Chapter Foreward
Section Scope and Methodology
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Scope and Methodology
The President made clear that we must do better in the future. The objective of this Report is to identify and establish a roadmap on how to do that, and lay the groundwork for transforming how this Nation—from every level of government to the private sector to individual citizens and communities—pursues a real and lasting vision of preparedness. To get there will require significant change to the status quo, to include adjustments to policy, structure, and mindset.
While the Report notes that disaster preparedness and response to most incidents remains a State and local responsibility, this review did not include an assessment of State and local responses. The President specifically requested that we review the response of the Federal government. Where actions at the State and local level had bearing on Federal decisions or operations, they are included in order to provide full context. We note that although incident response remains a State and local responsibility, we must strengthen Federal support for their efforts and be better prepared for the Federal response to a catastrophic event. Furthermore, we were mindful of how simple and lucid a situation can appear with the clarity of hindsight. And so, judging in retrospect the decisions made and actions taken in the midst of a major disaster, without consideration of that fuller context, would have been a disservice to all. The scope of the review did not focus on recovery operations that continue to this day. Those important efforts are ongoing and require our continued commitment. Instead, the review’s emphasis centers on identifying systemic vulnerabilities and gaps in our response and “fixing government.”
The Report is organized in a manner to give the reader the most comprehensive and clear understanding possible of what happened during the Federal response to Hurricane Katrina. It begins with a discussion of the magnitude and complexity of the response challenge by discussing “Katrina in Perspective”—providing an historical comparison both of the hurricane itself and the resultant flood. Only by understanding what the storm was, and was not, can an appropriate and measured assessment of the response take place. A National Preparedness “Primer” on the current Federal framework is then provided to give the reader an understanding of how the current system was supposed to function. This chapter points out some fundamental confusion in the Federal planning and identifies potential shortcomings in the applicability of our plans to catastrophic widespread incidents.
Two major chapters of the Report follow with an analytical, narrative chronology that provides a detailed account of Hurricane Katrina. The first discusses the storm’s development in the days “Pre-Landfall,” and the next chronicles both the “Week of Crisis” from August 29 through September 5, and concludes with the transition from response to recovery. We note for the reader that the narrative is not meant to be a comprehensive, definitive account of all that transpired, and future information inevitably will shed additional light. We then present a detailed chapter on “Lessons Learned.” Here, we describe the seventeen most critical challenges that were problematic before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina’s landfall.
We conclude with the most important chapter: “Transforming National Preparedness.” It describes the imperative and remedies for fixing the problems that Hurricane Katrina exposed. The foundations of the recommended reforms result in two immediate priorities: We must institutionalize a comprehensive National Preparedness System and concurrently foster a new, robust Culture of Preparedness.
The Report also contains several appendices, including 125 specific recommendations distilled from a four-month review. These recommendations are written for policy makers and emergency managers and contain more technical information not appropriate for the narrative. We have also included some stories of successes and heroic efforts we encountered by responders, volunteers, agencies, and public officials that must not be overlooked.
Contents
Prev
Next
Last
