Report: Terror Eclipsed Disaster Prep
Focus On Threats Left U.S. Unprepared To Deal With Katrina, DHS Says
-
Play CBS Video Video Report Rips Katrina Response A new report on the government's handling of Hurricane Katrina is out, and there is little in it to comfort or encourage the survivors of the devastating storm. Bob Orr has a CBS News reality check.
-
-
The Homeland Security Department's focus on terrorist threats left it unprepared to deal with a natural disaster on the scale of Hurricane Katrina. FEMA, as folded into the DHS, also suffered, the report said. (CBS)
-
Debris is removed from flood-damaged New Orleans home. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)
-
-
Special Report Gulf Coast Disaster Complete coverage of the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast, including anniversary coverage.
-
Video Archive After The Storm Video Coverage: After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, steps toward recovery.
-
Photo Essay New Orleans Photos A gallery of images that illustrate the far-reaching impact of Hurricane Katrina on a major American city
"We'll apply these lessons learned from Katrina and these other various reviews to the way forward as we get ready for June," Knocke said.
Though FEMA provided "record levels of support" to storm victims, emergency responders and state authorities, investigators found it was hampered by untrained staff, unreliable communication systems and poor coordination in delivering aid.
The report also called FEMA plans to assist overwhelmed states during disasters "insufficient for an event of Hurricane Katrina's magnitude."
It also found that confusing guidelines in the National Response Plan, issued in December 2004 as a blueprint for action the government is supposed to follow during emergencies, led to duplicated communications and efforts during Katrina.
The 38 recommendations specify better training, coordination and systems for ensuring communications among local and state emergency responders and between federal agencies providing aid.
They also recommended more clearly defined roles and an established chain of command within the federal government.
One recommendation also urges stronger oversight of federal contracts before they are awarded. FEMA rebid $3.6 billion worth of storm-related contracts last month after lawmakers complained the money had been given to four firms that did not compete for the work.
FEMA and Homeland Security have promised that many changes, including systems to track supplies, aid victims and deliver quick information to all levels of government during a disaster, will be ready by June 1.
Though pointed, the Homeland Security report's summary is far less harsh than a House of Representatives inquiry in February that concluded that government indifference toward disaster preparations contributed to deaths and suffering that Katrina inflicted after its Aug. 29 landfall.
The White House also cited numerous failures in federal disaster planning, communications and leadership in its own "lessons-learned" review issued later in February.
The Senate is preparing its own inquiry into the Katrina response. It was due in late March, but has been delayed by at least a month.
©MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."
