FEMA’s plan underestimated Puerto Rican hurricane

["Dave Farber" <farber () gmail com>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Sean Donelan <sean () donelan com>
> Date: April 15, 2018 at 12:05:24 PM EDT
> To: nanog () nanog org
> Subject: FEMA’s plan underestimated Puerto Rican hurricane
>
>
> In the U.S. disaster response system, the primary responsbility for disaster response falls on state (territory) and 
> local governments. In theory, the federal government response is supposed to be secondary.
>
>
> https://www.politico.com/story/2018/04/15/puerto-rico-hurricane-fema-disaster-523033
>
> [...]
>
> The plan also expected private sector companies to quickly restore telecommunications on the island. “There are 
> minimal expectations that federal assistance would be required to restore the infrastructure during the response and 
> recovery of a storm,” it said. If communication systems were not fixed quickly, the document said, first responders 
> could use satellite phones instead or rely on mobile communication trucks delivered to the island.
>
> But during Maria, Puerto Rico’s communication system was wiped out, leaving telecommunications companies scrambling 
> to slowly repair the infrastructure as state and local officials struggled to communicate with FEMA and other first 
> responders. Local officials described limited communications as one of the biggest challenges in the first week after 
> the storm.
>
> [...]
>
> To many in the disaster community, the problems with FEMA’s plan were representative of broader disaster management 
> challenges across the entire agency. FEMA, individual communities and the country prepare for disasters that fit 
> within their current capabilities, they said, but don’t plan for disasters that could cause even more damage, 
> requiring greater planning or resources in such a dire scenario.
>
> “If you go back and look at almost any federal disaster plan, it suffers from planning to your current capabilities 
> versus planning to what actually could happen,” said a former FEMA official, adding “I wouldn’t say this is a special 
> case, but it is a problem endemic to the federal government.”
>
> [...]



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