Fault For The Recovery Efforts Of Hurricane Katrina

While there have been many papers and articles written on the organizations most at fault for the recovery efforts of hurricane Katrina, most of the blame is wrongfully pointed towards FEMA. In fact, most experts in the hurricane field knew a storm the size of Katrina would absolutely decimate the city of New Orleans. The levee system was the primary failure point as mention by The Times-Picayune (2002), â€Å"another scenario is that some part of the levee would fail†. These levees, combined with the geographical properties of the city itself, are faults, which clearly were out of FEMAs control. Yet FEMA is still the blame winner, and the reasoning, is actually not FEMAs fault either. Consequently, poor decision making, and confusion of who was in charge was the biggest shortfall during the recovery efforts of Katrina. Prior to the 9/11 attacks, FEMA was an independent agency, affording it direct access to the president (Haddow, Bullock, Coppola, 2011). FEMA was actual ly absorbed into the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after the attacks, in a shift of focus to terrorism being the largest threat inside our borders. This had many ill-fated results for FEMA as an organization, the loss of valuable resources, and the creation of the National Response Plan effectively forced FEMA into a second fiddle during disasters. According to Haddow, Bullock, Coppola (2011), â€Å"where previously the director of FEMA had maintained a clear line of authority and accountability,Show MoreRelatedThe Issues With Organizational Communication978 Words   |  4 Pagesresponse and recovery efforts of a disaster. At times before, during and after a disaster there is a lack of inter-organizational networking and/or communication. Inter-organization networks are increasingly portrayed as a more effective form of organization among businesses (Newell and Swan, 2000). 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