DisastersReal disasters hurt annual national disaster drill

This year's FEMA disaster response was hampered by actual disasters // Source: earthsky.org

This year the federal government’s annual nationwide disaster drill was hampered by actual disasters.

Due to an unusually severe series of natural disasters across the country, several states, local agencies, and federal employees were unable to participate in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Level Exercise as they were too busy responding to real emergencies.

The drill was held on 16 May to 19 May, but in the weeks preceding the exercise multiple states were hit by powerful tornadoes and record floods. As a result, the FEMA drill, which simulated an earthquake in the Midwest, was scaled back, with four states and one FEMA region pulling out.

According to an audit by the DHS Inspector General, the drill suffered at the hands of less experienced staffers who stepped in to replace those who were called to help with official recovery duties.

“The greater impact on exercise play involved using employees who were not originally scheduled to participate in exercise activities, since their counterparts had to address real-world events,” the inspector general found. “These employees were less trained and experienced, and some were not trained on exercise software. On occasion, they had to consult their counterparts who were working real-world events for advice and assistance. Furthermore, some employees were attempting to work both real-world events and the exercise.”

A FEMA official, speaking anonymously to Federal Computer Week, said the effect of the real disasters on the annual exercise was “immeasurable.”

Two other federal agencies also did not participate in the drill, but it was unclear if they were forced to pull out due to real disaster response.

For future drills, FEMA officials vowed to institute stronger accountability measures.