Disasters—natural and man-made—can suddenly and unpredictably devastate communities and cripple regional economies. Preparation, response, recovery, and mitigation efforts for disasters are typically costly and involve many federal programs and agencies, other levels of government, and the private and nonprofit sectors.
The effectiveness of U.S. disaster management efforts can be examined through five themes that are important to successful disaster management efforts:
- Clearly defined roles and responsibilities. Having clearly defined, coordinated, and well-understood roles and responsibilities for all levels of government and their nongovernmental partners is critical in coordinating the development and implementation of the responsibilities of the various parties involved.
- Developing and Assessing Capabilities. Developing the capabilities needed for catastrophic disasters should be part of an overall national effort designed to integrate and define what needs to be done, where, by whom, and how well coupled with the creation and use of metrics for assessing current capabilities and identifying key gaps that need to be filled. Ensuring needed capabilities are ready requires effective planning and coordination, plus robust training and exercises in which the capabilities are realistically tested and problems are identified and subsequently addressed in partnership with federal, state, local, and nongovernmental stakeholders. In addition, integrating an all-hazards risk management framework into decision making is central to assessing catastrophic disaster risks and guiding the development of national capabilities to prevent or mitigate where possible and respond to such risks.
- Effective coordination and collaboration among relevant stakeholders. Response to and recovery from a major disaster is a complex process that involves an extensive group of participants both across the federal government and at the state and local level. Recovery may take years. At least 14 federal departments and agencies are responsible for administering dozens of recovery-related programs, many of which rely heavily on active participation by state and local government for their implementation. Because these parties are dependent on each other to accomplish recovery goals, sustained focus and effective coordination and collaboration are essential.
- Accountability. Accountability controls and mechanisms ensure that resources are used appropriately for valid purposes. Following a catastrophic disaster, decision makers face a tension between the demand for rapid response and recovery assistanceincluding assistance to victimsand implementing appropriate controls and accountability mechanisms.
- Periodic evaluation of and reporting on these coordinated efforts. Collaboration between recovery partners can be enhanced by periodically evaluating and reporting on what worked, what can be improved, and what progress is still needed to address long-term recovery goals. This will assist decision makers, clients, and stakeholders to obtain the feedback needed to improve both the policy and operational effectiveness of recovery efforts.
Although the NFIP is an integral element of the federal governments efforts to minimize damage from floods, it has not generated sufficient revenues to repay the billions of dollars borrowed from the Treasury. As of May 2013, FEMA owed $24 billionup from $17.8 billion prior to Superstorm Sandyand had not repaid any principal on its loans since 2010. The Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (the Act) addresses a number of the programs financial weaknesses, for example by reducing the number of properties that are charged premium rates that do not reflect the full risk of loss. However, the extent to which the changes included in the Act will reduce the financial exposure created by the program is not yet clear. Operational and management challenges at FEMA, which administers the NFIP, have hampered the agencys ability to stabilize the program. GAO has made numerous recommendations aimed at improving financial controls, oversight of private insurers and contractors, and FEMAs management of NFIP, and FEMA has taken a number of actions that begin to address these challenges.
GAO-14-603T: Published: May 14, 2014. Publicly Released: May 14, 2014.
GAO-14-99R: Published: Nov 26, 2013. Publicly Released: Nov 26, 2013.
GAO-13-763: Published: Sep 30, 2013. Publicly Released: Nov 20, 2013.
GAO-12-838: Published: Sep 12, 2012. Publicly Released: Sep 12, 2012.
GAO-09-811: Published: Jul 31, 2009. Publicly Released: Aug 31, 2009.
GAO-06-618: Published: Sep 6, 2006. Publicly Released: Sep 6, 2006.
GAO-11-942T: Published: Sep 15, 2011. Publicly Released: Sep 15, 2011.
GAO-11-946T: Published: Sep 13, 2011. Publicly Released: Sep 13, 2011.
GAO-11-652: Published: Aug 19, 2011. Publicly Released: Sep 12, 2011.
GAO-11-260T: Published: Mar 17, 2011. Publicly Released: Mar 17, 2011.
GAO-10-969T: Published: Sep 22, 2010. Publicly Released: Sep 22, 2010.
GAO-09-526: Published: Jun 3, 2009. Publicly Released: Jun 3, 2009.
GAO-09-476T: Published: Mar 25, 2009. Publicly Released: Mar 25, 2009.