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Release Date: 06/16/06 00:00:00
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010
June 16, 2006
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued findings today from a national assessment of the country’s catastrophic planning capabilities. Responding to directives from President Bush and the Congress, following Hurricane Katrina, the Nationwide Plan Review (PDF, 174 Pages - 3.9 MB) looked at whether existing emergency operations plans for states and urban areas are sufficient for managing a catastrophic event. The Review also presents conclusions on actions needed by the federal government to improve and coordinate planning.
Conducted in all 56 States and territories and 75 urban areas over 6 months, the Nationwide Plan Review was the most comprehensive assessment of emergency operations plans to date relative to planning for a catastrophic event. Reviewers examined nearly 2,800 emergency operations plans and related documents with participation from more than 1,000 emergency managers and homeland security officials.
The two-phase review began with a self-assessment of key planning components. Then Peer Review Teams, composed of former state and local homeland security and emergency management officials, visited each site and assessed the plans against national standards developed just prior to Katrina. To provide an overall picture, plan components were assessed on a scale of “Sufficient,” “Partially Sufficient,” or “Not Sufficient” to manage a catastrophic event. The majority of components assessed fell into the “partially sufficient” category.
While most areas of the country are well prepared to handle standard disaster situations, the National Plan Review findings demonstrate the need for all levels of government across the country to improve emergency operations plans for catastrophic events such as a major terrorist attack or category-five hurricane strike. Several areas, including evacuation, attention to populations with special needs, command structure, and resource management, were areas needing significant attention.
After completing the assessments and findings, the reviewers also provided more detailed follow-up briefings to individual States and urban areas.
“Dedicated officials across the country have, for the most part, done very well in planning for and responding to disasters of the scope and scale most common in the United States” said George Foresman, DHS Under Secretary for Preparedness. “However, the findings of the Nationwide Plan Review unequivocally support the need to modernize planning processes, products, and tools, and to move our national emergency planning efforts to the next level needed for catastrophic events. It is a natural evolution towards working together as a nation to implement the lessons from seminal events such as the September 11th attacks and Hurricane Katrina.”
To address the National Plan Review findings and conclusions, the department has established a National Preparedness Task Force that will oversee DHS efforts to strengthen and systematize catastrophic planning among all levels of government by ensuring lessons from recent disasters are translated into nationwide enhancements for catastrophic planning.
The Nationwide Plan Review was conducted in coordination with the Department of Transportation, which focused specifically on evacuation planning. The Phase 2 report reflects findings from both the peer assessments and self assessments. It identifies 15 initial conclusions for States and urban areas and 24 for the Federal government. High level summaries for each state and urban area accompany the final report.
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This page was last reviewed/modified on 06/16/06 00:00:00.