Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Preparedness Vision, the National Planning Scenarios, the Target Capabilities
List, and the Universal Task List.
Response Plans
For nearly a decade, a progression of response plans—Federal Response Plan (FRP),
National Response Plan (NRP), and National Response Framework (NRF)—were
written to address lessons learned from actual and potential disasters, as well as
changes in statutory and policy directives, with the intended aim of improving the
nation's preparedness and response coordination.
The creation of the FRP was driven by the PDD-39, which itself was developed
following the Oklahoma City bombing of the Murrah Federal Building. The NRP
superseded the FRP, following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Finally,
the NRF superseded the NRP after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Creation
of both the NRP and the NRF was driven by HSPD-5.
These federal plans are supported by emergency support functions (ESFs) annexes
that describe the missions, policies, structures, and responsibilities of federal agencies
for coordinating resource and programmatic support. The ESFs provide the structure
for coordinating federal interagency support for a federal response to an incident. They
are mechanisms for grouping functions most frequently used to provide federal support.
The plans are guidelines, not requirements, for the states in the beginning, but
states are supposed to follow federal plans to obtain funding. Some states follow the
plan, others do not. The development of these plans was based on several premises:
A basic premise of all the plans is that the state is FEMA's primary client. The
response doctrine is rooted in America's federal system and the Constitution's
division of responsibilities between federal and state governments.
Another premise is that incidents are handled at the lowest jurisdictional
level possible. In the vast majority of incidents, state and local resources and
interstate mutual aid will provide the first line of emergency response and
incident management support. When state resources and capabilities are
overwhelmed, governors may request federal assistance. That strategy pro-
vides the framework for federal interaction with local, tribal, state, territory,
commonwealth, and private-sector and nongovernmental entities in the con-
text of domestic incident management.
A third premise is that mass care is traditionally a community response.
NGOs, such as the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army, and other
faith-based and community-based organizations have traditionally provided
mass care services to communities during disasters.
All of these plans focus on all-hazard emergencies: natural disasters, technological
emergencies (such as hazardous material releases), and acts of terrorism.