attacks and

Over the years of Hurricane Katrina, Fema faced many criticisms. Back in 9/11, They acted fast and accordingly to the disaster. During hurricane Katrina, they were slow and had false promises that the locals of New orleans believed (Maestri, “The

Over the years of Hurricane Katrina, FEMA faced many criticisms. Not only FEMA, but “every level of government was roundly criticized”( Howellq ). Back in 9/11, They acted fast and accordingly to the disaster. During hurricane Katrina, they were slow and had false promises that the locals of New Orleans believed ( Maestri, “The Storm”, PBS ). Many people asked FEMA for resources and help, but that turned down because they did not “ask the right way” ( Hale “The Storm”, PBS). During an interview with one of FEMA’s secretaries, “Michael Brown”, had claimed that FEMA could not help Louisiana because they didn’t tell them what they

During Katrina there were many times that the local, state, and federal governments did not cooperate effectively. For example, the governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Blanco, addressed the issue her state faced and asked for “everything” the federal government had, as in disaster relief and aid, but the ambiguity of the statement caused the federal government to withhold resources until the governor addressed more specific needs. Issues such as these prevent the different levels of government from cooperating in an effective manner and demonstrate one of the most significant problems with federalism. Another example of how the different levels of government fail to cooperate effectively is a statement by William Lokey from the federal government’s disaster relief agency, FEMA. During an interview with the press, Lokey tells the governor and the entire nation that certain areas of Louisiana’s coasts are safe and that flood waters are receding. The statement made by Lokey misinformed the public and other levels of government, causing more confusion and hindering relief

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, fires broke out, corpses were in streets, looting was taking place around the city, floor waters became toxic with sewage and gas. US Army Corps of Engineers came in to pump New Orleans dry; this was a continuous operation. (video: The Lost City of New Orleans: A Case Study) Organizations such as the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, National Guard and others helped the relief effort with housing,

Hurricane Katrina was a catastrophic natural disaster in American history. The aftermath had substantial negative impact on New Orleans and it could have been avoided if proper disaster management practices were put in place. Therefore, it is important to determine the factors that caused the hurricane to be catastrophic. One factor that was responsible for the disaster was failure of the three levels of the government working cohesively (Thiede & Brown, 2013). The incoherent interaction between the three levels of government will be assessed. Another factor that will be examined is social and psychological refusal of Hurricane Katrina

FEMA faces many obstacles when it comes to responding to or recovering from an emergency incident, but the mean issue they face is ensuring that each individuals civil rights are always maintained throughout their experience with the agency. The civil right act of 1964 offered a few protections to individuals with disabilities and fair housing rights to all no matter their race, religion, national origin or sex. With the implication of these laws it laid the groundwork for how FEMA provided service to the people in need, especially when responding to an emergency, it established the guideline on how to deal with people with a disability. FEMA stands behind the rights of all, but when it comes to ensuring PWD are receiving the same treatment

Despite warnings of the impact, Hurricane Andrew the response was negligent and ill prepared. As predicted, the devastation was catastrophic. (20) Governor Chiles was either not informed as to how the state would be affected or was lax in his duties. The Governor waited too long before requesting help for the state. Governor Chiles felt that the state itself could handle the damages that arose after impact and refused government assistance. Once he realized the state could not handle the devastation on its own, government also waited for a formal request from the Governor before stepping in. The reaction from FEMA after the request was slow and ineffective waiting for word from Chiles. In essence, no one actually surveyed the damages caused by the hurricane and once surveyed properly; people had already waited too long and were in dire

Even though it is the responsibility of the federal and state governments to aid citizens during times of disaster, the people devastated by Hurricane Katrina were not effectively facilitated as according to their rights as citizens of the United States. The government’s failures to deliver assistance to citizens stem from inadequate protection systems in place before the storm even struck. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security were the two largest incumbents in the wake of the storm. The failure of these agencies rests on the shoulders of those chosen to head the agency. These directors, appointed by then president George W. Bush, were not capable of leading large government agencies through a

In a time of crisis, the government response to the situation at hand was poor and inefficient. There were numerous flaws and errors in the relief plan proposed to the government which in turn led to delayed relief to victims in need. The immediate response phase after Katrina lasted roughly 12 days. During this time, “victims were evacuated, rescued, sheltered, and received medical care from first responders, charities and other non-governmental organizations, and private citizens”(McNeill, 2011). The fact that the U.S. government organizations were not the first responders to the disaster is shameful for our country.

Despite being ineffective, FEMA played significant roles in the Hurricane Katrina storm. For instance, FEMA organized as well as mobilized the necessary resources to aid the residents of New Orleans from the disaster. According to