What Is FEMA?

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

The Federal Emergency management Agency came under the helm of the Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2013 in response to the September 11th terrorist attacks (fema.gov). FEMA’s mission as a result of the attacks changed from preparing for natural disasters and hazards to ensuring the nation’s first responders are well equipped to deal with weapons of mass destruction (fema.gov). Notably FEMA is most known for helping millions in need in times of disaster and turmoil. Unfortunately they will always be known for their lack of preparation during the Hurricane Katrina aftermath in Louisiana in 2005. The organization failed to do what it set out to do and as a result millions of people were displaced and many lost their lives.

Hurricane Katrina was one of the biggest catastrophe the struck the state of New Orleans. Fema did not do the best jobs in distribution resources

The primary response or nonexistence thereof, as a result of Hurricane Katrina, showed great levels of inability and inefficiency by government leaders. The failures experienced by the government is a lot of blame to go around before and after Hurricane Katrina hit in New Orleans, Louisiana taking a lot of lives and making hundreds of thousands more homeless. The federal government were not ready or unprepared for the disaster that took place. The Federal Emergency Management also known as FEMA took several day to launch operations in New Orleans, Louisiana, and as they tried to establish their operation for the disaster they did not have an effective plan in place for the situation they had of their hands. According to Chris McGreal, "Bush

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

The response to most issues that arise in the United states are evaluated based on the response that the parties and/or federal entities give in relativity to the problem at hand. More specifically, natural disasters amplify the public awareness and in turn put a larger importance on the responses to the destruction left behind. Hurricane Katrina was a major natural disaster in which the immediate efforts were highly criticized for the lack thereof. Particularly, the federal government was looked upon heavily to provide assistance and aid immediately after the disaster, but waited for an unprecedented amount of time to effectively help the people who were affected. This ultimately caused for precautionary measures to be taken to implement systems to efficiently provide the necessary support. Throughout the entirety of Hurricane

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

Consequently, poor decision making, and confusion of who was in charge was the biggest shortfall during the recovery efforts of Katrina. Prior to the 9/11 attacks, FEMA was an independent agency, affording it direct access to the president (Haddow, Bullock, & Coppola, 2011). FEMA was actually absorbed into the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after the attacks, in a shift of focus to terrorism being the largest threat inside our borders. This had many ill-fated results for FEMA as an organization, the loss of valuable resources, and the creation of the National Response Plan effectively forced FEMA into a second fiddle during disasters. According to Haddow, Bullock, & Coppola (2011), “where previously the director of FEMA had maintained a clear line of authority and accountability,

Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the Joplin, Missouri tornado are easily two of the most devastating recent weather disasters for the United States. The death toll, property damage and loss, and rebuilding and recovery costs were monumental for both events. FEMA was criticised for the lack of coordination and response to Hurricane Katrina, in which case many private and volunteer sectors stepped up (Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2011). However, in the Joplin tornado, FEMA and city officials allowed the private and voluntary sector to control the response and recovery efforts and supplemented them as needed. New Orleans has done well to improve the higher education and employment rates and decreasing violent crimes, but has neglected

Hurricane Katrina was one of the most popular disaster’s that devastated the area in which it affected. Many lives were lost in the storm itself and in the after math. Said to blame by many is FEMA and the U.S government. The two were blamed for their lack of response time, pure carelessness, and the inability to properly communicate.

Federal agencies failed to respond to multiple attempts by both private and public institutions to warn of the possibility of a large scale disaster spurred by a land falling hurricane. An independent study financed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and completed more than a year before Katrina, found that New Orleans was the U.S. city most susceptible to hurricane damage. FEMA elected to take no further action than to circulate the results of the report to the organization. Some think this may have been worsened by the decision to place FEMA under Department of Homeland Security, which decreased funding and restricted natural disaster response resources.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency can be traced back to the Congressional Act of 1803. This act was the result of an extensive fire in a New Hampshire town needing assistance, and is generally considered to be the first piece of disaster legislation (About the Agency, 2014). Over the next century or so, disaster legislation was put to use in response to natural disasters including hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, tornados, etc. approximately 100 times. The Disaster Relief Act of 1950 gave the President authority to issue disaster declarations that allowed Federal agencies to provide direct assistance to State and local governments (IS-230, 2014).

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was created in 1979 from a series of disasters, which occurred in the 1960s and 1970s. FEMA is a federal agency that coordinates the response to a disaster in the United States. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall affecting many citizens in New Orleans, activating the response from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The common obstacles that the federal system of government encounters with are communications and funding.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, is responsible for coordinating the government’s role in preparation, prevention, response and recovery from domestic disaster, whether they be natural or man-made. FEMA.gov lists 1849 total disasters declared since 1953, with an average of 32 each year (13). This particular agency has generated a lot of praise and but just as much criticism. Over the course of FEMA’s history, there are many lessons to be learned and FEMA is always looking for ways to be more effective. This paper will examine the history of FEMA, evaluate its performance over the years and pinpoint lessons to be learned and actions to be taken.

New Orleans, Louisiana was known for its culture around the world. Often time’s people would go to visit just to experience everything that Louisiana had to offer. However, on Monday August 29th 2005 all would change. Louisiana was viciously attacked by an opponent that no one was ready for, an opponent that almost has a perfect winning record, an opponent that could simply not been stop, that opponent was Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina affected from Morgan City all the way down to Alabama, Hurricane Katrina passed through ruining homes and people along its path. Hurricane Katrina produced and sustained violent winds of up to 115 mph and gust as high as 130 mph. Furthermore Katrina not only ruing infrastructure but the hurricane itself claimed at least 1330 lives, and injuring thousands. In addition tens and thousands of people were left homeless. This was the biggest natural disasters that happened in Louisiana since Hurricane Harvey. Consequently President Bush described Hurricane Katrina as “one of the worst natural disasters in our nation’s history”. (Davlasheridze, 2017) One of the only good things about Hurricane Katrina is that America is now paying attention to all emergency plans. We can use Katrina and find out ways to make our emergency plans rock solid! The people that are responsible for creating and maintaining an emergency plan are the city and states representative. FEMA however, is supposed to make sure that the plans are efficient to handle natural