[MDC-EC] Fwd: Hurricane , Disaster Preparedness Complacency Continues To Grow

[n3sb at qis.net]

FYI -- N3SB



http://www.hstoday.us/content/view/8740/149/





Hurricane, Disaster Preparedness Complacency Continues to Grow


by Anthony L. Kimery

Tuesday, 02 June 2009


Preparedness authorities are warning that residents of hurricane  
regions are even more apathetic than last year

Prior to last year´s hurricane season, state, federal and other  
emergency preparedness authorities warned that residents of hurricane  
prone regions had become far too complacent towards personal  
preparedness. Polls and surveys buttressed their concerns.

Today, as the 2009 hurricane season looms on the Atlantic,  
preparedness authorities are warning that residents of hurricane  
country are even more apathetic than they were when they were polled  
this time last year. In addition, authorities say too many people  
still have considerable misunderstandings about the federal  
government´s role in responding to catastrophic disasters.

This should come as no surprise to regular readers of HSToday.us,  
which has repeatedly reported that complacency toward preparedness  
across the board has become an entrenched problem.

Last December, for example, HSToday.us reported that three new reports  
reinforced emergency public health preparedness authorities' alarms  
about "creeping complacency" over the last half-decade. Indeed,  
emergency care and individual preparedness for emergencies has  
continued to worsen - despite the billions that have been spent on  
preparedness and efforts to emphasize individual disaster readiness.

Now a new Mason-Dixon Polling & Research poll released last week  
disclosed that 66 percent of the individuals surveyed for the poll  
have no hurricane survival kit and 55 percent don't have a family  
disaster plan - statistics that track with earlier similar polling  
statistics on personal preparedness.

"After an active 2008 hurricane season, residents from Texas to Maine  
have taken no steps to prepare for major storms," said a statement  
from Mason-Dixon on its new poll, which was conducted as part of the  
2009 National Hurricane Survival Initiative launched last week at the  
International Hurricane Research Center in Miami at Florida  
International University. The initiative, which focuses on  
hurricane-vulnerable states, aims to educate residents on hurricane  
preparedness and how to stay safe from the risks they face.

Nearly 36 million Americans - 12 percent of the population - live in  
areas threatened by Atlantic Ocean hurricanes.

On the eve of this year´s hurricane season, President Obama Friday  
urged residents of hurricane prone regions to begin taking appropriate  
responsibility for their personal safety and preparedness.

"A lot of these plans are not complicated," Obama said following a  
disaster preparedness briefing at the Federal Emergency Management  
Agency (FEMA).

National Weather Service Director Louis Uccellini said following a  
White House briefing on hurricane preparedness activities that people  
who live in hurricane regions of the nation "can't wait until a storm  
is approaching the coast. They have to make their plans now."

Authorities made identical pleas prior to the 2008 hurricane season.

Yet, "even after feeling the threat of five major hurricanes, all  
category 3 or stronger, during the 2008 hurricane season, many  
Americans in the Gulf and Atlantic coastal states have made no  
preparations for the impending `mean season,´ according to the  
Mason-Dixon poll.

The poll further found that the number of respondents who believe  
storms pose no direct threat to them rose to 62 percent from 54  
percent in 2008.

The poll also found 16 percent mistakenly think the government will  
provide food, water and shelter immediately after a storm.

Similar misconceptions abound about the federal government's - and  
even state and local governments' - role during crises like a pandemic  
or catastrophic terrorist attack.

The latest Mason-Dixon poll shows most residents of coastal states  
still do not feel vulnerable to the catastrophic destruction and  
deadly forces of a hurricane and thus have not adequately prepared for  
a hurricane. More than half of those polled reported they would not  
leave home if a major storm was approaching or would only evacuate if  
ordered by local officials. Similar polls last year found identical  
sentiments on the part of residents of hurricane prone areas of the  
country.

"It is crucial that residents of coastal states be aware that they  
must prepare in advance," said Florida Lieutenant Governor Jeff  
Kottkamp. "Waiting until 24 hours before the storm hits is simply not  
enough time and puts residents at great risk."

"As the 2009 hurricane season approaches, many residents still believe  
it won´t happen to them," said Dr. Jack Beven, senior hurricane  
forecaster at the National Hurricane Center. "Unfortunately, these  
devastating storms could happen to anyone and the only way to keep  
yourself and your family safe is to be prepared."

Meanwhile, on Friday the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued  
the report, National Preparedness: FEMA Has Made Progress, but Needs  
to Complete and Integrate Planning, Exercise, and Assessment Efforts,  
which concluded that FEMA does not have a plan to coordinate federal  
disaster exercises and is unable to determine whether federal agencies  
and states and localities are prepared to respond to major disasters.

"FEMA has not established a program management plan, in coordination  
with other federal departments and agencies, to help ensure the  
development and integration of outstanding policies and plans," GAO  
concluded. "Further, until the national preparedness system includes a  
complete and integrated set of policies and plans that lay out roles  
and responsibilities and planning processes, FEMA´s ability to prepare  
officials responsible for responding to natural and man-made disasters  
will be limited."

Arnold Bogis, a Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and  
International Affairs, told HSToday.us that preparedness for  
catastrophic disasters and terrorist attacks - especially using  
nuclear bombs or radiological dispersal devices - "has been  
shortchanged at the federal level and is practically non-existent at  
the state and local level (except for New York City and some other  
pockets)."

HSToday.us has been reporting on the problems with such preparedness  
efforts for more than four years.

Continuing, GAO stated that "FEMA cannot effectively assess the  
progress and performance of the National Exercise Program in making  
improvements in national preparedness," and that while the agency "has  
made progress in developing and implementing a system for assessing  
national preparedness capabilities, [it] faces methodological and  
coordination challenges in completing the system and issuing required  
reports on national preparedness."

GAO reported that "FEMA has established reporting guidance for state  
preparedness and has created a program office to develop and implement  
an assessment approach that considers past efforts and integrates its  
ongoing efforts related to measuring the results of federal grants and  
assessing gaps in disaster response capabilities," but that it "faces  
challenges in developing and completing this approach."

As noted in the January 2009 Federal Preparedness Report, GAO stated  
"efforts to assess capabilities and make needed improvements are the  
least mature elements of the national preparedness system because  
these efforts are composed of a wide range of systems and approaches  
with varying levels of integration. FEMA faces methodological  
challenges that include deciding how information and data from  
different sources will be used to inform the system and developing an  
approach for coordinating with federal, state, and local stakeholders  
in developing and implementing the system and reporting on its results."

According to GAO, "DHS said it generally agreed with our  
recommendations. However, DHS expressed concern that the report  
suggests that DHS/FEMA should hold other federal agencies and  
departments or state, local or tribal governments accountable for  
compliance with program requirements, while also recognizing that FEMA  
did not always have the explicit authority to compel compliance."

"We recognize that FEMA´s authority is generally to coordinate, guide,  
and support, rather than direct, and that collaboration is an  
essential element of FEMA´s efforts," GAO stated, but "at the same  
time, we believe that FEMA´s expanded leadership role under the  
Post-Katrina Act provides it with opportunities for and a  
responsibility to further develop its relationships with national  
preparedness stakeholders at the local, state and federal levels and  
to instill a shared sense of responsibility and accountability on the  
part of all stakeholders for the successful development and  
implementation of the national preparedness system. Several of our  
recommendations aim to enhance such collaboration and cooperation."










Dennis C. Dura, K2DCD

Manager, Emergency Preparedness & Response

ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio