8/28/07: POST-KATRINA REPORT CARD: FEMA, RED CROSS, HOMELAND SECURITY EARN “INCOMPLETE”

August 28, 2007

Contact: Ben Smilowitz (314) 761-7631

Ben@DisasterAccountability.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

POST-KATRINA REPORT CARD: FEMA, RED CROSS, HOMELAND SECURITY EARN “INCOMPLETE” ON 2ND ANNIVERSARY

Disaster Oversight Group Gives Response Agencies “Incomplete” Due To Lack Of Information And Transparency Failures

At the Two Year Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the nation looks back at hundreds of reports and recommendations by a range of government and nonprofit organizations, with one central goal: improvement of the nation’s disaster prevention, response, relief, and recovery systems. The recommendations range from improvements in evacuations, housing, sheltering, community and state preparedness, mass care, health care, mental health services, services and considerations for individuals with disabilities, National Guard and military preparedness, American Red Cross management, FEMA staffing, Homeland Security transparency, communications, planning, tracking supplies and vulnerable populations, search and rescue coordination, White House planning and management, and more.

For example, at the Two Year Anniversary, consider the following post-Katrina recommendations. Have they been achieved or even considered?

#41: Congressional Oversight/DHS Transparency (GAO-07-395T, Page 28, 3/9/2007)

Congressional oversight in the short term might include DHSís policies regarding oversight assistance.

#110: Search and Rescue (White House Lessons Learned, Recommendation #48, Page 102, 2/23/2006)
DHS should create a national search and rescue volunteer certification program.

#154: Mass Care and Housing (White House Lessons Learned, Recommendation #69, Page 108, 2/23/2006)
Designate HUD as the lead Federal agency for the provision of temporary housing.

#223: Non-governmental Aid (White House Lessons Learned, Recommendation #102d, Page 116, 2/23/2006)
Legal and liability impediments to the use and coordination of non-governmental and private sector resources during a catastrophic event should be removed.

#428: Private organizations must better serve diverse populations (National Council of La Raza: In The Eye of The Storm, Page 19)
Private disaster relief organizations, namely ARC (American Red Cross), must improve their ability to serve diverse populations.

Over 500 post-Katrina recommendations are searchable by target agency and origin at https://disasteraccountability.org. The Second Anniversary of Katrina provides an opportunity to ask key leaders exactly what they have done since Katrina to better prepare our nation for the next major disaster.

“In many schools, an ‘incomplete’ and an ‘F’ aren’t so far apart. This week’s political rhetoric suggests that lessons have been learned by the infamous Hurricane Katrina response and recovery. Yet thousands are still living in formaldehyde FEMA trailers and just a month ago, Homeland Security admitted that the Federal government is still not ready to respond to a major disaster. Americans don’t want to hear leaders congratulate themselves and talk about what they will do. Skip the pomp. We want to know what exactly has been done and what has not… and why not,” says Ben Smilowitz, Director, Disaster Accountability Project and University of Connecticut School of Law student. “Without complete transparency in Homeland Security, FEMA and the American Red Cross, disaster accountability and oversight will never be achieved.”

The new, non-partisan Disaster Accountability Project provides accountability and oversight before, during, and after disasters through monitoring and policy research.

A toll-free hotline (866-9-TIP-DAP) is available as a public service for disaster survivors, workers and volunteers to report critical service gaps that must be made public and addressed. The group is recruiting a network of Disaster Accountability Monitors and Bloggers to help report, verify, and raise awareness about gaps in disaster relief services.

The Disaster Accountability Project’s website is https://disasteraccountability.org

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