National Governments

National Structures for Disaster Response

In organizing the national response to emergencies, a fundamental difference exists between centralized and devolved states. France is a good example of the former, and Germany and the United States of the latter. A centralized form of public administration may control operations in the various geographical divisions of the country by a system of districts and decentralized offices representing central power. These may be prefectures, as in France, in which the prefect is the representative of central government in the regions (départements). Prefectural powers may be backed up by central control of essential services, such as police forces and fire and rescue.

The most straightforward kind of decentralized system is a federal republic, in which the constituent states have sovereign responsibilities. These will probably include the provision of safety and security for their citizens. The existence of a federal superstructure is not precluded, but in most cases its powers are limited by constitutional arrangements between state and federation, or confederation. Its usual role is thus one of supporting state efforts with extra resources. Emergency [Page 436]Management Australia, which is an organ of the federal attorney general, does not infringe upon the Australian states' and territories' constitutional responsibility to manage disasters and emergencies within their own territories, but augments their work.

A U.S. Marine hands rations to a Haitian earthquake victim near Leogane, Haiti, in January 2010. When the national government of a disaster-stricken country is incoherent, national governments from more stable countries are often the first to respond with aid

An illustration of the relationship between national and state governments in a federal republic is given by an incident that occurred in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 in the U.S. Gulf Coast. President George W. Bush asked the governors of Mississippi and Louisiana to relinquish authority for the relief effort to the federal government. Backed by state-controlled National Guard commands, both refused the offer, and constitutionally they were entitled to do so.

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