So, what’s the angle for this blog? It’s the family emergency preparedness pamphlet from the Children’s Health Fund that the show helped pay for, which was developed by Columbia University’s National Center for Disaster Preparedness.

“My Family Disaster Plan,” was supported by a grant from “Idol Gives Back”, the show’s annual fundraising event. The piece was released last year when this blog was on hiatus so I am posting it now.

You can download “My Family Disaster Plan” here. Thanks to the Twitter feed @kidsgoape for bringing this to my attention.

In fact, Shearer — the actor, comedian, activist and a New Orleans resident – said he was provoked to make the movie when President Obama ”referred to the flooding—in passing—as ‘a natural disaster.’ I just hit the roof. I went, ‘OK, blogs and radio and all the other things I’ve been doing clearly aren’t enough. I know what the next step is.’ And it was this.”

Shearer’s major point in “this” is that Katrina was a man-made — not a natural — disaster. And, the men (and women) who were most responsible for making it a disaster is the Army Corps of Engineers whose mismanagement, the movie argues, caused the city’s levees to rupture during the storm. And, “The Big Uneasy” further contends that many the same issues the first time around are being repeated in the rebuilding process.

For more information about the film including where it is showing, click here.

“The Big Uneasy” director and New Orleans resident Harry Shearer.

One of the FEMA/Ad Council Listo.Gov Spanish PSAs.

One of the FEMA/Ad Council Ready.Gov English PSAs.

The Obama Administration has said that public readiness is a priority and has taken steps to strengthen the involvement of Americans in their own homeland security. However, officials acknowledge that there is still a ways to go. I present these proposals to help move forward citizen preparedness on a local, state and national level. I hope these suggestions can be a useful addition to the policy discussion and have submitted it to the Federal Preparedness Task Force. As always, I welcome your feedback:

1) CREATE CITIZEN PREPAREDNESS TASK FORCE — The lack of progress to date on public readiness and engagement underscores the need to develop new ways of approaching the issue. DHS Secretary Napolitano should create a Citizen Preparedness Outreach Task Force to assess the current state of public readiness and work on developing new approaches. At present, there is no clear social education analog to civilian emergency preparedness that can be easily pulled off the shelf so it will take some work to develop an effective program. In fact, the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism in its final report recommended the Administration make citizen engagement a priority. But Chairman Bob Graham told me that the ‘WMD Commission’ did not did not find anything suitable it could recommend, and that something new has to be developed.

2) BETTER DEFINE WHAT IT MEANS TO BE “PREPARED” “READY” AND/OR “RESILIENT” — An American Red Cross survey indicated that 93% of Americans are not prepared for disasters. The truth is that no one can be fully prepared, but there is a need to offer the public a clearer definition — including a minimum level — of preparedness. That might include creating a family communications plan and storing tangible supplies but also knowing more about potential threats that every American should know. That doesn’t mean overwhelming people with too much information, but making sure they are at least familiar with some basics. (For example, the first time citizens hear about a ‘dirty bomb’ from government officials should not be in the moments after one has been exploded.) In addition to the content questions, there is also a word meaning issue to deal with as well. The Obama Administration has been emphasizing the concept of societal resilience. Should emergency management officials be talking about citizen resilience in their communities rather than preparedness or readiness?

3) SUPPORT & REPORT ON STATE/LOCAL PREPAREDNESS EFFORTS — Provide adequate seed money for state and local government to bolster civilian preparedness programs and link the grants to performance. Encourage authorities to report publicly on their level of citizen preparedness and create metrics for better measuring civilian readiness. Find interested governors to take on leadership roles and create pilot models in their states. There is a need to employ both “bottom/up” and “top/down” approaches to disaster preparedness combining state, local and community leadership and citizen involvement with federal commitment and focus. Ensure that government authorities can competently respond to disasters but also more strongly emphasize the need for the public and local communities to be prepared and self-reliant, particularly in the first 72 hours after a disaster.

4) HIGHLIGHT & SPREAD MODELS FROM AROUND U.S. & OTHER COUNTRIES — There is a need to help promote and implement best practices from communities around the U.S. and draw, where applicable, particularly from British and Israeli experiences. One model may be the United Kingdom’s National Risk Register, which sets out publicly the government’s assessment of the likelihood and potential impact of a range of different public health, natural and terrorist risks. It is designed to increase awareness of the kinds of risks the UK faces, and encourage individuals and organizations to think about their own preparedness. The Register also includes details of what the Government and first responders are doing to prepare for those emergencies and the role of citizens in those plans

5) USE ‘CARROTS’ TO CHANGE PUBLIC BEHAVIOR – Provide a tax write-off for citizens to buy preparedness-related products as a way to promote participation and to signal governmental commitment. Encourage states to create tax-free periods as is being done in Virginia and Louisiana (and has been introduced in the New York legislature). Also, consider targeting assistance to citizens who cannot afford to prepare. The fact is that when we really want to change social behavior as a nation we do it through the carrot or the stick. The carrot is the preferable tool for this issue, but it needs to be used. And, thus far, incentives (and vegetables) have largely been missing from the preparedness effort, which helps explain the lack of progress. Similarly, preparedness disincentives in the law should be removed (ie. in some places, homeowners who retrofit their homes face higher tax assessments.)

6) BRING IN BUSINESS TO DEVELOP INTEGRATED ‘WIN-WIN-WIN-WIN’ PUBLIC PREPAREDNESS MARKETING CAMPAIGNS– Design and roll out a full service preparedness marketing campaign with help from the private and non-profit sectors. Galvanize business to take on disaster preparedness in the same way they have with disaster response, most notably in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (ie. big box stores, packaged goods manufacturers, bottled water companies, wireless industry). Work with companies in preparedness-related businesses to offer major discounts tied to citizens taking actual readiness steps recommended by Ready.Gov and local emergency management offices.

For example, individuals and families come into ‘big box’ stores with emergency communications plans (or fill them out in the store) and in return they would receive a significant discount on supplies or free products (ie. if you purchase a case of bottled water, you would get your emergency supply thrown in for free). And if a customer signed up to volunteer for CERT or the Red Cross Disaster Services, they would get a bigger discount. Mobile phone retail stores would be excellent settings for preparedness events/trainings to help people register for government emergency text/e-mail alerts. I’d also like to see an event/photo-op with kids teaching their parents about texting and its role in an emergency. Here again, the companies would offer customers extra free text/phone minutes for completing the preparedness step.

7) DON’T BE AFRAID TO TELL THE CHILDREN — Put more emphasis on educating young people on preparedness by piggybacking on other related school-based social education efforts, most prominently fire safety. The challenge is the both the decentralization of the nation’s education system and the already high curricula demands on teachers. Yet, an effective fire education program was implemented in the schools beginning in the 1970’s, and there would seem to be a perfect fit to integrate a preparedness module into that existing program. The federal government should work with state and local officials as well as fire and education officials to determine how best to accomplish that objective.

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate recently suggested expanding the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program for young people. I believe that a decision to expand CERT-type training in the schools would be welcomed on a bipartisan basis.There should be more public briefings on how personal tech would be helpful in an emergency, before the emergency (including how Twitter, Facebook and one’s smart phone can be invaluable). Further, every governmental preparedness web site should add a cell phone and an extra battery (or other power source) to the basic components of their recommended disaster supply kit.  Many private companies are working on applications for citizen emergency communications. Those business efforts need to be integrated with official alerts (ie. the new iteration of the Emergency Alert System) and unofficial citizen-based social media (as well as the news media). Both the content and distribution channels of emergency communications are changing and new models need to be developed.

8 EMBRACE AND ACCELERATE PREPAREDNESS 2.0 – There is a need to better inform the public on the potential of 21st century personal technology to prepare for and respond to 21st century emergencies. We must make Americans more aware of the capabilities of the technology at their fingertips (ie. wireless devices, social media sites) in advance and integrate it into disaster planning and response. The public’s new ability to access and distribute information offers both an opportunity and a challenge to government authorities.

There should be more public briefings on how personal tech would be helpful in a crisis, before the crisis (including how Twitter, Facebook and one’s smart phone can be invaluable). Further, every governmental preparedness web site should add a cell phone and an extra battery (or other power source) to the basic components of their recommended disaster supply kit. Many private companies are working on content and distribution applications for citizen emergency communications. Those business efforts can complement official efforts (ie. the new iteration of the Emergency Alert System) and unofficial citizen-based social media (and well as the news media). One hugely promising initiative is CrisisCommons which over the past year has created groups of volunteers throughout the world to bring technology to bear on disaster response issues.

9) FIND POLITICAL, CELEBRITY PREPAREDNESS SPOKESPEOPLE – During the time that I have covered the topic of citizen emergency preparedness, one of the most surprising things I’ve found is that there is no major elected official who has taken the lead on the issue. It’s surprising for a number of reasons: natural disasters and terrorism dominate the headlines and will continue to for the foreseeable future; citizen preparedness is pretty much an unassailable, bipartisan, patriotic and community-building topic; and even the smallest interest in Washington has at least one political champion (but not public preparedness). And, with much to do, there is a great opportunity to have a positive policy and political impact. To some in the readiness community, the absence of star power on the issue has been one reason for the lack of public attention. Though celebrities have been eager to participate in fundraising efforts after catastrophes like the Haiti effort), there is no big star who is singularly identified as a spokesperson for emergency preparedness.

10) GIVE THE PUBLIC MORE INFO SO THEY CAN BETTER PREPARE & PARTICIPATE – There is a need to better inform the public when it comes to disaster preparedness so they can not only ready themselves and their families but also be part of the policy debate. Let me mention two areas briefly:

a) Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD): In its report, the WMD Commission argues that the incoming Administration should make an effort to inform and engage the public on the subject of WMD’s. I agree. And, I suggest officials consider starting that process by defining (or redefining) what a WMD actually is. At present, it is most common to define a WMD for the public as a chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (or “CBRN”) weapon.

The Commission report, however, focuses primarily on the dangers of biological and nuclear terrorism, both of which could be absolutely catastrophic. By contrast, a chemical or radiological (better known as a ‘dirty bomb’) weapon could be very serious but would likely not cause as much lasting damage. In fact, both a chemical and radiological attack would likely be a one-shot event seriously impacting those directly near the event, closer in result to a ‘traditional’ terrorist bombing. A nuclear bomb or biological incident, however, could have wide and long-lasting ‘mass destruction’ impact to humans, property and the society itself. We don’t want the public — and the nation as a whole — to overreact to some threats and underreact to others.

b) Risk: I think it may be one of the most important homeland security subjects for both the government and the public, because it highlights some of the tradeoffs involved in determining how to allocate the nation’s security resources and the role of risk management in making those decisions. This is a debate which should include the public. Right now, Americans aren’t engaged in the discussion over the security, financial, logistical and time tradeoffs involved in our own homeland security.

We need to introduce risk management into homeland security which would lead us to ask and answer important questions: What improves our security and resiliency? And what can be done at a reasonable social and financial cost? Those answers should come not only from policymakers but with the guidance of the public itself.

The public should be asked: How much risk do you want to pay for? How much inconvenience do you want to deal with? These are dilemmas we deal with everyday in our lives; we need to bring that same approach to homeland security and disaster preparedness. FEMA’s Fugate has since his days in Florida made the point that natural hazards turn into natural disasters because of man-made decisions on development, including ubiquitous golf courses: “You can tee off in Tallahassee and play through to Pensacola,” he likes to say.  ”Unless the public understands we need to change where we develop and live, it won’t matter.” It is up to elected officials to present those choices, including building codes, levies and insurance incentives.

11) ‘SEE AND SAY’ SOMETHING MORE – Build upon the initial success of ‘See Something, Say Something’ -type citizen information campaigns by providing the public with more specific guidance on how to assist law enforcement and, without giving away sources and methods, offering more feedback on the information they have provided. Law enforcement officials are concerned about societal complacency nine years since 9/11, but have not determined how to communicate to the public a more candid – yet calm and balanced – picture of the threat and how they can best help. The Department of Homeland Security is expanding “See Something, Say Something” nationally, which is a positive development. However, there is still a need to better explain to citizens their role, particularly at a local level. One important question is how much of what new information and training given to law enforcement about terrorism prevention should also be provided to the public.

12) MEDIA SHOULD COVER PREPAREDNESS AS WELL AS DISASTERS – While the press does wall-to-wall coverage on natural disasters and has covered practically every aspect of terrorism story closely, it has largely overlooked advance public preparedness. By contrast, during the Cold War, magazines ranging from Life to Modern Farmer dedicated entire issues to civilian readiness. Obviously, the press’ role is not to serve as a publicity arm of the government, but it is a topic that deserves more attention. And without more media coverage, it will be difficult to break through to the public. One great example of the press as a unique asset is the list of preparedness tips and lessons learned from the disaster survivors that was collected by the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

13) GOVERNMENT PREPAREDNESS OUTREACH NEEDS TO BE FAR MORE INTERACTIVE — Right now, if a member of the public has a question about the preparedness process, there is nowhere to go. And, as someone who does a lot of public outreach on street fairs, radio or in community meetings I hear a lot of questions from average citizens about emergency readiness — ie. Shouldn’t buildings have mandatory emergency drills? Shouldn’t everyone have a solar charger in your ‘go-bag’ to be able recharge a cellphone or radio? Shouldn’t you have an evacuation family meeting spot outside of the City in case there is major disaster? In case of an emergency, where should we go for information? The emergency management community on a national, state and local level must overhaul its public information operations to be able to address those questions directly and lead the public through what can be a challenging process to undertake.

14) ‘DO ASK, DO TELL’: MAKE “PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY” MORE CENTRAL TO PREPAREDNESS MESSAGING — Instead of telling people to prepare because it is a responsibility (you need to do this), government has used a softer ask when it comes to trying to get the public to prepare. To me, the it is time to try to do more “telling” and less “asking”. I don’t believe the government should be afraid to explicitly tell the public that each of us can either hinder or help relief efforts by what they decide to do before and during a disaster. And, that it’s up to each of us to choose.

If indeed preparing for disasters is a responsibility of citizenship (which I think it should be), then it should been positioned that way. PSA’s saying that people are imperiling the lives of first responders and their fellow citizens, particularly the vulnerable (ie. the elderly, disabled) not to mention your own family might be treated with a little more urgency. Another potentially useful messaging approach was suggested to me by former Miss Utah Jill Shepherd who used citizen preparedness as her pageant platform. It can (and should) be included in the preparedness pitch that readying yourself and your family for disaster at home is a way civilians can contribute to the nation’s resilience and complement the work and sacrifice of those serving in the military. Preparedness may be the most important contribution most citizens can make to their nation’s security. Not only will civilians likely be the first on the scene of a major emergency, but the nation’s response will only be as strong as the readiness of the weakest link. We have entered the ‘pro-am’ preparedness era where the government needs to hand off some responsibility and the public needs to take it.

15) INTEGRATE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS INTO OTHER COMMUNITY ISSUES — Emergency preparedness is an important issue, particularly during crises. However, it has a better chance of becoming ingrained into American society if it is viewed as part of other preparedness topics that are a more central part of Americans daily life, including public health (immunization), security (Neighborhood Watch), infrastructure and climate change, part and parcel of just being ready for any situation.

For example, the global warming campaign can and should be a model for civilian emergency preparedness in a variety of ways. The two efforts are complementary and should be linked closer together in the public’s mind — and actions. In both, society is being asked to mobilize in order to avert or mitigate potential disasters, and both are part of strengthening the nation’s general national resilience. Yes, global warming has some skeptics, but so does emergency preparedness — ironically they are often not the same people which may conveniently add to its complementary synergy.

16) EXPAND EMERGENCY DRILLING OPPORTUNITIES TO PUBLIC –Increase chances for citizens to participate in disaster drills, which would help people focus on the issue and work through the key questions everyone should ask before a disaster (ie. How will you get information and communicate with your family? Do you know the emergency plan of your children’s school?). Most every top homeland security/emergency management official I have interviewed has told me that broader public disaster exercises would be helpful in a number of ways, but there has not been a concerted effort to expand drilling opportunities to the public.

17) DETERMINE BEST USE OF CIVILIAN DISASTER VOLUNTEERS – Craig Fugate said recently that FEMA would be reevaluating the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). I think that as part of that review government and non profit officials should be looking at how best to recruit and deploy disaster volunteers. Post-9/11 and Katrina — as well as with international incidents such as Haiti — there has been great interest among the public to be involved in crisis response. A key question is how that asset should be managed. Should it be the government? The Red Cross? Other non-profits and faith-based institutions? Business? Or a combination of the four? One hugely promising initiative is CrisisCommons which over the past year has created groups of volunteers throughout the world to bring technology to bear on disaster response issues.

Fugate said that FEMA is considering major changes in the CERT program, including creating a shorter training course which could be offered to more Americans and significantly expanding training for schools and other youth groups in order to better imbed preparedness into society for the long-term. I’ve always felt that CERT training is less about the skills you learn and more about awareness about the community and the various emergency authorities (and identifying citizen crisis organizers in advance). To me, CERT is just basic citizenship training for the 21st Century, which I think every American should get a chance to receive. I might suggest that the smaller reduced curriculum be called something along the lines of “Citizen Resilience Training”.

18) ESTABLISH AN OFFICIAL PREPAREDNESS DAY — Create a National Preparedness Day to focus public attention before disasters, including briefing citizens, conducting drills, and filling emergency kits. A helpful model is Japan’s Disaster Prevention Day held on September 1st, the anniversary of the catastrophic 1923 Tokyo earthquake. Earlier this month, 670,000 Japanese participated in emergency drills around the country. China, since its 8.0-magnitude 2008 Sichuan Province earthquake, has also held two national disaster prevention days with nationwide drills.

If we as a nation feel it is really important for the public to develop emergency plans, it would be far more effective if everyone was doing that at the same time — rather than asking individuals to do it on their own. This ‘preparedness day’ would also be the time that we all asked the questions about planning then practiced and updated those plans. It would be useful for both responders and the public. I might suggest September 11th be made the U.S.’s official Day. It would seem to be appropriate to honor the memories of those who died by action, particularly something aimed at making sure America is never as unprepared again.

19) CREATE CITIZEN PREPAREDNESS OFFICE – Establishing a national citizen preparedness/resilience office to highlight and help coordinate efforts around the U.S. and ensure citizen preparedness remains a priority. Right now, there is not an identifiable place in the federal government that has responsibility for coordinating the public’s role in preparedness. Work with American Red Cross to create an effective advocate for the general public on emergency preparedness in the same way disabled and pet groups have done for the disaster needs of their communities over the past several years.

20) BUNDLE CITIZEN PREPAREDNESS PROPOSALS TOGETHER INTO “CITIZEN PREPAREDNESS INITIATIVE” – For too long, well meaning public preparedness efforts have gotten lost or have been ignored by the public. That’s in large part because they have not been packaged and presented as being specifically directed to citizens. But if the government would assemble these small disparate proposals listed above into an overall citizen preparedness package it would have a better chance of getting attention and gaining some traction. Ultimately, making inroads on citizen preparedness is less a matter of money than it is of focus and attention.

The Preview Site provides a sense of the forthcoming National Memorial and Museum, which is scheduled to open in 2011. It welcomed its millionth visitor less than a year after opening its doors in August, 2009. It is definitely worth a visit. That’s a sentiment shared by Christina Stephens from Louisiana’s Office of Homeland Security, who went to the Preview Site earlier this summer and told me she was quite effected by it.

Once there, visitors can help contribute to the permanent Museum by sharing their 9/11 stories. An on-site recording booth allows the public to record their stories for the Museum’s planned introductory exhibition, which will feature a soundscape of people’s voices remembering – in multiple languages – where they were on September 11, 2001, and how they learned of the attacks. To date, more than 2,900 people have recorded their 9/11 story in more than 10 different languages. The Preview Site is located at 20 Vesey St. in lower Manhattan and is open seven days a week.

Vibeke Arensbak of Denmark, the millionth visitor of the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site, is cheered by Memorial Board Member Anthoula Katsimatides and Museum Director Alice M. Greenwald (Photo: Amy Dreher)

The City Council President, Deputy Mayor, the commissioners of OEM, Fire, Health Department and Immigrant Affairs all give their quick answers in the 30 second spot.

NYC-OEM/Ad Council PSA

I like the idea of involving public officials and publicizing their own preparedness process. I wrote earlier this summer there is a need for high profile people both in and out of the emergency management field to discuss publicly their own family readiness efforts as a model for the rest of the community. In this PSA, each interviewee only gets a quick one sentence answer. I would like to see another PSA where they go into more detail about their emergency plans.

To me, one of the biggest gaps in citizen preparedness communications is the lack of personalization and humanization. The messaging is far too institutional, and the result is that people largely do not respond. Officials ask average citizens to create emergency plans and kits, research threats and do practice run-throughs, but they never show them how (and if) they do it for themselves.

As a result, they do not have a full understanding of the challenges for the public in taking what seem to be simple preparedness steps but are not particularly easy for laypeople — there are always many questions and hidden obstacles for civilians going through the preparedness process. But those are almost never addressed in a personal way by those in authority, which is a major reason why the messages do not largely get through to the public. While officials are always asking the public “what’s your plan?” or “what’s in your kit?” but rarely tell us what’s in their plan or their kit.

Now, it is true that public officials are not going react like regular citizens in a disaster but instead will be likely be working managing the situation. So, they may not have to plan for themselves in the same way an average person would. However, most have families who are going to prepare and respond along with the rest of the public. The fact is that everyofficial is also a citizen; it would be helpful for other citizens if officials show that perspective more, and it would be similarly useful for leaders to take that point of view more in their preparedness planning and communications.

Currently more than 20 million Pakistanis have been affected by the worst natural disaster in Pakistan’s history. The pictures we see coming out of Pakistan are painful images of human suffering at its worst. Americans have always shown great generosity to others facing crises around the world. And I call on you to do what you can.

Viewers are instructed to text “flood” to 2-7-7-2-2 to donate $10. More information can be found at State.gov.

State Department/Ad Council PSA for Pakistan flood relief.

He told Robin Roberts that people who live in evacuation zones need to plan to evacuate if necessary, have a destination now and follow the storm closely. For those who need guidance in creating an emergency plan, he suggested checking Ready.Gov.

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate interviewed on “Good Morning America” today about Hurricane Earl.

Fugate has also been tweeting “Hurricane 101″ tips, including most recently: “if you evacuate, take your pets with you. looking for a hotel that takes pets www.petswelcome.com www.officialpethotels.com.”

Earl and Fiona Approach East Coast (Photo: NOAA)

The Times-Picayune, which did such heroic coverage during and after Katrina, solicited these ideas from readers in 2006 and printed them weekly during hurricane season. In June of 2007, the paper reprinted “a comprehensive selection”, calling it the ”ultimate insiders guide to evacuee readiness. Enjoy and prepare.” The list is so interesting, because it reflects the real-life experiences of disaster survivors.

Though you may not agree with all of the ideas suggested and some are area specific, I think you will find it worth reading through this collection as a resource, an example of citizen resilience and even, yes, how humor is necessary in the face of crisis. The article is also an example of the huge potential the media has to spur citizen preparedness if it focused more on the topic.

The approximately 75 submissions have been divided by the author James O’Byrne into categories, including: On The Road Again, Kids And Pets, Staying Behind, Guest Relations, Take This Job And Leave It, Precious Papers Important Photos, Food For Thought, Potty Time, & The Big Picture. The tips range from ”Take blank checks, internet passwords, copies of bills, long distance phone card, walkie talkies” and “Apply for a gas credit card” to “Perfume. No showers for 10 days. We stunk so bad” and “Keep nice with your Dallas relative with the big house.”

Below are a couple of representative e-mails that will give you a sense of these survivor tips:

I always prided myself in being super organized before Katrina. In the safe-deposit box at the bank, I had placed the original savings bonds I was using to finance my sons’ college education, a video of my home’s contents and negatives of both my sons’ first days of life. My home in Lakewood South had 6½ feet of water. The lobby of the bank in Lakeview flooded, too!

Only copies of important papers are kept in the safe-deposit box now. I personally keep all original documents in a small fireproof box that is portable and will go wherever I go. In that box, too, is a stash of cash (proved to be very valuable last year) as well as my “password list” containing all necessary info to manage bills and finances online.

Videos of my sons have now been transferred to DVDs. They’re in plastic bags that are stored in the bottom of my Rubbermaid container that also will go with me. Digital pictures of my new home replace the home video. (After a catastrophic loss, the insurance companies want only pictures, I have learned.) I have my “Katrina Book” that also will go with me this year — inside is every important phone number, registration number, etc., which are critical for life after a storm.

CHERYL LITWIN,
New Orleans

What worked for us? Nothing. What would I do differently? I shall start listing:
Do not watch the news anywhere around your kids. Ever.
Do not leave ANY pet behind thinking you will only be gone for two days.
Know how to text message if the cell phones are no longer working.
Have an emergency account set up with a NATIONAL bank so when you cannot access money from your local bank there is a back-up fund.
Bring more than a few days worth of clothes.
Bring a copy of children’s shot records.
Know what “teaching methods” are taught in your school (yes, I was asked that question several times!).
Every year when getting your pets vaccinated, get a copy of updates to bring while evacuating.
Let people who want to take care of you and love you do just that. This is not boot camp or a pride parade. Let others help.
Bring pictures of items in your home for your insurance claim.
Bring needed medications.
Bring some wine.
Tell your family and friends where you are going and work out a “contact person” on the outside who can give your information to worried friends and family.
Never depend on the government. If it looks like a storm is coming and Bob Breck and Margaret Orr are a little stressed — GET OUT.
Brush up on some of those prayers your momma taught you. And just know we have been through the worst. It can never get as bad as it did. We are a strong people.

CLAIRE KOCH,
New Orleans

The entire article with all the tips/lessons learned can be found here.

Nine nations now have nuclear weapons and the movie argues that number could continue to grow to over 40 countries as the construction knowledge spreads (and that’s not even including the non-state actors, including terror groups). The documentary, directed by Lucy Walker, effectively shows the great concern among those experts in the political, diplomatic and scientific fields, though it expresses concern that the public does not fully understand the gravity of the situation. The movie is meant as a ‘wake up call’ about the threat of an act of nuclear terrorism, failed diplomacy, or a simple accident.

Ultimately, the movie calls for nuclear disarmament and asks viewers to go to the website of an organization called Global Zero to sign a petition. I wish they had also included steps that citizens can do to protect themselves in case the efforts to stop a nuclear explosion does not completely work.

Nevertheless, it is definitely worth seeing “Countdown to Zero” if it comes to your town or when it comes out in DVD. To check its national opening schedule, check the Global Zero website here.

It’s a very relevant query for this blog as citizen preparedness has not had an ongoing high-profile celebrity spokesperson. To some in the readiness community, the absence of star power on the issue has been one reason for the lack of public attention. Though celebrities have been eager to participate in fundraising efforts after catastrophes like the Haiti effort), there is no big star who is singularly identified as a spokesperson for emergency preparedness.

The American Red Cross has used actresses Jamie Lee Curtis and Raven Symone as preparedness spokespeople. Maria Shriver, Honorary Chair of California Volunteers, has been outspoken on earthquake readiness. But a national spokesperson would be very helpful in publicizing the issue in a sustained way.

Brad Pitt working on a Make It Right housing project in New Orleans.

Former White House Terrorism  Adviser Fran Townsend and Terri Bischoff, the outgoing CEO of the Red Cross of Greater New York chapter both told me they think Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, who are rebuilding the homes in New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward as part of the Make It Right redevelopment program, would be excellent spokespeople for disaster preparedness.

Personally, I’d like to see Jack Bauer a.k.a.Kiefer Sutherland be the spokesperson. Not only was his character phenomenally popular but the whole “24″ show is an argument for creating a family emergency communications plan. I think Jack would get the attention of Americans for the disaster issue as the “24″ did for eight seasons.

Your suggestions?

Jack and Kim Bauer could have used a family emergency communications plan.

“Military Reunion” video posted on YouTube by Goobig Qp

Thanks to Heather Blanchard for bringing the video to my attention this morning.

In the “Grease 2,” which is set in the early 60’s, one of the characters, Rydell High student Louis DiMucci takes his girlfriend Sharon into a fallout shelter for a date and sings the song “Let’s Do It For Our Country” (video below).

“Let’s Do It For Our Country” video from “Grease 2″.

The scene is a bit goofy (like the rest of the movie), and the song’s double entendre title “Let’s Do It For The Country!” and lyrics are a bit suggestive for a family audience. But for the purposes of this blog, it actually makes a couple of revealing points about the difference in how the nation viewed preparedness in 50 years ago, and how we do now.

In the run up to the scene as he tries to coax Sharon into the shelter (though it is not in the video), Louis cites President John F. Kennedy’s plea that Americans prepare for a possible nuclear attack. Now, the efficacy of bomb shelters and ‘duck and cover’ to deal with Russian missiles may not have been the a viable public preparedness strategy. However, the focus and mobilization on preparedness starting at the top clearly get through to the public (even if the recommendations were flawed). if high school student Louis DiMucci knew that President Kennedy had asked the country to take the subject seriously. The song that Louis sings in the video “Let’s Do It For The Country!” is mischievous but does indicate the preparedness was viewed in 1961 as patriotic, which is not how it is viewed in 2010.

After we finished the movie, my wife suggested that the 70’s sitcom “Happy Days,” also had an episode in which the Cunningham family considered building a fallout shelter. Checking YouTube I watched “Be The First On Your Block,” which turned out to be quite interesting. As you can see below, the decision process portrayed on the show mirrored the deliberations of many Cold War-era Americans. There was a serious consideration of preparedness even if no steps were eventually taken.

“Be The First On Your Block” fallout shelter episode video from “Happy Days” (part 1)

The Cunninghams held a family meeting about the shelter in which the dad said his aim was not “to scare anyone but to try to protect the family” and it was “important” enough to talk about in front of their teenage children. The initial decision to go ahead (like “Grease 2″ it also involved a shelter’s value for teenage dating) soon did not seem as smart when the kids were beseeched by all their friends for a place and that “surviving” a nuclear attack alone wasn’t such an appealing prospect even if it worked.

This type of family debate (and even a family drill) on preparedness was common in the “Happy Days” era, but these days it’s rare that families talk about the subject. (And, ironically, there are more things that a family can do to protect themselves from disasters, including attacks, these days than they could then.) Particularly for those who didn’t live through the Cold War, it’s worth taking a look at these two shows to see the huge difference in how we as a society approach preparedness.

It’s an interesting piece which I wanted to post in part because it is offers a good case study on how various stakeholders often portray disasters to the public. Grunwald writes:

President Obama has called the BP oil spill “the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced,” and so has just about everyone else. Green groups are sounding alarms about the “Catastrophe Along the Gulf Coast,” while CBS, Fox and MSNBC slap “Disaster in the Gulf” chryons on all their spill-related news…

… The Deepwater explosion was an awful tragedy for the 11 workers who died on the rig, and it’s no leak; it’s the biggest oil spill in U.S. history. It’s also inflicting serious economic and psychological damage on coastal communities that depend on tourism, fishing and drilling. But so far — while it’s important to acknowledge that the long-term potential danger is simply unknowable for an underwater event that took place just three months ago — it does not seem to be inflicting severe environmental damage. “The impacts have been much, much less than everyone feared,” says geochemist Jacqueline Michel, a federal contractor who is coordinating shoreline assessments in Louisiana.

Grunwald explains why he thinks there has been some exaggeration. It is a dynamic that often happens in disaster situations.

Anti-oil politicians, anti-Obama politicians and underfunded green groups all have obvious incentives to accentuate the negative in the Gulf. So did the media, because disasters drive ratings and sell magazines; those oil-soaked pelicans you keep seeing on TV (and the cover of TIME) were a lot more compelling than the healthy pelicans I saw roosting on some protective boom in Bay Jimmy.

The full article can be found here.

The show brings together an eclectic group of “colonists” and puts them down in a post-pandemic world (actually 10 acres of abandoned neighborhood on the Gulf Coast of Louisiana left decimated by Hurricane Katrina, a naturally occurring disaster zone that was slated to be bulldozed and turned into a public park.)

It is in that stark environment of empty buildings, weedy streets and the backwoods that the colonists will be working over the 10 episodes to scavenge essentials for survival from their surroundings while fending off threats such as wild animals and malicious outsiders without electricity, running water, government or outside communication.

The show also includes features on-going play-by-play commentary experts in homeland security, engineering, psychology and the medical community. Unlike the “Survivor” show, the colonists aren’t eliminated in a tribal council every week; instead, the emphasis on how they will work together as a team to survive.

I found the first episode pretty engaging. Of course, I will admit that I like — much to my wife’s consternation — a lot of reality shows. But at least this one (unlike “The Bachelorette” or “Top Chef”) I could tell her I was watching  for my work.

In fact, while it is heavy on the drama — about half the first show involved fistfights between the “colonists” and some interlopers — the show makes you consider how you would react in the event of a major catastrophe and think about your own self sufficiency. It will be intriguing to people interested in the topic of disaster response and survival skills. I probably will be checking in and out of the show of the next 10 weeks.

For more more information on “The Colony” including schedule information, click here.

According to Ambinder:

The table of contents teases an interview with the leader of AQAP who promises to “answer various questions pertaining to the jihad in the Arabian Peninsula.” It includes a feature about how to “make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom.”

AQAP’s first effort to post the magazine to jihadist websites failed Wednesday, as many of the pages were contaminated with a virus. (I half seriously believe that U.S. cyber warriors might have had a hand in that little surprise.)

The U.S. is quite worried about Al Qaeda’s new publishing ambitions, which mark a more sophisticated effort to engage the English-language world and to recruit English-speaking Muslims to join the cause.

The copy was obtained from a private researcher. AQAP had advertised for days that the magazine would appear with the interviews specified in the table of contents. It is possible, although not likely, that the magazine is a fabrication, a production of a Western intelligence agency that wants to undermine Al Qaeda by eroding confidence in its production and distribution networks. The U.S. is engaged in direct net-based warfare with jihadis; this sort of operation would not be too difficult to pull off.

Below is a screenshot of the cover:

What rankles Raymond W. Kelly? Two things, he tells me as we sip lukewarm coffee in his conference room on the 14th floor of One Police Plaza, the dilapidated police headquarters overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge.

The first, New York’s police commissioner tells me, is “incompetence,” an inescapable fact-of-life, or so it would seem, in any large bureaucracy (he has 50,000 employees).

A second is the media’s tendency to downplay New York’s hard-won victories against terrorism—the failure or foiling of some 11 serious plots against the city since 2001—by describing the would-be perpetrators as incompetent or stupid (my italics).

Faisal Shahzad, who was indicted on Thursday for trying to blow up his SUV in Times Square last month, was not a stupid bumbler, Mr. Kelly says. “The people who interviewed, interrogated him said he is very smart, and has a very keen memory.” Federal law enforcement officials say they are making good use of that memory, using information he’s been providing to help target terrorist recruiters, handlers and facilitators in Pakistan, where Mr. Shahzad went for training.

So why did Mr. Shahzad buy fertilizer that wouldn’t detonate? “He was forced to do . . . things . . . that reduced the potency of his device,” Mr. Kelly says, because “it’s hard to get explosive materials in this country.” That “led him to try to substitute materials.”

Earlier this month Mohamed Mahmood Alessa, 20, and Carlos Eduardo Almonte, 24, were arrested at JFK International Airport. They were en route to Somalia with the stated intention of joining an Islamic extremist group to kill American troops there. Yet a profile in the New York Times quoted anonymous friends who described them as “hapless blowhards, more pathetic than perilous.”

Kelly’s complaint to Miller about the media portraying terrorists as the ‘gang that couldn’t shoot straight’ to the public is similar to one he made to the author Chris Dickey last year in the book Securing The City. At that time, I recommended that Kelly and other law enforcement officials needed to be more open and candid about the seriousness of the terror threat if they want the media and the public to take it equally seriously.

Officials like Kelly are understandably concerned about (or being accused of) ‘fearmongering’ by talking too much about terrorism. However, when the government won’t talk about the terror threat then it shouldn’t be surprised if there are misperceptions in the media and public. But I would argue that by developing an ongoing, honest and transparent (when possible) dialogue would help address Kelly’s concern about the media and the public laughing off terrorism.

*The Nature Conservancy has launched their Fund for Gulf Coast Restoration, expanding their efforts for long term recovery for the Gulf of Mexico and habitats along the coast, including salt marshes, oyster reefs, marshlands, beaches and estuaries. www.nature.org

*United Way is offering help to the families along the Gulf that are facing financial, educational and health-related challenges as a result from the economic disruption from this Oil Spill. The United Way Gulf Recovery fund will provide emergency assistance, such as help with food, rent and utilities, and support long-term recovery efforts to rebuild these lives and these communities. www.unitedway.org/gulfrecovery

*The National Wildlife Federation Gulf Oil Spill Restoration Fund supports efforts to find and save oiled wildlife, and help recover their delicate ecosystems that make up their nesting and breeding grounds. www.nwf.org.

Each of the websites offer information on how you can help further.

Players will be encouraged to learn about the types of disasters that might occur in their geographic region or state. The most common disasters — earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes — will be used to teach preparedness steps and to help users know how to prepare and what to do during and after an emergency event.

The game will include a variety of different game genres, depending on the type of educational content to be conveyed. For example, time management and puzzle gameplay will be used to teach how a person prepares for a possible emergency, including determining escape routes and meeting places. Hidden object gameplay will be used to teach what items belong in an emergency supply kit, such as batteries, flashlight, and canned food. Simulation gameplay will be used to present quick-care tips such as applying pressure to control bleeding.

The players take the role of a “Disaster Hero” to help different families prepare for various disasters. Each disaster scenario provides a variety of game experiences and quizzes on what was learned. Points are earned throughout the experience and displayed on the Disaster Hero website. Downloadable learning activities and checklists targeted to teachers and parents also will be available on the website.

For more information, go to disasterhero.com. Thanks to the Red Cross’ Oregon Trail Chapter for bringing this to my attention.

A screenshot from “Disaster Hero”

Jordan is a top local public emergency communications official and has been pushing preparedness in Seattle so long she’s called “The Earthquake Lady”. It’s a nice, compact earthquake preparedness review, which includes both “Drop, Cover & Hold” as well as “Beneath, Beside, Between.” It can be heard on the KUOW website here. Thanks to the Seattle Red Cross Twitter feed for bringing this to my attention.

JoAnn Jordan, “The Earthquake Lady” (Photo: Deborah Wang)

The most important overlooked story of the past few weeks was overlooked because it was not surprising. Also because no one really wants to notice it. The weight of 9/11 and all its implications is so much on our minds that it’s never on our mind.

I speak of the report from the Inspector General of the Justice Department, issued in late May, saying the department is not prepared to ensure public safety in the days or weeks after a terrorist attack in which nuclear, biological or chemical weapons are used…

Noonan notes that the Justice IG was not alone in noting the lack of WMD readiness:

The report was not the first of its kind. Six months ago, the bipartisan Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism gave both the Obama administration and Congress failing grades on preparedness for biological attack…

After the Inspector General’s report, Paul McHale, a former Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania who also served as an assistant secretary of defense under George W. Bush, told the Los Angeles Times: “There is a sense of complacency that has settled in nearly a decade after Sept. 11.” The paper also quoted Randall Larsen, the former executive director of the commission that gave the government low marks in January: “They just don’t see the WMD scenario as most likely,” he said.

They don’t? They must be idiots. They must not be reading all the government reports of the past eight years, declaring terrorist attacks on U.S. soil not only likely but virtually certain…No one wants to think about it. I don’t want to think about it. But you have to make plans. You have to imagine, you have to think about the worst case, and then you have to plan for it—literally…

Noonan says that the success in preventing another major attack has been a double edged sword in part by presenting a misimpression about the nation’s preparedness and response abilities:

Our eye is off the ball. The public, in spite of what it knows in the day to day, assumes the government is on the case. And certainly the government is on the case with regard to prevention: Not being hit again since 2001 means something, and our antiterrorism professionals, intelligence and law-enforcement agents, do impressive work. In New York the past week they picked up two apparent would-be terrorists who won’t be playing jihad anytime soon. But public awareness of prevention success gives the impression the government is similarly capable in terms of readiness and response…

On 9/11 we were rocked but held together. In a second and more devasting attack, public safety and public unity would be infinitely more stressed. The event, having had a precursor, would be infinitely more painful. You’d think this would focus the government’s mind.

We may be witnessing again a failure of imagination, the famous phrase used after 9/11 to capture why the U.S. government was caught so flatfooted and was so stunned that such a terrible thing could occur. They neglected to think of the worst thing that could happen, and so of course they did not plan for it. If agencies within the government now are having a second failure of imagination, it is not forgivable. We’re not being asked to imagine a place we’ve never been, after all, we’re only being asked to imagine where we’ve been, and how it could be worse, and plan for it.

Though Noonan was a speechwriter for Republican presidents Reagan and Bush, her general theme about the need to engage the public on WMD response was echoed by a current top DHS official Tara O’Toole in a speech this week.

I don’t know the feasibility of putting together such a program. But I think the general idea — and particularly the underlying spirit behind it — is terrific. The text of Matthews’ commentary is below:

I think what’s been misunderstood in this entire fiasco in the Gulf of Mexico is the spiritual factor. People in our country are heartsick over this. They sit and watch our natural birthright, this “gift outright” that Robert Frost called North America, being disfigured.

And there’s nothing that they can do. There’s nothing that their kids or parents or anyone that they know can do. It’s as if we’re all a bunch of by-standers, watching part of our country get destroyed.

I have a small recommendation that could fill a big part of our national heart. Put out an offer to the people of America – not just to the youth, but to anyone who can participate. Create a modern Civilian Conservation Corps, and deploy it in all the states of the Gulf. Invite any American who wants to join to come down south this summer and to clean up the beaches and wetlands of the Gulf.

I know that there will be those who warn you of the hazards in this, of the possibility of people getting hurt. Let people sign releases if it’s necessary – but give Americans the chance to do something.

Matthews said the idea was not his but came in a letter from Edward J. Shanahan, the headmaster of a New England prep school with at least one famous alumnus:

I got this idea from the headmaster of Choate Rosemary Hall [Edward J. Shanahan], the school in Connecticut that John F. Kennedy attended back in the 1930s:

“It is now June 3 and millions of high school boys and girls, college men and women, are finishing up their academic work,” he wrote me, “some of them with jobs, many of them no doubt without jobs. Is it not within the purview of any of our many federal agencies to mobilize a national ‘peace corps’ or national environmental protection corps for the next three months, for the purpose of capturing the oil that is already beginning to cause irreparable harm to our environment and to those who live in the Gulf area?”

Maybe you could give that nickname to the huge brigade of people whom I predict will join you to clean up the Gulf this summer. Maybe the best thing that you could do right now – while slapping BP with the bill for all of this – is to let the American people regain the spirit of young Jack Kennedy and reclaim this America the beautiful of ours.

There’s a wonderful story behind this. When he was a student at Choate, young Jack Kennedy organized a group of trouble-making classmates, whom he christened “The Muckers.” He gave each member a little shovel in order to show that he belonged.

Before a storm hits, the Internet-driven sites will allow people to monitor a tropical system’s progress, receive evacuation orders and learn which shelters are open. Unlike television or an Internet homepage, however, the messages are short and usually direct viewers to a link for more information.

After a storm, the social media will be used to alert the public about open stores and gas stations, warn which roads are clogged and estimate how long power might be out. This will be done by official agencies and the users themselves.

Officials say that social media augments conventional news sources, yet reaches some demographics better. It also has a two-way component that traditional media does not:

Most people will continue to rely on traditional news sources, including television, newspapers, radio and Internet weather sites to monitor storms. But those sources won’t necessarily reach those on the go — or younger people who use only social media sites.

“Social media is a very important tool for getting our message to customers who might not otherwise look for our information,” said Christopher Juckins, a meteorologist and technology programmer at the National Hurricane Center in Miami-Dade County….

Broward County emergency management plans to increasingly use Twitter — in addition to television/radio/Internet and print media — to provide storm progress reports, notify residents when shelters are opening and what areas need to evacuate. It would be available on cell phones even if power shuts down and would allow the hearing impaired to receive information, said Judy Sarver, the county’s spokeswoman.

“We need to take advantage of every tool we have to reach the public with these safety messages,” she said. “We have so much information that we need to get out when a storm is coming.”

Mary Blakeney, operations manager for Palm Beach County emergency management, said while the county has a Twitter site, it will rely more on other media to relay important information.

The Twitter site has less than 300 followers, but when a storm threatens, the county needs to reach tens of thousands of coastal residents, said Blakeney.

“It’s really a new arena that a lot of people are starting to utilize,” she said.

The region’s major newspapers, including the Sun Sentinel, The Miami Herald and The Palm Beach Post, all send text messages to subscribers, providing updates on cell phones whenever storms threaten.

The Sun Sentinel plans to also use social media to extend its coverage of damage and other developments, said Christopher Tiedje, the newspaper’s social media coordinator.

“Basically, we’ll be asking our social media audience for updates from their areas,” he said. “Do they have photos of damage, is there ice at the corner store, do you still have power, can you get phone service? That kind of thing.”

SunSentinel.com also offers a sidebar with a list of social media sites that provide tropical storm information here.

Thanks to Glen Gilmore’s Crisis Social Media Twitter feed where I saw this article.

While disaster news coverage is often characterized as opportunistic, provocative, and careless, the Tennessee situation begs the question: is it preferable to no coverage at all?

One positive is that the veritable national news blackout may have been a result of a successful local response:

Locals, in a sort of sour—or perhaps, sweet—grapes idealism, have interpreted that to mean their behavior was essentially too good for the news.

“It was not a PR nightmare,” writes Jan Morrison on the marketing blog Lovell Links. “It was handled with relative calm, an organized response and a lack of sensationalism.”

And, the article raises a great — and not usually asked — question: when national media ‘floods the zone’ so to speak on a disaster is that always good thing for the locals?:

Regardless of the emotion invoked by the cold media shoulder, one might wonder, why do they care so much? According to many disaster experts, the media do little more than muck up an emergency: spreading myths and misinformation, getting in the way instead of helping, and capitalizing on sorrow. Maybe the folks down in Tennessee should count their blessings.

I think it is a very fair to ask whether flood victims (or survivors as FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate like to say) should care. The article reports that there was a lot of hurt feelings in Tennessee about the lack of attention. But the most tangible negative may be less financial support from other parts of the nation:

Nothing whips up a donation frenzy like a solicitous news story and no national coverage equals no national sympathy.

In this case, social media seemed to help fill the void both in generating interest and support.

Like most questions, the answer is probably a mixed bag, but just the fact that Disaster Research raised the issue of the value of press coverage is interesting. And it should lead the national media, particularly all news television outlets, to think about how their coverage — when they cover a disaster round the clock — impacts the community and the response.

Fugate wants to get the message out that the agency cannot do everything, does not have limitless aid and is only part of the “team” (including other members of the “federal family”) that augments the work of the impacted community and its residents. As he told the press corps, “FEMA’s not the only game in town.”

At the same time, Fugate is also running an organization still rebuilding its own reputation with the public post-Hurricane Katrina so he can’t be seen to decentralize responsibility too much. So, he’s not saying that this team approach does not mean the agency’s response won’t be rapid, robust and responsive (as most reports say it has been during the flood and throughout Fugate’s administration). His point is that citizens and communities should look to all stakeholders (ie. private sector, non-profit groups, etc.) to take a leadership role in the effort, and further that citizens themselves have a responsibility to prepare in order to mitigate the damage of these disasters in the first place. There is a limit, Fugate says, what “a governmental centric” response can do.

It’s a subtle message — the cavalry will come, but it can’t completely save the day. The citizen and the community is ultimately responsible for preparation and recovery — and for the choices we make in advance (e.g. to buy flood insurance or not). Yet, managing those expectations needs to be done before the disaster not during it (and Fugate has been on the bully pulpit over the past year pushing his ideas). It’s particularly difficult to state candidly in the immediate days after a disaster, because the focus among the public, elected officials and the media is solely on providing as much help as possible as quickly as possible.

That delicate communications line Fugate has to walk was illustrated by the first question he received from the White House press corps:

Q.    When we were in Tennessee on Saturday, we talked to Secretary Napolitano, and she said that the extent of FEMA’s ability to help was limited. Given how many people there did not have flood insurance, how heavily impacted they are and how limited the FEMA aid is, where do you suggest these people go, beyond that? I mean, obviously $29,000 isn’t enough if you’ve lost your home and you don’t have flood insurance.

The reporter’s question is typical of how we as a nation generally react directly after a disaster. There is a ‘more is more’ expectation when it comes to federal assistance — that somehow FEMA can make everyone whole (as the reporter’s question implied). It is understandable, particularly with media coverage of the victims (or “survivors” as Fugate wants them to be called) circumstances. The challenge is not to sound unsympathetic or ineffective, but also to stick to his philosophy of individual and community responsibility and sufficiency. His answer:

ADMINISTRATOR FUGATE: That is correct. That’s, I think, part of the reason why — we look at disasters a lot differently than probably in the past, and we know that it takes a full federal team to support recovery. We have a lot of programs that Secretary Donovan brings to the table, with the HUD Community Block Development Grant; other types of programs that help. Plus another thing that we’ve not always done well on the federal side, and that is really collaborate with faith-based and volunteer organizations that can oftentimes provide labor and other assistance to people in trying to rebuild their homes, where we can use our dollars for materials.

And so, again, if you come in and you do what I call a federal-centric or government-centric response to these disasters, you’re going to have a lot of unmet needs, because we do have very defined programs and limits to those programs.

But if you look at a team approach and looking at what are the resources in a community; where are we going to be able to pull resources together to address particularly those folks that just are not going to have many other options — for a lot of folks, some of the more affluent neighborhoods, SBA disaster loans will help them get their homes repaired. But for those that don’t have the ability to do the loans and where our grants may not be able to return their home back to a useable condition, partnered with volunteers and other groups as part of a team effort gets us to those unmet needs.

And so this is our approach of not just looking at what one program can do, but how do we leverage the entire federal family to recognize there’s a lot of other resources in the community that we have tended not to bring to bear or work in a coordinated fashion. Often times, they were trying to do one thing — we’re over here, we’re not talking. And we don’t help the survivors.

I thought Fugate did pretty well in sticking to his doctrine without sounding insensitive. He got his message out that FEMA can’t do it all and citizens (and the media) should not expect that. Though he didn’t use the opportunity to say: ‘here’s why you should have flood insurance.’ It’s a subtle balance — you want to use disaster situations to educate the public and the press on what lessons can be learned from the incident, but you don’t want to add to the emotional distress of the survivors. The best time to talk about public preparedness is when you have the public’s attention — during a disaster — but it’s tough to talk policy when water is still swamping a city.

I highlighted the White House reporter’s question to Fugate, because the media has such a major role in shaping public perception and political behavior when it comes to disaster preparedness and response. And, I would argue that in addition to covering disasters in real time, the media has a responsibility to also provide the public with the underlying policy implications during and between crises.

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate answers reporters questions at the White House Briefing Room