A few months ago, I looked up some info on FEMA...you might be interested in some of what I found...
Seeing how many agencies there are to coordinate, appears to be some of the problem....
FEMA Web Site....
fema.gov
FEMA History
fema.gov
FEMA Directors
The Federal Emergency Management Agency - a former independent agency that became part of the new Department of Homeland Security in March 2003 - is tasked with responding to, planning for, recovering from and mitigating against disasters. FEMA can trace its beginnings to the Congressional Act of 1803. This act, generally considered the first piece of disaster legislation, provided assistance to a New Hampshire town following an extensive fire. In the century that followed, ad hoc legislation was passed more than 100 times in response to hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters.
By the 1930s, when the federal approach to problems became popular, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation was given authority to make disaster loans for repair and reconstruction of certain public facilities following an earthquake, and later, other types of disasters. In 1934, the Bureau of Public Roads was given authority to provide funding for highways and bridges damaged by natural disasters. The Flood Control Act, which gave the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers greater authority to implement flood control projects, was also passed. This piecemeal approach to disaster assistance was problematic and it prompted legislation that required greater cooperation between federal agencies and authorized the President to coordinate these activities.
The 1960s and early 1970s brought massive disasters requiring major federal response and recovery operations by the Federal Disaster Assistance Administration, established within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Hurricane Carla struck in 1962, Hurricane Betsy in 1965, Hurricane Camille in 1969 and Hurricane Agnes in 1972. The Alaskan Earthquake hit in 1964 and the San Fernando Earthquake rocked Southern California in 1971. These events served to focus attention on the issue of natural disasters and brought about increased legislation. In 1968, the National Flood Insurance Act offered new flood protection to homeowners, and in 1974 the Disaster Relief Act firmly established the process of Presidential disaster declarations.
However, emergency and disaster activities were still fragmented. When hazards associated with nuclear power plants and the transportation of hazardous substances were added to natural disasters, more than 100 federal agencies were involved in some aspect of disasters, hazards and emergencies. Many parallel programs and policies existed at the state and local level, compounding the complexity of federal disaster relief efforts. The National Governor's Association sought to decrease the many agencies with whom state and local governments were forced work. They asked President Jimmy Carter to centralize federal emergency functions.
President Carter's 1979 executive order merged many of the separate disaster-related responsibilities into a new Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Among other agencies, FEMA absorbed: the Federal Insurance Administration, the National Fire Prevention and Control Administration, the National Weather Service Community Preparedness Program, the Federal Preparedness Agency of the General Services Administration and the Federal Disaster Assistance Administration activities from HUD. Civil defense responsibilities were also transferred to the new agency from the Defense Department's Defense Civil Preparedness Agency.
John Macy was named as FEMA's first director. Macy emphasized the similarities between natural hazards preparedness and the civil defense activities. FEMA began development of an Integrated Emergency Management System with an all-hazards approach that included "direction, control and warning systems which are common to the full range of emergencies from small isolated events to the ultimate emergency - war."
The new agency was faced with many unusual challenges in its first few years that emphasized how complex emergency management can be. Early disasters and emergencies included the contamination of Love Canal, the Cuban refugee crisis and the accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant. Later, the Loma Prieta Earthquake in 1989 and Hurricane Andrew in 1992 focused major national attention on FEMA. In 1993, President Clinton nominated James L. Witt as the new FEMA director. Witt became the first agency director with experience as a state emergency manager. He initiated sweeping reforms that streamlined disaster relief and recovery operations, insisted on a new emphasis regarding preparedness and mitigation, and focused agency employees on customer service. The end of the Cold War also allowed Witt to redirect more of FEMA's limited resources from civil defense into disaster relief, recovery and mitigation programs.
In 2001, President George W. Bush appointed Joe M. Allbaugh as the director of FEMA. Within months, the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11th focused the agency on issues of national preparedness and homeland security, and tested the agency in unprecedented ways. The agency coordinated its activities with the newly formed Office of Homeland Security, and FEMA's Office of National Preparedness was given responsibility for helping to ensure that the nation's first responders were trained and equipped to deal with weapons of mass destruction.
Billions of dollars of new funding were directed to FEMA to help communities face the threat of terrorism. Just a few years past its 20th anniversary, FEMA was actively directing its "all-hazards" approach to disasters toward homeland security issues. In March 2003, FEMA joined 22 other federal agencies, programs and offices in becoming the Department of Homeland Security. The new department, headed by Secretary Tom Ridge, brought a coordinated approach to national security from emergencies and disasters - both natural and man-made. Today, FEMA is one of four major branches of DHS. About 2,500 full-time employees in the Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate are supplemented by more than 5,000 stand-by disaster reservists.
As it has for more than 20 years, FEMA's mission remains: to lead America to prepare for, prevent, respond to and recover from disasters with a vision of "A Nation Prepared." At no time in its history has this vision been more important to the country than in the aftermath of Sept. 11th.
Partners:
Federal Response Plan Partners
In response to a presidentially-declared disaster, FEMA may work with up to 28 federal agencies and the American Red Cross to provide assistance. These agencies provide state and local governments with personnel, technical expertise, equipment and other resources, and assume an active role in managing the response.
To coordinate the federal efforts, FEMA recommends and the President appoints a Federal Coordinating Officer (FCO) for each state that is affected by a disaster. The FCO and the state response team set up a Disaster Field Office (DFO) near the disaster scene. It is from there that the federal and state personnel work together to carry out response and recovery functions. These functions are grouped into 12 Emergency Support Functions(ESFs), each headed by a agency supported by other agencies. The f ederal agencies that provide assistance, include:
Department of Agriculture
Department of Commerce
Department of Defense
Department of Education
Department of Energy
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Department of the Interior
Department of Justice
Department of Labor
Department of State
Department of Transportation
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Department of Veterans Affairs
Agency for International Development
American Red Cross
Environmental Protection Agency
Federal Communications Commission
Federal Emergency Management Agency
General Services Administration
National Aeronautical and Space Administration
National Communications System
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Office of Personnel Management
Office of Science and Technology Policy
Small Business Administration
Tennessee Valley Authority
U.S. Postal Service
Emergency Support Functions
Resources provided by the federal government are grouped into 12 Emergency Support Functions (ESFs):
ESF 1: Transportation. Providing civilian and military transportation.
Lead agency: Department of Transportation
ESF 2: Communications. Providing telecommunications support.
Lead agency: National Communications System
ESF 3: Public Works and Engineering. Restoring essential public services and facilities.
Lead agency: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Defense
ESF 4: Fire Fighting. Detecting and suppressing wildland, rural and urban fires.
Lead agency: U.S. Forest Service, Department of Agriculture
ESF 5: Information and Planning. Collecting, analyzing and disseminating critical information to facilitate the overal federal response and recovery operations.
Lead agency: Federal Emergency Management Agency
ESF 6: Mass Care. Managing and coordinating food, shelter and first aid for victims; providing bulk distribution of relief supplies; operating a system to assist family reunification.
Lead agency: American Red Cross
ESF 7: Resource Support. Providing equipment, materials, supplies and personnel to federal entities during response operations.
Lead agency: General Services Administration
ESF 8: Health and Medical Services. Providing assistance for public health and medical care needs.
Lead agency: U.S. Public Health Service, Department of Health and Human Services
ESF 9: Urban Search and Rescue. Locating, extricating and providing initial medical treatment to victims trapped in collapsed structures.
Lead agency: Federal Emergency Management Agency
ESF 10: Hazardous Materials. Supporting federal response to actual or potential releases of oil and hazardous materials.
Lead agency: Environmental Protection Agency
ESF 11: Food. Identifying food needs; ensuring that food gets to areas affected by disaster.
Lead agency: Food and Nutrition Service, Department of Agriculture
ESF 12: Energy. Restoring power systems and fuel supplies.
Lead agency: Department of Energy
Last Updated: Saturday, 23-Oct-2004 00:00:00 EDT
AND THEN THIS:
State Agencies and Offices: (this one for LA)
Louisiana Office of Emergency Preparedness
7667 Independence Blvd.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70806
(225) 925-7500
(225) 925-7501 FAX
ohsep.louisiana.gov
ohsep.louisiana.gov
fema.gov
88888888888888
Message 21678085 |
