Essay on Second Responders in Hurricane Katrina: Examining the Role of the EPA and DOD

Introduction

Hurricane Katrina was a destructive catastrophe that caused many deaths in the United States. Primary and secondary responders did their part to see to it that they have helped to end the disaster. Primary responders such as the police force, national government, and homeland security were not adequate (Brunkard et al., 2008). The essay seeks to analyze the work of the secondary responders such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the coast guards under the Department of Defense (DOD), and the American Red Cross in helping the people affected by Hurricane Katrina in the aftermath of the emergency. Roles within the structured command (ICS), the applicable crisis response objectives of the responders, and the decision-making strategies, as well as challenges faced by the leaders when working through the event, will be discussed.

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Roles within Structured Command (ICS)

After the emergency of Hurricane Katrina, secondary responders did a lot of work to help the affected populations. Each of the secondary responders performed their roles within the structured command (ICS). Hurricane Katrina damaged the environment due to the hazardous and chemical materials released. It demolished buildings in New Orleans and released asbestos fibers within the air, and that posed an additional health risk to the people. The EPA took action to assess and mitigate the environmental impacts of Hurricane Katrina (United States, Congress House, Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for, & Response to Hurricane Katrina, 2006). They helped the public from the threat of inhaling asbestos in New Orleans and provided essential information to the public regarding the health risks of the emissions into the air (Govinfo.gov, 2007). The EPA mitigated the spilling of oil and hazardous materials released to the environment by Hurricane Katrina. By first sampling, the air, water, sediment as well as soil affected by the oil spills and hazardous materials, the EPA identified the environmental contamination. The EPA set out the Clean Air Act asbestos regulation to cover building demolition activities to reduce the significant health risks to humans related to the exposure to the hazardous materials in the air (Govinfo.gov, 2007).

The DOD provided help to the DHS and FEMA in saving lives, protecting property, and reducing the threat of Hurricane Katrina in America. The DOD served as a single point of contact in the catastrophe area with an operational DCO as the combatant commander as well as the chosen Joint Task Force (JTF) commander. The Coast Guards worked as support agencies to the FEMA and EPA (United States, Congress House, Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for, & Response to Hurricane Katrina, 2006). They helped in deploying the National Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) response system to provide specialized life-saving help to the national and local authorities (United States, Congress House, Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for, & Response to Hurricane Katrina, 2006). The Coast Guards located and extracted victims as well as giving onsite medical help. In that case, they played significant roles in urban search and rescue work during the Hurricane Katrina response efforts.

The American Red Cross served to activate the response plans for the affected areas. Their Disaster Response Structure helped in establishing contacts with the affected emergency operations center (EOC) within the state. That provided disaster relief operations such as sheltering, fundraising, feeding, and public information (United States, Congress House, Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for, & Response to Hurricane Katrina, 2006). They made contact with the government to ensure that the services on the ground are adequately provided.

Applicable Crisis Response Objectives

The EPA responded to address problems caused by Hurricane Katrina to the environment. The EPA played a role in providing a coordinated response in minimizing the potential discharge of oil or hazardous materials during Hurricane Katrina (Govinfo.gov, 2007). They came up with the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan in the NRP coordination structure. All the agencies, networks, resources, and programs were organized to respond to oil, and hazardous materials brought about by Hurricane Katrina (United States, Congress House, Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for, & Response to Hurricane Katrina, 2006).

The main objective of the DOD response during Hurricane Katrina was to assess the needs of the affected areas as early as possible and communicate that information to the FEMA and DHS. The DOD used its directive to deploy resources in receiving requests from the leading federal agencies (United States, Congress House, Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for, & Response to Hurricane Katrina, 2006). The main objective of the Coast Guards during the Hurricane Katrina response was to provide maritime safety and security at the seashore. Their search and rescue efforts helped in maintaining safety at the coastline for port safety, adherence to the marine environmental regulations. They ensured security for the harbors, waterfronts, waterways, deepwater ports and vessels in the most affected areas by the Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans as well as Sector Mobile, Alabama (United States, Congress House, Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for, & Response to Hurricane Katrina, 2006).

The objectives of the American Red Cross were to provide mass care, human services, and housing to the affected victims during Hurricane Katrina (United States, Congress House, Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for, & Response to Hurricane Katrina, 2006). In serving the people, the American Red Cross wanted to ensure that the victims obtain emergency first aid, collect and provide information about the victims, and their family members. They sheltered the victims, organize their feeding operations, as well as coordinating the bulk distribution of emergency relief items.

Decision-Making Strategies and Challenges faced by Leaders in Working through the event

The leaders faced various challenges and decision-making strategies when working through the efforts to help the affected people during Hurricane Katrina. The EPA leaders met the decision strategies of assessing and mitigating the environmental impact of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast. They experienced challenges in removing the chemical drums and tanks left at the national wildlife refuges in Louisiana (Govinfo.gov, 2007). Low funding efforts of their activities minimized their ability to achieve their strategic objectives in reducing the emission of oils and chemicals to the environment. The finding issues delayed the cleanups for over a year, and the substances continued to create an environmental threat to the natural resources.

The Coast Guards response was impacted by the National Guard and DOD response operations that were slow. The leaders experienced a lack of protocols set at the national level in deploying Emergency Management Assistant Compacts (EMAC). There were no set out information command for the different DOD entities serving during the Hurricane Katrina disaster (United States, Congress House, Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for, & Response to Hurricane Katrina, 2006). That affected information sharing for the Coast Guards regarding the situation and communication with the military.

The American Red Cross faced the challenge of communication from the national government during the Hurricane Katrina response, and that resulted in the inadequate delivery of relief supplies to the victims. The magnitude of damage caused by the catastrophe overwhelmed the national communication system, and that impacted on the decision of the American Red Cross leaders in responding to the needs of the affected populations.

Conclusion

Secondary responses to the Hurricane Katrina disaster played a considerable role in supporting the initial reactions. The EPA, Coast Guards under the DOD, and the American Red Cross assisted the principal actors in providing supportive assessment and rescue services that helped in minimizing more injuries form the catastrophe. However, these response units faced decision-making strategies and challenges that hindered their efficiency in achieving the crisis response objectives, including funding, communication, and coordination efforts from at the national level.

References

Brunkard, J., Namulanda, G., & Ratard, R. (2008). Hurricane Katrina deaths, Louisiana, 2005. Disaster Medicine and Public Health preparedness, 2(4), 215-223. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/disaster-medicine-and-public-health preparedness/article/hurricane-Katrina-deaths-Louisiana-2005/8A4BA6D478C4EB4C3308D7DD48DEB9AB

Govinfo.gov. (2007). Hurricane Katrina: EPA's current and future environmental protection efforts could be enhanced by addressing issues and challenges faced on the Gulf Coast (25-JUN-07, GAO-07-651). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-651/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-651.htm

The United States. Congress. House. Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for, & Response to Hurricane Katrina. (2006). A failure of the initiative: Final report of the select bipartisan committee to investigate the preparation for and response to Hurricane Katrina (Vol. 109). Government Printing Office.