Disaster Assistance: Better Planning Needed for Housing Victims of Catastrophic Disasters

摘要

In general, the NRP, including its annex covering sheltering and temporary housing (emergency support function no. 6 or ESF-6) clearly described the overall responsibilities of the two primary agencies--the Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). However, the responsibilities described for the support agencies--the Departments of Agriculture (USDA), Defense, Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Treasury, and Veterans Affairs (VA)--did not, and still do not, fully reflect their capabilities. For example, USDA provided temporary housing for victims, and Treasury acted to make available vacant rental units subsidized through a tax program, but the ESF-6 annex did not reflect these capabilities. Further, the support agencies had not, and have not yet, developed fact sheets laying out their roles and responsibilities, notification and activation procedures, and agency specific authorities, as called for by ESF-6 operating procedures. FEMA's ability to effectively coordinate federal housing assistance was limited because the agency was not aware of the support agencies' full capabilities. The Red Cross and federal agencies generally lacked plans for providing shelter and temporary housing in response to catastrophic disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita but have since taken some steps to improve their response capabilities. Some ESF-6 support agencies had not developed operational plans for meeting their ESF-6 responsibilities, and while they were ultimately able to contribute much-needed assistance, it was not as timely as it might have been. For example, HUD and VA worked out agreements with FEMA after the storms to provide vacant properties, but it took several months before some were available to victims. HUD, USDA, and VA have formed an informal working group to work out procedural details for providing housing assistance, in order to avoid the need to do so after a disaster event. However, this group is not intended to address the full range of these agencies' responsibilities under ESF-6, and does not have a specific timetable for its activities.