At the same time the federal  government has been developing guidance and standards for state and  local first responders in the areas of incident management and capabilities  and tying certain requirements to the award of grants. DHS has undertaken three major policy initiatives to promote the further  development of the all-hazards emergency preparedness capabilities of  first responders. Major emergency incidents, particularly  catastrophic incidents, by definition require the coordinated actions of  personnel from many first responder disciplines and all levels of  government, plus nonprofit organizations and the private sector. Following are some illustrative tasks needed to prepare for and respond to  a major emergency incident that could be tested with realistic exercises:    assessing potential needs, marshalling key resources, and moving property  and people out of harm’s way prior to the actual event (where predictable  or where there is forewarning),   obtaining and communicating accurate situational data for evaluating and  coordinating appropriate response during and after the event;  leadership: effectively blending (1) active involvement of top leadership in  unified incident command and control with (2) decentralized decision  making authority that encourages innovative approaches to effective  response;    clearly understood roles and responsibilities prior to and in response to    effective communication and coordination; and  the ability to identify, draw on, and effectively deploy resources from  other governmental, nonprofit, and private entities for effective response  For exercises to be effective in identifying both strengths and areas  needing attention, it is important that they be realistic, designed to test and  stress the system, involve all key persons who would be involved in  responding to an actual event, and be followed by honest and realistic  assessments that result in action plans that are implemented. What is  remarkable about the whole area of emergency preparedness and  homeland security is how little we know about how states and localities  (1) finance their efforts in this area, (2) have used their federal funds, and  (3) are assessing the effectiveness with which they spend those funds. Katrina raised a number of questions about the nation’s ability to respond  effectively to catastrophic events—even one with several days warning. It is also a task that is never done, but requires continuing  commitment and leadership and trade-offs because circumstances change  and we will never have the funds to do everything we might like to do. As the nation assesses the lessons of Katrina, we must incorporate those  lessons in assessing state and local emergency management plans, amend  those plans as appropriate, and reflect those changes in planned  expenditures and exercises.
Why GAO Did This Study

This testimony discusses the challenges of effective emergency preparedness for, response to, and recovery from major emergencies, including catastrophic incidents.

What GAO Found

Effective emergency preparedness and response for major events requires the coordinated planning and actions of multiple players from multiple first responder disciplines, jurisdictions, and levels of government as well as nongovernmental entities. Effective emergency preparedness and response requires putting aside parochialism and working together prior to and after an emergency incident. September 11, 2001 fundamentally changed the context of emergency management preparedness in the United States, including federal involvement in preparedness and response. The biggest challenge in emergency preparedness is getting effective cooperation in planning, exercises, and capability assessment and building across first responder disciplines and intergovernmental lines. DHS has developed several policy documents designed to define the federal government's role in supporting state and local first responders in emergencies, implement a uniform incident command structure across the nation, and identify performance standards that can be used in assessing state and local first responder capabilities. Realistic exercises are a key component of testing and assessing emergency plans and first responder capabilities, and the Hurricane PAM planning exercise demonstrated their value. With regard to the status of emergency preparedness across the nation, we know relatively little about how states and localities (1) finance their efforts in this area, (2) have used their federal funds, and (3) are assessing the effectiveness with which they spend those funds. Katrina has raised a host of questions about the nation's readiness to respond effectively to catastrophic emergencies. Effective emergency preparedness is a task that is never done, but requires continuing commitment and leadership because circumstances change and continuing trade-offs because we will never have the funds to do everything we might like to do.