Quote:Imagine the most stressful situation you can. In the midst of those
circumstances, everything that is supposed to work a certain way fails
to do so. No matter how often you push the button, bark an order or
instruct staff, things don’t work the way they’re supposed to. I was
experiencing that during Katrina, but didn’t recognize it.
In
those instances one needs to learn to step back, reassess the situation
and restart the entire management process. The key to being able to do
that is having a support system around you that can help you take a deep
breath and objectively analyze the problem. But my trusted press
secretary had been recalled to Washington. My staff had become
disorganized, understandably fearful of the political repercussions, and
had begun to distance themselves.
I often pleaded with first
responders and FEMA employees to get rest—to actually take time to
sleep. While it is unnatural for them to do so—they’re driven by the
desire to serve—if they fail to physically and mentally take care of
themselves, they risk becoming victims themselves. In the end, I failed
to heed my own advice.

Quote: During the crisis all of the plans will be put to the test and it’s
imperative that officials adjust accordingly and ensure that basic needs
are being met. When Michael Brown, former FEMA director, was
interviewed by television news shows days after the hurricane made
landfall, he admitted that “the Federal government did not know that
there were victims at the convention center (ABC, Nightly News).” The
news anchor interviewing him found that hard to believe considering the
fact that several news outlets had been covering the refugees at the
Convention Center and Superdome. This clearly showed that the media was
more informed about certain aspects of the situation than the
government. With this in mind, I recommend that the government
strengthen its relationship with news media outlets to ensure that the
primary mission of FEMA is upheld which is to “reduce the loss of life.”