Hurricane Katrina: Better Plans and Exercises Needed to Guide the Military's Response to Catastrophic Natural Disasters
GAO-06-643
Published: May 15, 2006. Publicly Released: May 15, 2006.
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Highlights
Hurricane Katrina was one of the largest natural disasters in U.S. history. Despite a large deployment of resources at all levels, many have regarded the federal response as inadequate. GAO has a body of ongoing work that covers the federal government's preparedness and response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Due to widespread congressional interest, this review was performed under the Comptroller General's authority. It examined (1) the extent to which pre-Katrina plans and training exercises reflected the military assistance that might be required during a catastrophic, domestic, natural disaster, (2) the military support provided in response to Katrina and factors that affected that response, and (3) the actions the military is taking to address lessons learned from Katrina and to prepare for the next catastrophe.
Recommendations
Matter for Congressional Consideration
| Matter | Status | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| In a 1993 report we suggested that the Congress may want to consider removing the statutory restriction on DOD's authority to involuntarily activate Reserve units for catastrophic disaster relief. In view of the significant military downsizing that has occurred since we first raised this matter and the need to actively engage the total force in order to meet missions at home and abroad, we continue to believe that the Congress may wish to consider lifting or modifying the mobilization restriction--10 U.S.C. 12304 (c)(1)--that limits reserve component participation in catastrophic natural disasters. | Since we conducted our review, 10 U.S.C. 12304 (c)(1) has been amended twice--in 2006 and in 2008. However, these amendments did not respond to our Matter for Congressional Consideration and the latest revision, which occurred in 2008, returned this portion of the code to the language that was in place prior to the 2006 revision. |
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Defense | Given the expected heavy reliance on the military during catastrophes, the Secretary of Defense should provide the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security with proposed revisions to the National Response Plan (NRP) that will fully address the proactive functions the military will be expected to perform during a catastrophic incident, for inclusion in the next NRP update. | The National Response Framework replaced the National Response Plan but DHS currently has 15 Planning Scenarios. These planning scenarios are largely based on catastrophic events. Scenario 10 is a major hurricane, like Hurricane Katrina. Other planning scenarios deal with catastrophes such as major earthquakes or nuclear or biological attacks. US Northern Command (NORTHCOM) is DOD's lead for federal Defense Support to Civil Authorities (DSCA)in the event of a domestic catastrophic event. Since our report was issued NORTHCOM, has developed and refined its DSCA plans and has participated in several exercises based on the 15 DHS planning scenarios. These exercises, which included civil...
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| Department of Defense | In view of the fast approaching 2006 hurricane season and other natural and man-made threats that could result in a catastrophe at any instant, the Secretary of Defense should establish milestones and expedite the development of detailed plans and exercises to fully account for the unique capabilities and support that the military is likely to provide to civil authorities in response to the full range of domestic disasters, including catastrophes. The plans and exercises should specifically address the use of reconnaissance capabilities to assess damage, use of communications capabilities to facilitate support to civil authorities, integration of active component and National Guard and Reserve forces, use of search and rescue capabilities and the military's role in search and rescue, and role the military might be expected to play in logistics. | Our report noted that U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) had a functional plan--DOD's least detailed type of plan--in place at the time Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. Our report noted that this plan had been effectively used to respond to disasters prior to Katrina but noted that the lack of detail presented many challenges in the catastrophic wake of Hurricane Katrina. Following the issuance of our report, NORTHCOM upgraded it's defense support to civil authorities (DSCA) plan from a functional plan to a more detailed contingency plan. DOD in conjunction with DHS has developed a damage assessment concept of operations that uses both aircraft and ground assessment teams and utilizes...
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| Department of Defense | Since National Guard troops can join response efforts as part of the federal response or as part of the state response under mutual assistance agreements, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Chief of the National Guard Bureau to work with the state governors and adjutants general to develop and maintain a list of the types of capabilities the National Guard will likely provide in response to domestic natural disasters under state-to-state mutual assistance agreements along with the associated units that could provide these capabilities. In addition, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Chief of the National Guard Bureau to make this information available to the Northern Command, U.S. Joint Forces Command, and other organizations with federal military support to civil authority planning responsibilities. | Following the issuance of our report the National Guard Bureau (NGB), in conjunction with the states, developed a Joint Capabilities Database. The database contains an inventory of the types of capabilities and units that are available to respond to domestic disasters. The database is maintained through a partnership between NGB J5 (plans) and the Joint Force headquarters in each of the 54 states and territories. NGB has funded contractors in the states to maintain this database. In addition, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has a web-based tracking system that is visible to emergency operations centers in all the states. This tracking system shows all assets, including...
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| Department of Defense | Based on the above action by the National Guard Bureau to identify the National Guard units that are likely to respond to domestic disasters under state-to-state mutual assistance agreements, the Secretary of Defense should establish milestones and identify the types of scalable federal military capabilities and the units that could provide those capabilities in response to the full range of domestic disasters and catastrophes covered by DOD's defense support to civil authorities plans. | Our report noted that U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) had a functional plan--DOD's least detailed type of plan--in place at the time Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. Our report noted that this plan had been effectively used to respond to disasters prior to Katrina but noted that the lack of detail presented many challenges in the catastrophic wake of Hurricane Katrina. Following the issuance of our report, NORTHCOM upgraded it's defense support to civil authorities (DSCA) plan from a functional plan to a more detailed contingency plan. This contingency plan now contains scalable capability packages that have been developed in conjunction with pre-scripted Requests for Assistance...
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Topics
Civil supportDisaster planningDisaster recoveryDisaster recovery plansEmergency preparednessEmergency response plansHurricane KatrinaLessons learnedMilitary forcesNational GuardNatural disastersStrategic planningDisaster management (response)