Fema Case Study Answers

1. What we did right:

a. We deployed into the community quickly. Perhaps quicker than any other government agency in the area
b. We cleared the roadways and addressed safety concerns expeditiously and without injury or loss of life
c. We communicated our activities and intentions to the public in a timely manner and kept them up-to-date on disaster assistance and disaster recovery information as soon as it was received
d. We had the right equipment and people in place, so the recovery efforts went smoothly
e. While conducting damage assessment we provided citizen assistance as best we could. For example, the roof at 517 East Langford Drive was damaged over 90% and the City was able to locate a tarp to cover the damage to prevent any further

We should have kept an open operations center open as a collection point for information for at least a couple days after the storm
e. While we responded quickly to the storm, we didn’t always communicate well internally about our response efforts. Everyone did their own thing

3. What went well:
a. Each department, to the best of what we know currently, properly recorded all the required information to successfully report our losses to FEMA
b. Major roadways were cleared within the first several hours after the storm. Within the first 24 hours, neighborhoods were cleared in a timely matter
c. Compared to local municipalities, we were able to clean up tree debris within the first two weeks after the hurricane
4. What went no so well:
a. Damage assessment after the storm could have been more efficient. Having one person as a collection point for all damage information collected is inefficient. Each team should document their own damage
b. We worked well within our teams but as a group we did not communicate well. For example, during the damage assessment, teams would work in the same areas instead of the zones we were assigned to cover. If we followed the plan successfully we would have been able to cover more within the first 24