FEMA's New Disaster Preparedness

After stumbling to get relief materials quickly to where they were needed following Hurricane Katrina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency set about transforming its logistics operation. “This is not just a modernization — we are building a completely new organization,” said Eric Smith, FEMA’s national logistics coordinator who is overseeing the project. FEMA is adding personnel, restructuring lines of command, establishing links with other federal agencies, partnering with private-sector firms and rethinking the entire supply chain, Smith said. “In April 2007, logistics was just a subdivision here,” Smith said. “We have now built a complete capability to respond to all disasters.”... The change at the top melds with changes all along the line. “Katrina showed we did not have the capability in place to replenish what we had,” Smith said. “Our reliance was too much on what we had in stock.” FEMA has developed several new approaches to disaster preparation. One is transparency: making visible to everyone concerned what FEMA has in stock — items such as blankets, generators and portable housing units.