Tag: Disaster Response

Last week Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced a bill to the House of Representatives that calls for the creation of a multi-agency federal team to improve and reform federal disaster assistance. The bill, H.R. 4288, was introduced on December 17, and was then referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. For more […]

In late October, the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) issued the Community Resilience Planning Guide for Buildings and Infrastructure Systems to help U.S. communities better withstand and recover from natural disasters and other hazards.  The guide was developed by NIST with the help of specialists from multiple levels of community and government agencies, […]

Last week the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released their testimony on the progress made by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) since Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. The testimony is based on previous GAO reports that were issued between 2012 and 2015, and audits the progress FEMA has made in national preparedness, disaster response and recovery, […]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently published a report assessing the American Red Cross’s cooperation with U.S. government agencies when providing disaster relief services. The report addresses the nature and extent of the Red Cross’s disaster services, how the Red Cross coordinates with the federal government on disaster assistance, and what external oversight exists of […]

This week marked the beginning of National Preparedness Month, and U.S. government agencies are encouraging their personnel and all other Americans to be prepared at all times to respond quickly to disasters and emergencies. According to Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work, “Preparedness is the shared responsibility of our entire nation.” Work also noted that the […]

This August marks the tenth anniversary of the catastrophic 2005 Atlantic hurricane season that devastated the gulf coast region. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall, followed shortly by Hurricanes Rita and Wilma in September and October. Ten years into the recovery and rebuilding efforts, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has outlined the […]

The U.S. continues to provide assistance in disaster relief efforts in Nepal after multiple earthquakes. The 7.8 earthquake and 7.3 magnitude aftershock have claimed over 8,000 lives and injured nearly 18,000 people…

The U.S. government and military are both actively providing assistance to Nepal after the April 25 earthquake…

Last year, the RAND Corporation published a report examining the multi-agency response following Hurricane Sandy in 2012…

In December 2014, the Government Accountability Office released a report analyzing current strategies to prepare for no-notice catastrophic emergencies that assesses federal interagency emergency support function preparedness…