The National Disaster Recovery Agency (FEMA)

“On April 1, 1979, President Jimmy Carter signed the executive order that created the Federal Emergency Management Agency.”1.Year in and out, a disaster can strike at any moment and put millions of people in danger and wreck billions of dollars’ worth of property. But, this is where the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) steps in and up to the plate. FEMA works “as part of a team helping communities reduce their risk, helping emergency officials prepare for all hazards, and helping people get back on their feet after their lives are disrupted by a disaster.”2 FEMA’s primary focus is to coordinate federal and logistical operations “to save and sustain lives, minimize suffering, and protect property in a timely and effective manner in

communities that become devastated by disasters.”3
Background
For 35 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.” FEMA can trace its origins to the Congressional Act of 1803. FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror."4 “President Carter's 1979 executive order 12127 merged many of the separate disaster-related responsibilities into the Federal Emergency Management Agency.”51 From this executive order, 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, The Federal Disaster Assistance Administration activities from HUD, and Civil defense responsibilities. In the 1930s, the federal approach to disaster-related events became widespread, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation was given authority to make disaster loans for repair and reconstruction fol lowing 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 of 1965, 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. Accordingly, it prompted legislation to require 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). These events served to focus attention on the issue of natural disasters and brought about increased legislation. In 1968, the National Flood Insurance Act created the Federal Insurance Administration and made flood insurance available for the first time to homeowners. The Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 made the purchase of flood insurance mandatory for the protection of property located in Special Flood Hazard Areas. In the year following, President Nixon passed into law the Disaster Relief Act of 1974, firmly establishing 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, simplifying the complexity of federal disaster relief efforts. The National Governor's Association sought to decrease the many agencies with which state and local governments were forced work. They asked President Carter to centralize federal emergency functions.6

Current Research Efforts
On February 23, 2010, the Administrator’s Intent outlined priorities to: reinforce the Nation’s resilience to disasters; shape togetherness of efforts among the entire Emergency Management team; meet the requirements of disaster victims and effectively support recovery of disaster in affected communities; work with allies to confront the greatest risks; and build, sustain, and improve FEMA’s support and workforce capabilities. It is imperative to keep continuing to build on these successes, as there is much to accomplish in the years ahead. Specifically, this document describes FEMA’s strategic imperatives for mission execution and accomplishment: (1) maintain a whole community approach to emergency management; and (2) foster innovation and learning. The Intent also lays out my priorities for FY 2015-2019: (1) be survivor centric in mission and program delivery; (2) become an expeditionary organization; (3) posture and build capability for catastrophic disasters; (4) enable disaster risk reduction nationally; and (5) achieve business and management excellence. (FEMA).
The National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF) defines how Federal agencies will more effectively organize and operate to utilize existing resources to promote effective recovery and support States, Tribes and other jurisdictions affected by a disaster.

It is also written for a larger audience of non-Federal Government executives, private sector and nongovernmental organization (NGO) leaders, emergency managers, community development professionals and disaster recovery practitioners1 . Recovery begins with pre-disaster preparedness and includes a wide range of planning activities. The NDRF clarifies the roles and responsibilities for stakeholders in recovery, both pre- and post-disaster. It recognizes that recovery is a continuum and that there is opportunity within recovery. It also recognizes that when a disaster occurs, it impacts some segments of the population more than others. The ability of a community to accelerate the recovery process begins with its efforts in pre-disaster preparedness, mitigation and recovery capacity building. These efforts result in a resilient community with an improved ability to withstand, respond to and recover from disasters. Timely decisions in response to disaster impacts can significantly reduce recovery time and cost. The NDRF describes key principles and steps for community recovery planning and implementation. It promotes a process in which the impacted community fully engages and considers the needs of all its members. A key

element of the process is that the impacted community assumes the leadership in developing recovery priorities and activities that are realistic, well-planned and clearly communicated. (FEMA).
Discussion
For the sake of simplicity, these obstacles can be summarized as falling into several basic categories, including organizational (e.g., the Federal Emergency Management Agency's [FEMA] move into the Department of Homeland Security [DHS] has been widely seen as diminishing its capabilities in dealing with natural disaster events), institutional (e.g., U.S. federalism creates important policy goal and incentive incongruities between levels of government), and behavioral (e.g., Americans do a fairly poor job of individual preparedness for emergencies/disasters). Limitations or deficiencies in each of these interconnected areas make emergency and disaster management practices in the United States all the more difficult. Understanding exactly how those obstacles are connected, and to what effect, are important questions for policy scholars as hazards vulnerability becomes increasingly prevalent in the United States.The definition also proposes that inadequate planning, combined with poor decision-making at an individual and organizational level can worsen the adverse effects of an extreme event. Because instances of deficiencies in planning and decision-making in the face of an extreme hazard event in governmental and private organizations and at an individual level have been widely documented by disaster research scholars and by professional analyses, the claim can be considered axiomatic. (Gerber).
There are many ways that FEMA can assist individuals who underwent disaster, one such way is by giving monetary aid for both individual and public assistance. “Individual assistance may include housing, crisis counseling, legal services, disaster case management, and unemployment assistance, among other services. Public Assistance may include reimbursement to clear debris and rebuild roads, schools, libraries, and other public facilities.” (DHS) “In 2011 FEMA enhanced its response and recovery efforts, preparing for and responding to a record 98 major disaster declarations, 26 emergency declarations, and 112 Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) declarations. The team brought together building science engineers, grant, communication and environmental specialists, and emergency managers to work with partners at the state and local levels. Through their unity of effort the agency demonstrated what can be accomplished when all are dedicated to the purpose of building back strong.” (DHS)
In evaluating the effectiveness of the disaster system, it is necessary to understand all roles the federal government plays in the response plan. When a disaster strikes first strikes, local authorities are the first ones to respond. It is assumed that most disasters can be handled by local authorities. However, if a state and/or local government are overwhelmed, a state governor can request federal assistance but must do so by explicitly claiming that local and state resources are overwhelmed. The request is then reviewed by FEMA and certified by the president. If and when the president certifies the disaster, FEMA becomes involved and appoints a Federal Coordinating Officer to oversee the federal response (Disaster response in the U.S) The effectiveness of U.S. disaster management efforts can be examined through five themes that are important to successful disaster management efforts:
Clearly defined roles and responsibilities. Having clearly defined, coordinated, and well-understood roles and responsibilities for all levels of government and their nongovernmental partners is critical in coordinating the development and implementation of the responsibilities of the various parties involved. Developing and Assessing Capabilities. Developing the capabilities needed for catastrophic disasters should be part of an overall national effort designed to integrate and define what needs to be done, where, by whom, and how well coupled with the creation and use of metrics for assessing current capabilities and identifying key gaps that need to be filled. Ensuring needed capabilities are ready requires effective planning and coordination, plus robust training and exercises in which the capabilities are realistically tested and problems are identified and subsequently addressed in partnership with federal, state, local, and nongovernmental stakeholders. In addition, integrating an all-hazards risk management framework into decision making is central to assessing catastrophic disaster risks and guiding the development of national capabilities to prevent or mitigate where possible and respond to such risks. Effective coordination and collaboration among relevant stakeholders. Response to and recovery from a major disaster is a complex process that involves an extensive group of participants both across the federal government and at the state and local level. Recovery may take years. At least 14 federal departments and agencies are responsible for administering dozens of recovery-related programs, many of which rely heavily on active participation by state and local government for their implementation. Because these parties are dependent on each other to accomplish recovery goals, sustained focus and effective coordination and collaboration are essential. Accountability. Accountability controls and mechanisms ensure that resources are used appropriately for valid purposes. Following a catastrophic disaster, decision makers face a tension between the demand for rapid response and recovery assistance—including assistance to victims—and implementing appropriate controls and accountability mechanisms. Periodic evaluation of and reporting on these coordinated efforts. Collaboration between recovery partners can be enhanced by periodically evaluating and reporting on what worked, what can be improved, and what progress is still needed to address long-term recovery goals. This will assist decision makers, clients, and stakeholders to obtain the feedback needed to improve both the policy and operational effectiveness of recovery efforts. (GAO)
Recommendations
“As of April, 2014, FEMA has 14,844 employees across the country – at headquarters, the ten regional offices, the National Emergency Training Center, Center for Domestic Preparedness/Noble Training Center and other locations.” FEMA Resilient communities begin with prepared individuals and depend on the leadership and engagement of local government, NGOs, and the private sector. Individuals, families, and caregivers to those with special needs should enhance their awareness of risk and threats, develop household emergency plans that include care for pets and service animals, and prepare emergency supply kits.4 Individuals can also volunteer in their communities. Local police, fire, emergency medical services, public health and medical providers, emergency management, public works, environmental response professionals, and others in the community are often the first to detect a threat or hazard, or respond to an incident. They also are often the last to leave an incident site or otherwise to cope with the effects of an incident. The local senior elected or appointed official (the mayor, city manager, or county manager) is responsible for ensuring the public safety and welfare of residents. In today’s world, senior officials and their emergency managers build the foundation for an effective response. They organize and integrate their capabilities and resources with neighboring jurisdictions, the State, NGOs, and the private sector. Increasingly, businesses are vital partners within communities wherever retail locations, service sites, manufacturing facilities, or management offices are located. NGOs and not-for-profit organizations also play a key role in strengthening communities’ response efforts through their knowledge of hard-to-reach populations, outreach, and services. Each community defines successful recovery outcomes differently based on its circumstances, challenges, recovery vision and priorities. Although no single definition fits all situations, successful recoveries do share conditions in which:
The community successfully overcomes the physical, emotional and environmental impacts of the disaster. It reestablishes an economic and social base that instills confidence in the community members and businesses regarding community viability. It rebuilds by integrating the functional needs of all residents and reducing its vulnerability to all hazards facing it. The entire community demonstrates a capability to be prepared, responsive, and resilient in dealing with the consequences of disasters. Recovery is more than the community’s return to pre-disaster circumstances, especially when the community determines that these circumstances are no longer sustainable, competitive or functional as shown by the community’s post-disaster condition. A successful recovery in this case may include a decision to relocate all or some portion of the community assets and restoration of the affected area to a more natural environment. In these circumstances, the community recovery decisionmaking is informed by evaluating all alternatives and options and avoiding simple rebuilding or reconstructing of an area that continues to be vulnerable.

Individuals and families need to plan and be prepared to sustain themselves in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. Those who prepare reduce personal stress, and they enhance their ability to undertake their own recovery and shape the future of their community’s recovery. The extent to which individuals and families adequately prepare for disasters has an impact on the success of the recovery. This includes carrying adequate insurance and maintaining essential levels of supplies, such as medication, food and water. Resources to help individuals and families prepare are available through websites and publications of various organizations that are active in disasters, including local, State, Tribal and Federal agencies. Maintaining awareness of public information on the recovery process helps to eliminate confusion and uncertainty
The general public plays a key role in being a part of the emergency management. Individuals can help by limiting the amount of hazards in their residence, prepare an emergency kit and plan (where they will have supplies, such as food and water for each individual in the house for a week, a first aid kit, flashlights and batteries, an emergency radio, and evacuation plan, etc.). By doing this, people have a better chance of surviving until further help and assistance arrives. It is critical to listen to emergency broadcastings, but to respond, and take action in a timely manner. In doing so, people can save their lives and others. The public can also volunteer their time at a local organization, such as the RedCross; where they can be a part of a team that are the first responders in their area.
“Enrolling in emergency response training courses. Emergency response training, whether basic first aid through the American Red Cross or a more complex course through a local college, will enable residents to take initial response actions required to take care of themselves and their households, thus allowing first responders to focus on higher priority tasks that affect the entire community. Citizen Corps brings together local leaders from government and civic leaders from NGOs and the private sector to prepare for and respond to incidents. Citizen Corps Councils are typically sponsored by elected or appointed officials and/or emergency managers. These Councils provide leadership and support for programs that educate, train, and engage community volunteers to support emergency management and responders.
Unfortunately, disaster preparedness and response can be fragmented and compartmentalized. Organizations tend to prepare in on their own without pairing with other groups. Nongovernmental and community-based organizations that may offer the best avenue for connecting with community residents typically also lack a voice when issues of disaster preparedness are considered. Fragmentation also is evident across the different phases of the disaster cycle. Response-oriented organizations such as local emergency management agencies frequently lack ties to the community development and building safety departments that have jurisdiction over measures that can mitigate the effects of hazards, as well as to the organizations that would play a role in recovery decision making should a disaster occur. This compartmentalization blocks the free flow of information among parties responsible for different stages in the disaster management cycle, militating against the kinds of action that are needed to reduce the impacts of disasters. One reason that GIS has been embraced so enthusiastically by the hazards community is that it provides a platform for addressing hazard- and disaster-management problems more holistically.
It is vital to understand how people and oganizations respond to disasters and devastation. This is the particular reason why “planning models are doomed to failure when they are based on the assumption that a situation as complex and rapidly-changing as a major disaster can be centrally controlled by a single decision-making entity.” FEMA “Research shows that As disasters become larger and more complex, the number of entities that can become involved in emergency response also will grow, and crisis decision making will become increasingly decentralized. The “command and control” approach, which never was appropriate for managing disasters, represents a thoroughly outdated way of thinking about crisis response.” FEMA This is one of the main reasons that disaster response and management is now being approached as a holistic approach where all the organizations work together instead of separate. Every organization plays a minute part in the overall big picture when crisis erupts.
“Planning makes it possible to manage the entire life cycle of a potential crisis, determine capability requirements, and help stakeholders learn their roles.”FEMA Planning is a combination of analysis and development of strategies that will help complete the task at hand. Planning has multiple benefits, such as minimizing the amount of time required to access and exchange information. “Governments at all levels have a responsibility to develop detailed, robust, allhazards response plans. These plans should have clearly defined leadership roles and responsibilities, and they should clearly articulate the decisions that need to be made, who will make them, and when.” (FEMA) Governments should include specific and general (comprehensive) hazard plans that are custom to the respective jurisdiction. It is important for plans to include the time frame that it would take to clean up after a disaster, including ones that had no prior notice or warning. Plans should be made regarding transportation, and various weather emergencies. People should be aware of local emergency shelters and shelters should be equipped to care for people with disabilities. Furthermore, pets become family for a majority of the population; therefore, there needs to be considerations for that portion of the population. There must be standard guides and regulations to ensure rapid implementation of protocols.
Virtually every Federal department and agency possesses personnel and resources that may be needed in response to an incident. Some Federal departments and agencies have primary responsibility for certain aspects of response, such as hazardous materials removal. Others may have supporting roles in providing different types of resources, such as communications personnel and equipment. Regardless of their roles, all Federal departments and agencies must develop policies, plans, and procedures governing how they will effectively locate resources and provide them as part of a coordinated response. The Integrated Planning System is the national planning system used to develop interagency and intergovernmental plans based upon the National Planning Scenarios.
Organizing to execute response activities includes developing an overall organizational structure, strengthening leadership at each level, and assembling well-qualified teams of paid and volunteer staff for essential response and recovery tasks.

The National Incident Management System (NIMS) provides standard command and management structures that apply to response. This common system enables responders from different jurisdictions and disciplines to work together to respond to incidents. Governments at all levels should organize to support effective response. The leader of each government organization should vest the official responsible for response activities with sufficient authority to meet the organization’s responsibilities under the Framework. Government agencies at all levels are encouraged to conduct a thorough, systematic inventory of their response resources and to conform to NIMS organizational and management principles as noted above. Government agencies should also ensure they have a cadre of personnel (which can include full-time employees, temporary or surge personnel, and contractors) who are trained in incident management and response principles and organized into teams. Personnel and equipment can be organized to provide a particular function or mission capability. Governments at all levels should use the NIMS resource management principles described below to enhance response capabilities. • Individual Resources. Resources are organized by category, kind,

size, capacity, skill, and other characteristics. This organization makes resource management more efficient and ensures that similar resources from different agencies are organized according to standard principles. • Emergency Support Functions. The Federal Government and many State governments organize much of their resources and capabilities – as well as those of certain private-sector and nongovernmental organizations – under 15 Emergency Support Functions (ESFs). ESFs align categories of resources and provide strategic objectives for their use. ESFs utilize standardized resource management concepts such as typing, inventorying, and tracking to facilitate the dispatch, deployment, and recovery of resources before, during, and after an incident. ESF coordinators and primary agencies are identified on the basis of authorities and resources. Support agencies are assigned based on the availability of resources in a given functional area. ESFs provide the greatest possible access to Federal department and agency resources regardless of which organization has those resources. The Federal Government and many State governments use pre-scripted mission assignments to assist in planning and to reduce the time it takes to deploy response resources. Pre-scripted mission assignments identify resources or capabilities of government organizations that are commonly called upon during response to an incident. Pre-scripted mission assignments allow primary and supporting ESF agencies to organize resources that can be tailored to develop, train, and exercise rosters of deployable response 24 ESF Annexes are available at the NRF Resource Center, All local, tribal, and State governments are encouraged to use prescripted mission assignments to expedite the delivery of services and commodities in response to an incident. • Advanced Readiness Contracting. While the Federal Government and many State governments have tremendous resources on hand to support local governments, certain resources are more efficiently deployed when procured from the private sector. Advanced readiness contracting ensures that contracts are in place before an incident for commonly needed commodities and services such as ice, water, plastic sheeting, temporary power, and debris removal. This type of contracting improves the ability to secure supplies and services by streamlining the process of ordering, acquiring, and distributing resources when needed. • Pre-Positioned Resources. Since virtually all incidents are local in nature, resources should be positioned close to those localities most at risk for particular types of events. For example, the Federal Government pre-positions resource stockpiles to leverage the geographic distribution of Federal regional, district, and field offices across the country. Additionally, federally administered response networks such as the National Urban Search and Rescue Response System and the National Disaster Medical System utilize locally sponsored resources to enhance Federal response efforts, reduce response times, and strengthen preparedness in their communities. 3. EQUIP Local, tribal, State, and Federal jurisdictions need to establish a common understanding of the capabilities of distinct types of response equipment. This facilitates planning before an incident, as well as rapid scaling and flexibility in meeting the needs of an incident. A critical component of preparedness is the acquisition of equipment that will perform to established standards, including the capability to be interoperable with equipment used by other jurisdictions and/or participating organizations. Effective preparedness requires jurisdictions to identify and have strategies to obtain and deploy major equipment, supplies, facilities, and systems in sufficient quantities to perform assigned missions and tasks. The mobilization, tracking, use, sustaining, and demobilization of physical and human resources require an effective logistics system. That system must support both the residents in need and the teams that are responding to the incident. Resource typing provides a uniform method of sharing commonly understood resources when needed in a major incident. Governments at all levels should ensure that their personnel have the necessary resources to perform assigned response missions and tasks. This includes obtaining equipment needed to conduct specific response missions and maintaining core capabilities to communicate effectively among Federal, State, tribal, and local responders using the incident management and response structures described in the Framework. Government organizations responsible for providing equipment for response activities should bundle that equipment into standardized equipment caches and be prepared to provide for its safe transportation. They must also routinely service and maintain such equipment and support the resources needed to maintain, repair, and operate it in the field.
Building essential response capabilities nationwide requires a systematic program to train individual teams and organizations – to include governmental, nongovernmental, private-sector, and voluntary organizations – to meet a common baseline of performance and certification standards. Professionalism and experience are the foundation upon which successful response is built. Rigorous, ongoing training is thus imperative.25 Individuals and teams, whether paid or volunteer, should meet relevant local, tribal, State, Federal, or professional qualifications, certifications, or performance standards. Content and methods of training must comply with applicable standards and produce required skills and measurable proficiency. FEMA and other organizations offer response and incident management training in online and classroom formats.
Exercises allow organizations to test and improve their plans while being in a risk-free setting. “Exercises assess and validate proficiency levels.” (FEMA) And help everyone understand their part in the process. “Well-designed exercises improve interagency coordination and communications, highlight capability gaps, and identify opportunities for improvement.” (FEMA) Some important factors that exercises should include are an array of differing incidents, participation of private-sector and nongovernmental organizations, cover the processes and procedures of every party involved, go over the integration of corrective actions. “In addition, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) coordinates the National Exercise Program,26 which requires Federal departments and agencies to participate in an exercise program based upon the National Planning Scenarios contained in the National Preparedness Guidelines. This program coordinates and, where appropriate, integrates a 5-year homeland security exercise schedule across Federal agencies and incorporates exercises at the State and local levels.” FEMA
Constant re-evaulation to improve preparedness is necessary. After every exercise is completed, an evaluation should be held to check for shortfalls and correct them as needed. To improve the planning “All local, tribal, State, and Federal entities should institute a corrective action program to evaluate exercise participation and response, capture lessons learned, and make improvements in their response capabilities.” FEMA There should always be an active plan in place that will help define organizations roles, responsibilities, prioritize, assign, monitor, and report. “The Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) Toolkit is a Web-based system that enables implementation of the corrective action program process. In this way, the continuous cycle of preparedness yields enhancements to national preparedness.”FEMA