FEMA releases National Preparedness Report today

Today, FEMA and its partners released the National Preparedness Report (NPR). The Report identifies significant progress the nation has made in areas of prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery.  Overall the Report found that the nation has increased its collective preparedness, not only from external threats, but also for natural and technological hazards that face its communities.

The Report was developed to meet the requirements of Presidential Policy Directive 8/PPD-8: National Preparedness. PPD-8 is aimed at strengthening the security and resilience of the United States through systematic preparation for the threats that pose the greatest risk to the security of the Nation, including acts of terrorism, cyber attacks, pandemics, and catastrophic natural disasters.

The NPR focuses on five mission areas: Prevention, Protection, Mitigation, Response and Recovery, as outlined in the National Preparedness Goal released in October 2011.  Within these mission areas are 31 core capabilities central to preparedness. The NPR assesses each of these 31 core capabilities.

Overall, the NPR found the Nation has made significant progress in enhancing preparedness and identifies several significant areas of national strength. For example, the Nation has built the foundation for an integrated, all-hazards planning architecture that considers routine emergencies and catastrophic events. Operational coordination has also improved with the adoption of the National Incident Management System (NIMS), which provides a common doctrine for incident management. In addition, intelligence and information sharing capabilities are stronger thanks to a national network of fusion centers and Joint Terrorism Task Forces that bring together federal, state, and local law enforcement, Intelligence Community resources, and other public safety officials and private sector partners. The Report also identified opportunities for national improvement in cybersecurity, long-term recovery, and integrating individuals with access and functional needs into preparedness activities.

FEMA developed the NPR in close coordination with leaders of federal departments and agencies, and the Report reflects inputs from state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, private and nonprofit sector partners, and the general public. Data was also integrated from the 2011 State Preparedness Reports, which are state-wide self-assessments of the core capabilities submitted by all 56 U.S. states and territories through a standard survey.  FEMA also conducted research to identify any recent, independent evaluations, surveys and other data related to the core capabilities.

The National Preparedness Report is the next step in implementing PPD-8.  Since the directive was signed by the President in March 2011, FEMA and its partners have released the first edition of the National Preparedness Goal, the National Preparedness System description, and the working drafts of the National Planning Frameworks. For more information on PPD-8 and to download the Report, visit www.fema.gov/ppd8 or contribute your ideas at http://fema.ideascale.com. A briefer fact sheet on this can be downloaded from: Resource File - national_preparedness_report_fact_sheet_final_5_3_2012.pdf (pdf 246K).