Local Involvement, Communications Needed for Improved Disaster Response

Local Involvement, Communications Needed for Improved Disaster Response

Even with improved intergovernmental responses to national disasters, local governments should be prepared to be on their own for the first 48 to 72 hours before federal assistance arrives, according to a representative from the National League of Cities (NLC). Testifying today before the House Committee on Homeland Security, Audwin M. Samuel, mayor pro tem of Beaumont, Tex., said that his recent experience with Hurricane Rita showed how challenging disaster response can be when local governments are not full and equal partners in the decision-making process.

What is clear is that Hurricane Katrina, and to some extent Rita, revealed the need for improved intergovernmental response to catastrophic disasters, Samuel said. When we have a truly organized system to respond to emergencies, the nation will realize that a natural disaster does not have to be a national disaster.

Samuel serves as vice-chair of NLCs Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy Committee, and was an active participant in his citys response to Hurricane Rita. Samuel said Beaumont had planned carefully for the hurricane and participated in numerous conference calls with other city, county and state officials to discuss their incident management system.

There was a clear understanding of who was responsible and who had authority, Samuel said. Unfortunately and in spite of their best efforts, once the federal government stepped in, things changed. For example, Samuel said that federal officials could not release the generators necessary to power-up the city or ice trucks until those in Washington approved the assessment process, not the regional command system or federal officials on the ground, and local authority was marginalized.

The publics frustration grew considerably on Sunday and Monday as they weathered the Texas heat without power, while generators and ice stayed in the trucks awaiting approval by Washington, DC, Samuel said. As our recent experience with Rita indicates, a clear understanding of who is responsible and who has authority to do what is key to an effective intergovernmental response. In our case, federal bureaucratic red tape prevented the county judge, who was the designated command chief, from making the decisions on the ground necessary to mobilize needed supplies.

Samuel also expressed concern about the problem with emergency communications. State and local police were unable to communicate with each other since their systems were not interoperable. Local police, with personal knowledge of the geographic layout of the city and back roads, had to be paired with other law enforcement agencies to serve as communication conduits to the state and other officials, Samuel said.

Samuel presented a set of recommendations from the National League of Cities for the House Committee to consider as they work to establish a more effective national preparedness and response plan.

1)Federal and state emergency management officials must work closely with and directly involve local officials in key decisions affecting homeland security, disaster preparedness and response. The US Dept. of Homeland Security should continue to maintain a central office for coordinating local and state domestic preparedness activities. Local officials should also be afforded the maximum flexibility to use the federal and state technical and financial funds to meet the needs of their constituents.

2)Adequate funding is needed for local emergency preparedness and disaster planning so a city can tailor its plans to meet the special circumstances and needs of the area, including those with facilities such as the oil refineries in Texas and those with dense populations that have the potential to be terrorist targets or are prone to natural disasters.

3)Local governments must have appropriate emergency communication systems.

Since the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, NLC has been an outspoken advocate for legislation to permanently clear broadcast spectrum for emergency communications. Most recently, NLC has called on Congress to pass the Homeland Emergency Response Operations Act (HERO), H.R. 1646.

4)Local governments must be provided with the technical assistance and regional training devoted to disaster preparedness and response.

5)The federal government must find a way to share information with local governments without jeopardizing national security. The federal government should collect data on the effects of the disasters and lessons learned from Katrina and Rita and disseminate that analysis to assist state and local disaster-related efforts.

6)The federal government should provide assistance to state and local governments so they can conduct annual hazard and risk assessments to determine the vulnerability of particular areas or structures that might be susceptible to disasters or terrorist acts based on historical and/or intelligence information.

7)A uniform emergency warning system should be developed to ensure that as people travel throughout the nation they will be informed of existing emergencies and advised how to respond.

8)Local governments should be supported in their efforts to encourage the public and private sectors to retrofit existing structures to reduce future losses from natural disasters and to locate new construction outside of high-risk areas such as flood plains, coastal areas or on or near earthquake faults.

Source: Nation's Cities Weekly