Main Content

Lesson 6: Hazards: Mitigation/Prevention and Preparedness

National Preparedness Report: Key Findings

PPD-8 not only required a National Preparedness Goal, but also mandated a National Preparedness Report (NPR). The first NPR was released in March 2011 and is updated periodically. The most recent report was released in March 2013. As the NPR coordinator, FEMA worked with a variety of stakeholders to develop the NPR. FEMA collaborated with a host of federal interagency partners to identify quantitative and qualitative performance and assessment data for each of the core capabilities. In addition, FEMA integrated data from the 2011 State Preparedness Reports (SPRs), which are statewide self-assessments of core capability levels submitted by all 56 states and territories through a standardized survey.

Overarching key findings in the National Preparedness Report:

  • The nation has developed areas of national strength in several core capabilities particularly in crosscutting, common capabilities, and those that support responses to disasters.
  • Cybersecurity and recovery-focused core capabilities are national areas of improvement.
  • Federal preparedness assistance programs have helped build and enhance state, local, tribal, and territorial capabilities through multi-year investments across mission areas.
  • States generally reported the most progress in capabilities that they identified as high priorities.
  • The nation has made demonstrable progress addressing areas for improvement identified after events such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina.
  • Efforts to integrate people with disabilities and other access and functional needs, children, pregnant women, older adults, and people with chronic medical conditions into preparedness activities require attention across all mission areas.
  • Decision makers in the public and private sectors increasingly are using risk analysis to shape and prioritize preparedness activities across mission areas.
  • Many programs exist to build and sustain capabilities across all mission areas, but challenges remain in measuring progress from year to year.

Reference

US Department of Homeland Security. (March, 2013). National Preparedness Report. Retrieved July 8, 2013 from http://www.fema.gov/national-preparedness-report.


Top of page