Straight from the horse's mouth

Who has primary responsibility for emergency response in the event of a natural disaster?

None other than the Bush-created Department of Homeland Security.

From the Department's web site:

Preparing America

In the event of a terrorist attack, natural disaster or other large-scale emergency, the Department of Homeland Security will assume primary responsibility on March 1st for ensuring that emergency response professionals are prepared for any situation. This will entail providing a coordinated, comprehensive federal response to any large-scale crisis and mounting a swift and effective recovery effort. The new Department will also prioritize the important issue of citizen preparedness. Educating America's families on how best to prepare their homes for a disaster and tips for citizens on how to respond in a crisis will be given special attention at DHS.

Additional Resources

The National Response Plan establishes a comprehensive all-hazards approach to enhance the ability of the United States to manage domestic incidents.

What's the National Response Plan?

National Response Plan



"One team, one goal...a safer, more secure America"


The National Response Plan establishes a comprehensive all-hazards approach to enhance the ability of the United States to manage domestic incidents. The plan incorporates best practices and procedures from incident management disciplines—homeland security, emergency management, law enforcement, firefighting, public works, public health, responder and recovery worker health and safety, emergency medical services, and the private sector—and integrates them into a unified structure. It forms the basis of how the federal government coordinates with state, local, and tribal governments and the private sector during incidents. It establishes protocols to help

Save lives and protect the health and safety of the public, responders, and recovery workers;
Ensure security of the homeland;
Prevent an imminent incident, including acts of terrorism, from occurring;
Protect and restore critical infrastructure and key resources;
Conduct law enforcement investigations to resolve the incident, apprehend the perpetrators, and collect and preserve evidence for prosecution and/or attribution;
Protect property and mitigate damages and impacts to individuals, communities, and the environment; and
Facilitate recovery of individuals, families, businesses, governments, and the environment.

So I don't want to hear any more about how it was the Mayor's or Governor's fault. Bush set up this damn department and federalized diaster planning and recovery, let him, and the department, take the responsibility.