This week marks the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the event that changed the manner in which the country prepares for, responds to and recovers from domestic incidents of all kinds. There were many lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina and within each of the four phases of emergency management (preparedness, response, recovery & mitigation). These lessons are reflected the National Response Framework (NRF) which was released in 2008 superseding its successor document the National Response Plan (NRP).
The NRF is a continually updated federal document which outlines key response principles, roles and structures that organize a national response. It describes how communities, States, the Federal Government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector can coordinate efforts to respond effectively as a whole. This document can be found @ http://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1914-25045-1246/final_national_response_framework_20130501.pdf
Katrina, the Category 5 hurricane that took over 1,800 lives and cost an estimated 108 billion dollars has many people in the south, to this day, working towards rebuilding their lives. However, many communities, as a whole, are strengthened as a result of the recovery and mitigation investments over the past decade. Craig Fugate, FEMA Administrator visited the south this week to recognize these recovery efforts and acknowledge that there is much more preparedness to be done. The article can be found @ http://www.emergencymgmt.com/disaster/FEMA-Director-tours-We-Wanted-to-Celebrate-the-Recovery-of-the-Coast.html
The greatest barrier to preparedness is complacency and, therefore, it is important to remember and recognize these historical anniversaries as terrible as they may be. In turn, we might, if even temporarily, resist the temptation to say “it won’t happen to me.”
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