EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS: Opportunities Exist to Strengthen Interagency Assessments and Accountability for Closing Capability Gaps

Abstract

No-notice catastrophic disasters pose one of the greatest challenges to national emergency preparedness. ESFs are federal interagency coordinating structures that group capabilities into functional areas most frequently needed in a national response. GAO was asked to review federal preparedness to respond to no-notice catastrophic disasters, such as IND attacks and major earthquakes. This report assesses the extent to which opportunities exist to enhance (1) assessment of ESF preparedness and (2) management oversight of the closure of federal capability gaps identified in selected exercises, real-world incidents, and other assessments. GAO reviewed relevant laws, directives, strategies, and plans; analyzed recommended corrective actions from national-level exercises and other interagency assessments; reviewed documents and interviewed officials from five federal departments key to disaster response (Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, and Justice); and compared current processes against internal control standards and leading program management practices.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 2014
Accession Number
AD1106065

Entities

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Engineered Resilient Systems
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Business Administration
  • Congress
  • Department Of Defense
  • Department Of Homeland Security
  • Disasters
  • Electronic Mail
  • Emergency Response
  • Employment
  • First Responders
  • Governments
  • Health Services
  • Homeland Security
  • Interagency Coordination
  • Lessons Learned
  • Management Personnel
  • Medical Personnel
  • National Governments
  • National Security
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Program Management
  • Public Health
  • Radiation Sickness
  • Social Media
  • United States
  • United States Government
  • Urban Areas

Readers

  • Emergency Management and Homeland Security.
  • Government and Public Administration Law.