The devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 placed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) directly in the public spotlight. The agency came under tremendous criticism for its response, and its director resigned shortly after the hurricane. This article identifies and develops four themes (organizational location, organizational leadership, organizational emphasis, and federalism) drawn from the general literature in public administration and emergency management to provide a framework with which to analyze FEMA's post-Katrina responses and to place criticisms of the agency into a broader context.
Barr, S. (2005, September 14). Morale among FEMA workers, on the decline for years, hits nadir. The Washington Post, p. B2-B2.
2.
Bea, K. (2002, December). Transfer of FEMA to the Department of Homeland Security: Issues for congressional oversight (Order Code RL31670). Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.
3.
Department of Homeland Security. (2005a). DHS organization. Retrieved October 11, 2005, from www.dhs.gov/dhspublic
4.
Department of Homeland Security. (2005b). Organizational chart before and after DHS. Retrieved October 18, 2005, from www.dhs.gov/dhspublic
5.
Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2005a). Federal Emergency Management Agency directors. Retrieved December 23, 2005, from www.fema.gov/about/directors.shtm
6.
Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2005b). R. David Paulison. Retrieved December 22, 2005, from www.fema.gov/about/bios/paulison.shtm
7.
Grunwald, M., & Glasser, S. B. (2005, December 23). Brown's turf wars sapped FEMA's strength; Director who came to symbolize incompetence in Katrina predicted agency would fail. The Washington Post, p. A1-A1.
8.
Helms, H. (2003). Inside the shadow government: National emergencies and the cult of secrecy. Los Angeles: Feral House.
9.
Hsu, S. S. (2005a, September 29). Brown defends FEMA's efforts; former agency director spreads blame for failures in Katrina response. The Washington Post, p. A1-A1.
10.
Hsu, S. S. (2005b, October 18). Messages depict disarray in federal Katrina response. The Washington Post, p. A11-A11.
11.
Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (1987). The leadership challenge: How to get extraordinary things done in organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
12.
May, Peter J. (1985). Recovering from catastrophes: Federal disaster relief policy and politics. Westport, CT: Greenwood.
13.
McLoughlin, D. (1985). A framework for integrated emergency management. Public Administration Review, 45, 165-172.
14.
McQuaid, J. (2005, September 1). Before Katrina, there was Pam; simulation was intended as emergency training. The Times-Picayune, p. A1-A1.
15.
National Academy of Public Administration. (1993). Coping with catastrophe: Building an emergency management system to meet people's needs in natural and manmade disasters. Washington, DC: Author.
16.
Rogers, D. (2005, October 8). Homeland Security's budget of $31.9 billion clears Congress. The Wall Street Journal, p. A4-A4.
17.
Schneider, S. K. (1990). FEMA, federalism, Hugo, and ‘Frisco. Publius, 20(3), 97-115.
18.
Schneider, S. K. (1992). Governmental responses to disasters: The conflict between bureaucratic procedures and emergent norms. Public Administration Review, 52(2), 135-145.
19.
Schneider, S. K. (1995). Flirting with disaster: Public management in crisis situations. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe.
20.
Schneider, S. K. (2005). Administrative breakdowns in the governmental response to Hurricane Katrina. Public Administration Review, 65(5), 515-516.
21.
Svara, J. H. (1990). Official leadership in the city: Patterns of conflict and cooperation. New York: Oxford University Press.
22.
U.S. Congress. (1977). Civil preparedness review, Part 1 (Joint Committee Print; 95th Congress, 1st Session). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
23.
U.S. General Accounting Office. (1989). Disaster assistance: Timeliness and other issues involving the major disaster declaration process(GAO/RCED-89-138). Washington, DC: Author.
24.
U.S. General Accounting Office. (1991). Disaster assistance: Federal, state, and local responses to natural disasters need improvement (GAO/RCED-91-43). Washington, DC: Author.
25.
U.S. General Accounting Office. (2001). Combating terrorism: FEMA continues to make progress in coordinating preparedness and response (GAO-01-15). Washington, DC: Author.
26.
U.S. General Accounting Office. (2003a). Disaster assistance: Information on post 9/11 public assistance to the New York City area(GAO-03-926). Washington, DC: Author.
27.
U.S. General Accounting Office. (2003b). Major management challenges and risks: Federal Emergency Management Agency (GAO-03-113). Washington, DC: Author.
28.
U.S. General Accounting Office. (2004a). Continuity of operations: Improved planning needed to ensure delivery of essential government services (GAO-04-160). Washington, DC: Author.
29.
U.S. General Accounting Office. (2004b). Homeland security: Federal leadership and intergovernmental cooperation required to achieve first responder interoperable communications (GAO-04-740). Washington, DC: Author.
30.
U.S. General Accounting Office. (2005a). Homeland security: DHS's efforts to enhance first responders'all-hazards capabilities continue to evolve (GAO-05-652). Washington, DC: Author.
31.
U.S. General Accounting Office. (2005b). Hurricane Katrina: Providing oversight of the nation's preparedness, response, and recovery activities (GAO-05-1053T). Washington, DC: Author.
32.
Wamsley, G. L., & Schroeder, A. D. (1996). Escalating in a quagmire: The changing dynamics of the emergency management policy subsystem. Public Administration Review, 56(3), 235-244.
33.
Witt, J. L. (1997, fall/winter). FEMA unveils Project Impact: Building a disaster resistant community. Watermark. Washington, DC: Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Flood Insurance Program.
