U S Government Accountability Office

Disaster recovery U S Government Accountability Office

The administration is developing the National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF) in order to enhance the nations ability to deliver recovery assistance. The Federal Emergency Management Agencys (FEMA) Long-Term Community Recovery Branch (LTCR) is responsible for leading a network of primarily federal agencies, known as ESF-14, that supports long-term recovery. LTCRs experiences offer potential insights for developing the NDRF. GAO was asked to report on (1) the roles that LTCR played in recent disasters, (2) broad criteria and timing challenges that affected this assistance, (3) the effectiveness of specific coordination practices, and (4) the effectiveness of specific planning assistance practices. GAO focused on three disasters with significant LTCR involvement: the Greensburg tornado (2007), the Iowa floods (2008), and Hurricane Ike (2008). GAO reviewed agency documents and policies and interviewed relevant federal, state, and local officials.