Chapter Chapter 2
Section Disaster Response Structure
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Disaster Response Structure
After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the Federal government realized that additional measures were needed to ensure effective coordination with State and local governments and took steps to alter how it responds to emergencies. In the National Strategy for Homeland Security, issued in July 2002, President Bush called for a major initiative to build a national system for incident management and to integrate separate Federal response plans into a single, all-discipline20 incident management plan. The President proposed that the initiative be led by the yet-to-be-created Department of Homeland Security (DHS).21 In creating DHS in November 2002, Congress included the initiative as part of the Secretary of Homeland Security’s responsibilities.22 The Homeland Security Act was officially signed into law by the President on November 25, 2002.23 On March 1, 2003, DHS assumed operational control of the nearly 180,000 employees from portions of 22 departments, agencies, and offices that were combined to constitute the newly created Department.24
In February 2003, the President issued Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5 (HSPD-5). Homeland Security Presidential Directives are presidential orders that establish national policies, priorities, and guidelines to strengthen U.S. homeland security. In HSPD-5, the President specifically directed the Secretary of Homeland Security to: (a) create a comprehensive National Incident Management System (NIMS) to provide a consistent nationwide approach for Federal, State, and local governments to work effectively together to prepare for, respond to, and recover from domestic incidents, regardless of cause, size, or complexity, and; (b) develop and administer an integrated National Response Plan (NRP), using the NIMS, to provide the structure and mechanisms for national level policy and operational direction for Federal support to State and local incident managers.25
HSPD-5 further directed the heads of all Federal departments and agencies to adopt the NIMS, use it in their individual domestic incident management activities, participate in the NRP, and assist the Secretary of Homeland Security in its development and maintenance.26 The NIMS and the NRP were completed in 2004 and provide the foundation for how the Federal government organizes itself when responding to all disasters, including Hurricane Katrina.
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