Emergency Preparedness

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Big Capability Gaps In Government Preparedness For Catastrophic Disaster

By: Amanda Vicinanzo, Senior Editor

12/22/2014 ( 3:57pm)

Steps need to be taken to enhance interagency accountability for closing identified capability gaps and increasing coordination among federal agencies so that federal officials are more consistently carrying out emergency preparedness activities, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) audit report.

With the enormous impact of a no-notice catastrophic event, such as a nuclear terrorist attack or natural disaster, a unified response is critical to the nation’s emergency response efforts. However, GAO found that lack of coordination among federal agencies is significantly hampering the nation’s ability to respond to major disasters and identify and close capability gaps in a timely manner.

Similarly, more than a decade after the 9/11 attacks, the US continues to struggle to prepare for public health emergencies, with the Ebola outbreak highlighting serious underlying gaps in the country’s ability to handle severe infectious disease threats and control their spread.

In the event of a widespread catastrophic natural or man-made disaster in the US, not only will hospitals and other public health facilities be overwhelmed, but infections and infectious diseases could become rampant; made worse by antibiotics that some infectious diseases are resistant to. There also will be shortages of both antiobiotics and antivirals, as well as regular medications people must take daily.

In October, in the midst of rising fears over the spread of Ebola, a hearing by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform revealed DHS has not effectively managed and overseen its inventory of pandemic preparedness supplies, including protective equipment and antiviral drugs, calling into question the ability of DHS personnel to effectively respond to am infectious disease pandemic.

“The secretary of homeland security is the principal federal official responsible for domestic incident management. Yet, according to GAO, cross-government coordination on preparedness efforts between DHS and other federal agencies are insufficient,” said Congressman Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security.

And, “As such," he said, "there is no way to know just how prepared the whole of our federal government is to respond to a terrorist attack or natural disaster. More than thirteen years after the terrorist attack on 9/11, this is unacceptable.”

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in coordination with other federal departments and agencies, are by law and presidential directive responsible for assessing federal emergency preparedness.

Collaborative interagency efforts are critical in helping DHS fulfill its emergency preparedness role. While GAO indicates that the federal government has made significant progress in implementing elements of the national preparedness system, opportunities continue to exist to enhance interagency assessment and accountability efforts.

“Disasters can strike at any time and at any place. Whether a disaster is natural or man-made, large or small, our federal government needs to be prepared,” said Tom Carper (D-Del.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

He added, “This report makes it clear that federal agencies need to do a better job of coordinating and sharing information with each other and providing that information to FEMA. Responding to a disaster is a shared responsibility by a number of agencies. While FEMA plays a central role in this effort, it’s crucial that other agencies are prepared and coordinate their response.”

The auditors discovered FEMA is not aware of the full range of information on capability gaps identified by other federal departments and agencies. According to FEMA officials, the agency does not collect information on the status of corrective actions from other departments because it does not have the responsibility to do so.

While each individual agency is responsible for implementing corrective actions, it is crucial that FEMA keep track of the status of corrective actions to ensure a comprehensive picture of the nation’s emergency preparedness.

GAO recommended FEMA collect information of the status of these corrective actions across the federal government and regularly report its findings to the secretary of homeland security.

“I am concerned that FEMA has not been tracking the efforts by agencies to address their capability gaps in responding to "no-notice emergencies," Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) said. “As the name implies, these emergencies come with no advance warning and no time to prepare. It is vitally important that DHS address the findings of this report to ensure that we are as prepared as we possibly can be for any disaster.”

GAO also identified deficiencies in FEMA’s implementation plan to address capability gaps in the nation’s preparedness to respond to improvised nuclear device (IND) attacks. FEMA’s March 2012 IND Implementation Plan included 300 recommended actions to close gaps identified in the April 2010 DHS IND Strategy. However, the September 2013 revision of the plan lacked key program management information including specific timeframes, resources required, and milestones.

In response, GAO recommended FEMA provide detailed program management information for management oversight of the status of recommended actions in the IND Implementation Plan.

“Ensuring that robust program management information has been developed for executing the closure of capability gaps identified in the DHS IND Strategy will better enable the secretary to know that such gaps are being addressed effectively and efficiently,” the report audit report stated.

“These modest process and procedural improvements will serve to better ensure that the secretary is able to establish and build the unified, complete, and synchronized national preparedness system that is envisioned by national preparedness policy and doctrine," GAO said.

Commenting on the report, Senator Bob Casey (D-Penn.), co-chair of the National Security Working Group, said, “This report shows that additional steps and better coordination are needed at the federal level to make sure our agencies are prepared to respond to emergencies.”

He added, “I’m hopeful that the administration will use this report to improve current policies and ensure that federal agencies with relevant jurisdiction are working with one another to enhance our nation’s preparedness.”

Source: http://www.hstoday.us/single-article/big-capability-gaps-in-government-preparedness-for-catastrophic-disaster/6ff72fb33077b573c771535d2a7425e4.html