"Hopeful Signs For Disaster Readiness"

Maine people may not feel immediately threatened by federal forecasters’ newly announced outlook for “a very high likelihood of an above-normal hurricane season” starting in June.  But hurricanes have brought great damage to our state in the past, and the Patriot’s Day Nor’easter that left 13 Maine counties eligible for federal assistance and took the life of a grandmother and her granddaughter reminds us that we need to be prepared for natural disasters. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s outlook for three to five major Atlantic hurricanes this year invites the question: Is the federal government better prepared to help when disaster overwhelms state and local resources than it was during the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe of 2005?   I saw encouraging signs of improved readiness recently at a Senate Homeland Security hearing and during an inspection visit of a federal and multi-state disaster drill earlier this month.   The core of federal disaster preparation and response is the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA.  Widely criticized for a slow, confused, and inadequate response to Hurricane Katrina, FEMA has taken some steps on its own to improve.  But most of these major changes that have resulted in an agency that is better prepared for a disaster is the result of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act that Senator Joe Lieberman and I co-authored. That legislation, which was signed into law last spring,  grew out of an eight-month, 24-hearing, bipartisan investigation by the Senate Homeland Security Committee, and it included many recommendations from our 700-page committee report.   Our legislation protected FEMA’s standing and budget within the Department of Homeland Security, gave its administrator a direct channel to the President, restored the linkage between preparedness and response, strengthened its presence at ten regional centers, and established multi-agency strike teams to promote rapid and effective action.   Some results of the reform were on display early this month in a nine-day exercise conducted by the FEMA Region I office in Boston that involved every New England state.  The drill assumed that “Hurricane Yvette” – a hypothetical Category 3 storm, as Katrina was at landfall – had struck southern New England and moved northeastward.  Federal, state, and local officials, plus representatives of non-profit organizations and private-sector businesses, were involved in simulating the intense communication and coordination required to deal with such a disaster.   During my inspection visit at “Hurricane Yvette” sites in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, I saw that coordination among first responders, state officials, the National Guard units, and FEMA has greatly improved since that terrible time on the Gulf Coast two years ago.  Part of this is due to new technology, including special communications vehicles and new command posts that can maintain vital information links even when local infrastructure is damaged. In addition, each of the ten FEMA regional centers now has a senior military officer assigned to it.  Having routine, established relationships among emergency responders, National Guard officers, and FEMA is a great step forward in avoiding the kinds of miscommunication, “turf” disputes, and coordination problems that hampered the response to Hurricane Katrina’s victims.   FEMA’s new operating agreement with the Defense Logistics Agency is also encouraging, because it improves federal capabilities to procure, deliver, and monitor supplies.  None of us will soon forget the shocking and sometimes tragic stories of supplies delayed, spoiled, or misdirected during the response to Katrina’s victims.  FEMA’s new policy of moving supplies early toward likely points of need, and its new ability to track shipments are welcome improvements. Exercises like “Hurricane Yvette” will help us ensure that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the National Guard, and other emergency management agencies deliver needed support to disaster-stricken areas more quickly, more efficiently, and with better coordination with state and local governments than has occurred in some previous emergencies.   Much important aid, however, can come from non-governmental sources.  Another step forward in the “Hurricane Yvette” exercise was the direct involvement – for the first time in a federally organized drill – of private-sector organizations.  Non-profits like the Red Cross, Catholic Charities, and the Salvation Army have long been involved in disaster relief.  But we also saw during Hurricane Katrina that private companies like Wal-Mart and FedEx can offer valuable assistance through their highly developed logistics systems.  The “Hurricane Yvette” drill, therefore, reached out to involve the private sector, as well as universities and hospitals, who have all too often been afterthoughts in the planning and response process.   The Senate Homeland Security Committee heard more evidence of improved readiness at a hearing on May 22.  Our witnesses included FEMA’s  Administrator, David Paulison, a veteran paramedic and firefighter as well as an experienced emergency manager.  Mr. Paulison’s testimony, demonstrated that much progress has been made, but noted that as the new hurricane season approaches, much remains to be done.  The national response plan and incident-management system for disasters are still being revised; FEMA’s reorganization is not yet complete; and coordination with other partners is not fully established.   State and local officials are our first line of defense against natural or man-made disasters.  But the grim realities of major disasters, require a prompt and effective federal response.  We are indeed better prepared than we were for Hurricane Katrina, but more work and more Congressional oversight and support will be needed to meet our citizens’ expectations for a fully ready FEMA.