Hurricanes

"This statement discusses select issues within the basic elements related to (1) findings from the response to Hurricane Katrina, (2) provisions of the Post-Katrina Act, and (3) specific actions [the Department of Homeland Security] DHS and [Federal Emergency Management Agency] FEMA have taken to implement these provisions. GAO's comments are based on GAO products issued from February 2006 through November 2008, and selected updates in March 2009. […] Hurricane Katrina severely tested disaster management at the federal, state, and local levels and revealed weaknesses in the basic elements--leadership, capabilities, and accountability--of preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters. In its 2006 work on the response to Hurricane Katrina, GAO noted that these elements needed to be strengthened. In October 2006, Congress enacted the Post-Katrina Act to address issues identified in the response to Hurricane Katrina. GAO reported in November 2008 that the DHS and the FEMA had at least preliminary efforts under way to address most of the provisions, but also identified a number of areas that required further action."

From the opening statement of Senator Barbara Boxer: "Mr. Chairman, thank you very much for holding this hearing to shine a light on a shocking deficiency in our emergency communications system. And the time to find a solution is now. It was really yesterday. As a matter of fact, it was the day before yesterday, and we still haven't done it. We didn't learn our lesson after the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. We didn't learn it after September 11. The wildfires raging in California almost 2 years ago didn't teach us. And, parenthetically, I'm sad to report we've got a wildfire raging out of control, 9,000 acres, as we speak here, near Los Angeles, in the not the very populated areas, but threatening populated areas. And, of course, as you mentioned, Hurricane Katrina shone a light on this. First-responders to all these disasters were so challenged by the lack of interoperable communications that hundreds of lives were unnecessarily and tragically lost. And some of those lives are first responders themselves. Enough is enough. We don't need any more failures." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: David G. Boyd, Willis Carter, Kenneth Moran, Dereck Orr and Senators Boxer, Dorgan, Inouye, Lautenberg, Nelson, Pryor, Rockefeller, Stevens, and Sununu.

From the opening statement of E. Benjamin Nelson: "The National Weather Service did an exceptional job in forecasting the storm and predicting its impact point and the devastation that it would deliver, and I think it's important that we do look at what went right in order to ensure that we keep that course as this hurricane season progresses and as we look to the future, as well. Or course, the superb job of the National Weather Service in forecasting Hurricane Katrina's path is greatly diminished when the information that is given out, sometimes ignored, certainly not paid attention to, or isn't used to ensure measures are put in place immediately to respond to the aftermath of the storm. So, while I think it's appropriate to examine the stellar job of forecasting that was done during Hurricane Katrina, I cannot help but voice my frustration, and, I think, the frustration of so many, by the lack of follow-up to make sure that they were prepared to respond to a Category-4 hurricane hitting the Gulf Coast." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Jim DeMint, Bill Nelson, E. Benjamin Nelson, Ted Stevens, David Vitter, Keith G. Blackwell, Windell Curole, Marc L. Levitan, Max Mayfield, Patrick C. Roberts, and Daniel K. Inouye.

From the Document: "Awakening to reports of Katrina's landfall on the Gulf Coast the morning of Monday, August 29, American citizens watched events unfold with an initial curiosity that soon turned to concern and sorrow. The awe that viewers held for the sheer ferocity of nature was soon matched with disappointment and frustration at the seeming inability of the 'government'- local, State, and Federal- to respond effectively to the crisis. Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent sustained flooding of New Orleans exposed significant flaws in Federal, State, and local preparedness for catastrophic events and our capacity to respond to them. Emergency plans at all levels of government, from small town plans to the 600-page National Response Plan- the Federal governments plan to coordinate all its departments and agencies and integrate them with State, local, and private sector partners"were put to the ultimate test, and came up short. Millions of Americans were reminded of the need to protect themselves and their families. Even as parts of New Orleans were still under water, President Bush spoke to the Nation from the city's historic Jackson Square. He stated unequivocally, that '[f]our years after the frightening experience of September the 11th, Americans have every right to expect a more effective response in a time of emergency. When the federal government fails to meet such an obligation, I, as President, am responsible for the problem, and for the solution.' In his address, the President ordered a comprehensive review of the Federal response to Hurricane Katrina so we as a Nation could make the necessary changes to be 'better prepared for any challenge of nature or act of evil men that could threaten our people.' The President's charge has resulted in the material and conclusions of this Report, 'The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned'. This report is the result of a review headed by Frances Townsend and is also commonly referred to as the 'Townsend Report'."

"This report compares the impact of the major hurricanes of 2005 and 2008 on U.S. energy systems, including those that produce, process and transport oil, natural gas, and electricity. The magnitude and duration of hurricane-induced production and supply disruptions are compared, as well as the extent of damage to energy infrastructure. The effect of disruptions on energy prices and supply is analyzed. The report describes the actions taken by DOE and other Federal agencies to assist the energy industry in restoration."

"This report is the result of a five-month journey by the Select Committee to gather information from all those who learned painful lessons during Katrina. It examines how well local, state, and federal officials worked with each other and with private entities to alleviate the suffering of so many of our fellow citizens. The report highlights failures and deficiencies in communication, planning, and other vital areas of disaster preparedness in regards to Hurricane Katrina, as well as reflecting on the differences in what 'should have happened' in response efforts and what 'actually happened.' The appendices for the 'Failure of Initiative' report include a glossary of acronyms and abbreviations used, HSOC spot report, white house document review, emergency preparedness and response grants awarded, key federal law enforcement activities, GAO preliminary observations on hurricane response, DHS response to GAO report, and McKinney supplement."

"Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in late August 2005, causing catastrophic wind damage and flooding in several states, and a massive dislocation of victims across the country. The storm is one of the worst natural disasters in the nation's history. Early estimates are that hundreds of people were killed and about one million displaced. In response to a series of disasters and terrorist attacks over the past decade, and especially since the terror attacks of 2001, Congress, the Administration, state and local governments and the private sector have made investments to improve disaster preparedness and response. New federal authorities and programs to strengthen the nation's public health system were introduced in comprehensive bioterrorism preparedness legislation in 2002. Congress also created a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2002 to provide national leadership for coordinated preparedness and response planning. A new National Response Plan (NRP), launched by DHS in December 2004, has met its first major test in the response to Hurricane Katrina. According to the NRP, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is tasked with coordinating the response of the public health and medical sectors following a disaster. HHS works with several other agencies to accomplish this mission, which includes assuring the safety of food, water and environments, treating the ranks of the ill and injured, and identifying the dead. HHS activities are coordinated with those of other lead agencies under the overall leadership of DHS."

"Sandy was a classic late-season hurricane in the southwestern Caribbean Sea. The cyclone made landfall as a category 1 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale) in Jamaica, and as a 100-kt category 3 hurricane in eastern Cuba before quickly weakening to a category 1 hurricane while moving through the central and northwestern Bahamas. Sandy underwent a complex evolution and grew considerably in size while over the Bahamas, and continued to grow despite weakening into a tropical storm north of those islands. The system re- strengthened into a hurricane while it moved northeastward, parallel to the coast of the southeastern United States, and reached a secondary peak intensity of 85 kt while it turned northwestward toward the mid-Atlantic states. Sandy weakened somewhat and then made landfall as a post-tropical cyclone near Brigantine, New Jersey with 70-kt maximum sustained winds. Because of its tremendous size, however, Sandy drove a catastrophic storm surge into the New Jersey and New York coastlines. Preliminary U.S. damage estimates are near $50 billion, making Sandy the second-costliest cyclone to hit the United States since 1900. There were at least 147 direct deaths recorded across the Atlantic basin due to Sandy, with 72 of these fatalities occurring in the mid-Atlantic and northeastern United States. This is the greatest number of U.S. direct fatalities related to a tropical cyclone outside of the southern states since Hurricane Agnes in 1972."

This Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) webpage provides general information about hurricanes as well as information about hurricane preparedness and response and the assistance provided by FEMA.

This is a webpage of the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) which provides the latest information (images and data) on hurricanes and tropical cyclones.

"A service of the National Weather Service, this website provides up to- date storm information and imagery, as well as hurricane preparedness information."