WASHINGTON, June 9 (UPI) -- The Red Cross and FEMA have been urged to improve emergency communications as the summer hurricane season gets under way.
The General Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report that Red Cross aid requests sometimes got lost in the shuffle at FEMA during the hectic days when Hurricanes Katrina and Rita rocked the U.S. Gulf Coast, and that steps were needed to ensure that future requests make it up the chain of command from local agencies to the Red Cross to FEMA headquarters.
The report blamed the difficulties on the lack of a comprehensive system to track requests resulted in more work for field personnel, delays in aid shipments and, in some cases, reductions in services to some storm-ravaged areas.
"The Red Cross was only able to follow up on these requests informally, "the GAO said, "a process that took time and was often ineffective."
Katrina and Rita marked the first time that the Red Cross had acted in close concert with FEMA under the National Response Plan, and the GAO said more personnel dedicated to so-called support Function-6 activities specified by the plan were needed on both the FEMA and Red Cross staffs.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said in a news release Thursday that shortcoming in that relationship left an unfair burden on smaller charities and local relief agencies.
"I'm pleased that the GAO agrees with the findings of my oversight that there has to be a significant role for professional, knowledgeable Red Cross disaster relief staff," said Grassley, whose Senate Finance Committee has oversight over the Red Cross' tax-exempt status.
