The US government's failed response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster of 2005 fits into a pattern of failure to meet the needs of victims of catastrophic disasters, according to Miskel. This pattern points to systemic problems, rather than simply incompetence on the part of individual leaders systemic problems he seeks to uncover through comparative examination of how the government's disaster relief system operated during Hurricane Agnes in 1972, the Three Mile Island near-disaster in 1979, Hurricane Hugo in 1989, Hurricane Andrew in 1992, and Hurricane Katrina. After identifying the enduring structural issues revealed in these examples, he compares the US system to its Australian and Canadian counterparts and proposes some fundamental changes.
Reference & Research Book News
[M]iskel, a former Deputy Assistant Associate Director of FEMA, examines the effects that operational failures after Hurricaines Agnes, Hugo, Andrews, and Katrina have had on the organizational design and operating principles of the disaster response system program. He also discusses the impact of 9/11 and the evolving role of the military, and he identifies reforms that should be implemented to improve the nation's ability to respond in the future.
Natural Hazards Observer