Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS),initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders on April 1,1979. The agency's primary purpose is to coordinate the response to a disaster that has occurred in the United States and that overwhelms the resources of local and state authorities. The governor of the state in which the disaster occurs must declare a state of emergency and formally request from the President that FEMA and the federal government respond to the disaster. The only exception to the state's gubernatorial declaration requirement occurs when an emergency or disaster takes place on federal property or to a federal asset—for example,the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City,Oklahoma,or the Space Shuttle Columbia in the 2003 return-flight disaster.
Kathleen Marie Blanco was an American politician who served as the 54th governor of Louisiana from 2004 to 2008. A member of the Democratic Party,she was the first and,to date,only woman elected as the state's governor.
Michael Chertoff is an American attorney who was the second United States Secretary of Homeland Security to serve under President George W. Bush. Chertoff also served for one additional day under President Barack Obama. He was the co-author of the USA PATRIOT Act. Chertoff previously served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit,as a federal prosecutor,and as Assistant U.S. Attorney General. He succeeded Tom Ridge as U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security on February 15,2005.
Hurricane Katrina was a devastating Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused 1392 fatalities and damage estimated between $97.4 billion to $145.5 billion in late August 2005,particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. At the time,it was the costliest tropical cyclone on record,later tied by Hurricane Harvey of 2017. Katrina was the twelfth tropical cyclone,the fifth hurricane,and the third major hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It was also the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane to make landfall in the contiguous United States,gauged by barometric pressure.
Hurricane preparedness in New Orleans has been an issue since the city's early settlement because of its location.
Joe M. Allbaugh is an American political figure in the Republican Party. After spending most of his career in Oklahoma and Texas,Allbaugh came to national prominence working for Texas governor George W. Bush and helping manage his 2000 presidential election campaign. Allbaugh then became Bush's Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) beginning in February 2001. He served until FEMA's transfer into the newly created Department of Homeland Security,after which he resigned in March 2003. He was appointed as the interim Director of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections by the state Board of Corrections,effective January 11,2016. On July 6,2016,the Oklahoma Board of Corrections voted unanimously to make his appointment permanent and set his salary at $185,000. Allbaugh has pointed out his department "is not a listing ship,it is a sinking ship."
Criticism of the government response to Hurricane Katrina was a major political dispute in the United States in 2005 that consisted primarily of condemnations of mismanagement and lack of preparation in the relief effort in response to Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Specifically,there was a delayed response to the flooding of New Orleans,Louisiana.
The disaster recovery response to Hurricane Katrina in late 2005 included U.S. federal government agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA),the United States Coast Guard (USCG),state and local-level agencies,federal and National Guard soldiers,non-governmental organizations,charities,and private individuals. Tens of thousands of volunteers and troops responded or were deployed to the disaster;most in the affected area but also throughout the U.S. at shelters set up in at least 19 states.
This article contains a historical timeline of the events of Hurricane Katrina' on August 23–30,2005 and its aftermath.
Thad William Allen is a former admiral of the United States Coast Guard who served as the 23rd commandant from 2006 to 2010. Allen is best known for his performance directing the federal response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the Gulf Coast region from September 2005 to January 2006,and for his role as National Incident Commander of the Unified Command for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Robert J. Papp Jr. succeeded him as Commandant on 25 May 2010.
In September 2005,units of the Mexican Armed Forces responded to the emergency situations after Hurricane Katrina with aid and assistance,appearing as a flagged,uniformed force in the United States for the first time since World War II in the 1940s and the first operational deployment of Mexican troops to the U.S. in 159 years.
The National Response Plan (NRP) was a United States national plan to respond to emergencies such as natural disasters or terrorist attacks. It came into effect in December 2004,and was superseded by the National Response Framework on March 22,2008.
Hurricane Katrina struck the United States on August 29,2005,causing over a thousand deaths and extreme property damage,particularly in New Orleans. The incident affected numerous areas of governance,including disaster preparedness and environmental policy.
Robert David Paulison is an American former fire chief who served as the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Paulison was appointed by President George W. Bush on September 12,2005,to replace the embattled Michael D. Brown,who resigned amid controversy over his handling of disaster relief in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Prior to his appointment,Paulison was perhaps best known nationally for his 2003 advisory regarding household items to have on hand in case of terrorist attack. At the 2009 National Hurricane Conference,he announced he would resign January 21,2009.
Harvey Elwood Johnson Jr.,retired Vice Admiral,United States Coast Guard,is the President of Humanitarian Services for the American Red Cross. Previously,Johnson was the former Vice President for National Preparedness and Response Solutions at BAE Systems and Deputy Administrator and Chief Operating Officer of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
This article covers the details of the Preparations for Hurricane Katrina, a major category 5 hurricane that devastated parts of New Orleans,Florida,Louisiana,Mississippi,and Alabama,as well as the Hurricane Pam simulation and NWS forecasts that led to the U.S. government's decision to establish a Bipartisan Congressional Committee to investigate the country's preparedness for and response to Hurricane Katrina.
The Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act (PETS) was a bi-partisan initiative in the United States House of Representatives to require states seeking Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance to accommodate pets and service animals in their plans for evacuating residents facing disasters. Introduced by Congressmen Tom Lantos (D-California) and Christopher Shays (R-Connecticut) on September 22,2005,the bill passed the House of Representatives on May 22,2006,by a margin of 349 to 29. Technically an amendment to the Stafford Act,it was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 6,2006. The bill is now Public Law 109-308.
Nancy L. Ward is the Director of the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services and Homeland Security Adviser to the Governor of California. Previously,Ward served in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as the Regional Administrator for Region IX from 2006 until 2014. During this time,from January until May of 2009,Ward was selected to serve as FEMA's Acting Administrator by her predecessor,R. David Paulison to serve in his place after he retired on January 21,2009. She returned to the position of Region IX Administrator in May 2009 after Craig Fugate was appointed as Federal Administrator.
William Craig Fugate is the former administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. As director for the Florida Emergency Management Division,he oversaw the "Big 4 of '04" and as the administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency,he organized recovery efforts for a record of eighty-seven disasters in 2011.
In late October 2012,the post-tropical cyclone once known as Hurricane Sandy made landfall in New Jersey. By the time it made landfall,it had merged with other storm systems. Though no longer a hurricane,the combined storm caused over $50 billion in damages and cost over 100 lives in the United States.
