"[The report reviews] FEMA's activities in response to Hurricane Katrina, which details FEMA's responsibilities for three of the four major phases of disaster management - preparedness, response, and recovery - during the first five weeks of the federal response. In addition, [the contributors] evaluated FEMA's preparedness and readiness efforts over the past ten years to determine its organizational capability and posture prior to Hurricane Katrina"--Executive summary.

"[The report reviews] FEMA's activities in response to Hurricane Katrina, which details FEMA's responsibilities for three of the four major phases of disaster management - preparedness, response, and recovery - during the first five weeks of the federal response. In addition, [the contributors] evaluated FEMA's preparedness and readiness efforts over the past ten years to determine its organizational capability and posture prior to Hurricane Katrina"--Executive summary.

This report assesses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) performance as it conducted its disaster management responsibilities in response to Hurricane Katrina. The report examines whether the laws, regulations, policies, procedures, plans, guidelines, and resources were adequate and operational, and whether FEMA's organizational structure enhanced or hindered its emergency management capabilities. The report includes 38 recommendations to the Director of FEMA, Under Secretary for Preparedness, Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs, and Director of the Office of Operations Coordination.

From the bestselling author of My Ex-Best Friend's Wedding comes a novel about four friends who share a passion for a beloved British television show that will change all of their lives. When the concierge of The Alexander, a historic Atlanta apartment building, invites his fellow residents to join him for weekly screenings of Downton Abbey, four very different people find themselves connecting with the addictive drama, and—even more unexpectedly—with each other... Samantha Davis married young and for the wrong reason: the security of old Atlanta money—for herself and for her orphaned brother and sister. She never expected her marriage to be complicated by love and compromised by a shattering family betrayal. Claire Walker is now an empty nester and struggling author who left her home in the suburbs for the old world charm of The Alexander, and for a new and productive life. But she soon wonders if clinging to old dreams can be more destructive than having no dreams at all. And then there’s Brooke MacKenzie, a woman in constant battle with her faithless ex-husband. She’s just starting to realize that it’s time to take a deep breath and come to terms with the fact that her life is not the fairy tale she thought it would be. For Samantha, Claire, Brooke—and Edward, who arranges the weekly gatherings—it will be a season of surprises as they forge a bond that will sustain them through some of life’s hardest moments—all of it reflected in the unfolding drama, comedy, and convergent lives of Downton Abbey.