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Report: Chertoff Failed In Overseeing Hurricane Response

HeadlineSep 15, 2005

In other news on Hurricane Katrina, the Knight Ridder news agency is reporting that it was Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff who was ultimately empowered to mobilize the federal response to Hurricane Katrina–not Michael Brown, the former head of FEMA who resigned earlier this week. Internal records show that Chertoff didn’t shift power to Brown until 36 hours after Katrina hit. According to Knight Ridder, Chertoff — even before the storm struck — could have ordered federal agencies into action without any request from state or local officials. According to the National Response Plan, it was Chertoff–not Brown–who was in charge of managing the national response to a catastrophic disaster. Knight Ridder is also reporting that it has obtained an internal memo that suggests that Chertoff may have been confused himself about his lead role in disaster response and that of his department.

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