United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2005-12-13 monographic deposited born digital 16 p. GA 1.13:GAO-06-297T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-297T P0b002ee180387fe4 f:d06297t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-297T machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-297T GAO-06-297T Charitable organizations Disaster planning Disaster recovery Disaster recovery plans Disaster relief aid Emergency preparedness Hurricanes Interagency relations Lessons learned National response plan Performance management Performance measures Relief agencies Volunteer services Public/private partnerships Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Rita National Response Plan Testimony A43238 The devastation and dislocation of individuals experienced throughout the Gulf Coast in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita has raised concern about both the charitable sector's and the government's abilities to effectively respond to such disasters. To strengthen future disaster response and recovery operations, the government needs to understand what went right and what went wrong, and to apply these lessons. The National Response Plan outlines the roles of federal agencies and charities in response to national disasters. Recognizing the historically large role of charities in responding to disasters, the plan included charities as signatories and gave them considerable responsibilities. In addition to carrying out the responsibilities outlined in the National Response Plan, charities served as partners to the federal government in providing both immediate and long-term assistance following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. GAO was asked to provide an overview of lessons learned from charities' response to previous disasters as well as preliminary observations about the role of charities following the Gulf Coast hurricanes. As part of our ongoing work, GAO will continue to analyze federal and charitable efforts following the hurricanes. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-297T/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-297T.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-297T/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-297T.pdf GAO-06-297T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-297T Testimony GAO-06-297T; Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: Provision of Charitable Assistance; Charitable organizations Disaster planning Disaster recovery Disaster recovery plans Disaster relief aid Emergency preparedness Hurricanes Interagency relations Lessons learned National response plan Performance management Performance measures Relief agencies Volunteer services Public/private partnerships Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Rita National Response Plan