Ronald J Uline

An Analysis of the Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina Ronald J Uline

The attacks of September 11, 2001 on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon awakened a naive nation to the idea that the American homeland is vulnerable to major disaster. More importantly, those attacks highlighted the need for the federal government to overhaul its strategic plan on securing the homeland from major catastrophes, both natural and man-made. The result was the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, the National Incident Management System, a National Federal Response Plan, realignment of the Federal Emergency Management Agency under the new Department of Homeland Security, and the authoring of numerous Homeland Security Presidential Directives. The Department of Defense also saw the creation of a new regional combatant command, the United States Northern Command. This new strategic disaster preparedness response structure saw its first test in 2005. Hurricane Katrina was a long-lived hurricane that made landfall three times along the United States coast. On August 29, 2005 at 6:10am, Hurricane Katrina made its second landfall in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana.