NEW YORK: U.S. government officials were too preoccupied by concerns of terrorism that they rather overlooked the dangers posed by natural disasters, according to a new department of homeland security report on the management of hurricanes that devastated parts of the country.
The report admitted that natural disasters occur more frequently and are not preventable, but it concluded that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has been criticized in the past for its slow and ineffective response to Hurricane Katrina last year, needed to improve.
The report is said to have observed: "Much of the criticism is warranted."
The report, prepared by the department's inspector general Richard Skinner, has listed 38 suggestions for improving the effectiveness of FEMA in areas like housing of disaster victims and communications with local officials. The agency should also train its staff, improve its computer systems and gain better support from the department of homeland security, which has been given responsibility for the agency, the report added.
The report observed that the takeover of the once independent FEMA by the department has not been a smooth affair. Additional work and a level of support not currently demonstrated would be required for the full integration, it noted.
Skinner's list of problems that hampered an effective functioning of FEMA at the time of the hurricanes includes poor communications, a lack of coordination among government agencies and failure to get emergency supplies where and when they were needed most.
Homeland security department officials said they have already started implementing many of the recommended changes in order to ready the agency for the oncoming hurricane season. A department spokesperson confirmed many of the recommendations are already being implemented, including revamped federal response plans and the assurance that state and local authorities are ready for the next storm season, which begins 1 June.
Skinner is also recommending steps to ensure better communications among local and state emergency responders and between federal agencies providing aid, more clearly defined roles and an established chain of command within the federal government.
Earlier reports on the performance of FEMA have found that it was hampered by untrained staff, unreliable communication systems and poor coordination in delivering aid.
A February enquiry by House of Representatives had been harsher on the government. It said the government's indifference toward disaster preparations contributed to deaths and suffering that Katrina inflicted.
