Emergency Response

Evaluating the government’s response to Katrina requires an understanding of the roles of government entities, leaders and the basis within which they each function. Each level of government, and most components involved in each level, play an important part. At each level of government, the President is ultimately accountable to manage an emergency response that affects our country. It is standard practice that emergency response starts typically at the local government, with the state government only getting involved at the request of the local government, typically when the means of local government are at a great disadvantage. The federal government provides continuous support to state and local governments for emergency preparedness, it becomes involved in responding to a
All agencies should know what critical factors play a part in disaster readiness. This will ensure confidence in the respective agencies when responding to any disaster that takes place. Being aware of potential threats, assessing the potential impact, prioritizing, and strategic responses should be the basic principles of sound disaster readiness planning. Categorizing threats on a scale from high to low when evaluating their probability of occurring and the impact it may have on the community should be implemented to assess the level of risks that may detrimental to the environment. Public Safety agencies (federal, state, local government, law enforcement, military, FEMA) to name a few, should consistently be developing, implementing, and regularly testing disaster response, and readiness plans to ensure their continued effectiveness to responding to potential natural disasters. Agencies should consider immediately addressing the threats the community faces with cost-effective measures to assess those risks. This should minimize the agency's negative