efforts that were designed to respond to Hurricane Katrina
Case Study
Key Actors
In the efforts that were designed to respond to Hurricane Katrina, many stakeholders were involved. For starters, there was the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) which is the parent organization that is tasked with responding to disasters (Moynihan, 2015). There was also Department of Defense (DOD) which was mandated with supplementing the federal response to the crisis. As well, there was the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) which played a huge role in assisting with the response efforts in terms of communication. Lastly, state and local responders who also played a vital role in the response efforts.
The Main Issues.
In assessing the case study, it is evident that there are several issues which occurred in the course of the response efforts. To be specific, there was poor coordination between all of the relevant agencies, and hence they could not come up with a unified response to the crisis. There was a particular deficiency in terms of communication whereby the right message could not get passed at the right time and to the right people. Therefore, even though all the stakeholders wanted to help during Hurricane Katrina, the situation ended up becoming worse. The poor communication that has been illustrated in the case study ended up not only affecting the agencies that were tasked with the response but also the people who were directly affected by the hurricane. Apart from the above, there was a delay in the response that was given by the DOD. Due to that, it implied that FEMA could not avail help to those who needed it in a timely fashion. That was caused by the concerns of the DOD of getting involved in non-military issues. That led to a measure of hesitance which then created a delay and consequently resulted in the ineffectiveness of the response efforts.
The Eventual Resolution.
After the disaster hit landfall, the DOD came to the realized that the response that was initiated to deal with this crisis was deficient. That meant FEMA could not be able to execute their mandate in the right manner. In specific, the DOD has taken a pull approach in dealing with this crisis (Moynihan, 2015). In such a situation, it offered help to the federal agencies based on the requests that were made. As a result, that made the crisis worse since many aspects were left unaddressed. Instead, there was a need to make a switch from pull to push approach, which would mean supplying resources without the need for a formal request. After making the realization, it led to an eventual resolution which entailed making a switch to a push approach. That ensured DOD was able to respond to the needs of FEMA on time.
How Better Collaboration would have improved the Outcomes
In assessing the response that was given to Hurricane Katrina, it is undeniable that better collaboration would have led to better outcomes. To provide an illustration, if there was better communication between FEMA and the DOD, help would have arrived earlier and hence save a lot of lives that were lost (Cole & Fellows, 2008). Additionally, if there were effective management skills, it would have ensured that all the critical aspects of the response efforts were taken care of. Even so, judging from the response, it seemed as if people were afraid to take up certain responsibilities which led to grave errors. While there is a need for a system with checks and balances, the hurricane Katrina situation necessitated a special kind of collaboration.
References
Cole, T. W., & Fellows, K. L. (2008). Risk communication failure: A case study of New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina. Southern Communication Journal, 73(3), 211-228. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/10417940802219702
Moynihan, D. P. (2015). Collaboration amid Crisis: The Department of Defense during Hurricane Katrina Introduction. E-PARCC Collaborative Governance Initiative, 1-20. Retrieved from https://content.grantham.edu/academics/GU_PA301/Katrina_Case_Study.pdf