FEMA Had a Plan for Responding to a
Hurricane in Puerto Rico — But It Doesn’t Want You to See It
The Federal Emergency Management
Agency, citing unspecified “potentially sensitive information,” is declining to
release a document it drafted several years ago that details how it would
respond to a major hurricane in Puerto Rico.
The plan, known as a hurricane
annex, runs more than 100 pages and explains exactly what FEMA and other
agencies would do in the event that a large storm struck the island.
The document could help experts assess both how well the federal government had prepared for a storm the size of Hurricane Maria and whether FEMA’s response matches what was planned.
The agency began drafting such advance plans after it was excoriated for poor performance and lack of preparation in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The document could help experts assess both how well the federal government had prepared for a storm the size of Hurricane Maria and whether FEMA’s response matches what was planned.
The agency began drafting such advance plans after it was excoriated for poor performance and lack of preparation in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
ProPublica requested a copy of the
Puerto Rico hurricane annex as part of its reporting on the federal response to
Maria, the scale and speed of which has been the subject of scrutiny and criticism.
More than a month after the storm made landfall, 73 percent of the island still lacks electricity.
Early last week, a FEMA spokesman
said he would provide a copy of the plan that afternoon. It never came.
After a week of follow-ups, FEMA sent a statement reversing its position. “Due to the potentially sensitive information contained within the Hurricane Annex of the Region II All Hazards Plan, there are legal questions surrounding what, if any, portions of the annex can be released,” the statement said. “As such, the documents that you seek must be reviewed and analyzed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by FEMA.” The statement did not explain what legal questions apply.
After a week of follow-ups, FEMA sent a statement reversing its position. “Due to the potentially sensitive information contained within the Hurricane Annex of the Region II All Hazards Plan, there are legal questions surrounding what, if any, portions of the annex can be released,” the statement said. “As such, the documents that you seek must be reviewed and analyzed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by FEMA.” The statement did not explain what legal questions apply.
As ProPublica has previously
reported, FEMA’s Freedom of Information process is plagued by dysfunction
and years long backlogs. For example, FEMA hasn’t responded to a
request for documents related to Superstorm Sandy that we filed more than three
and a half years ago.
After FEMA declined to release the Puerto Rico hurricane plan, we found the agency’s equivalent plan for Hawaii posted, unredacted, on the internet by the Department of Defense.
The Hawaii plan includes granular details down to, for example, how many specially outfitted medical aircraft the federal government would send to Hawaii after a Category 4 hurricane. It also describes an 85-step process to restore electricity on the islands.
Asked why the Puerto Rico plan was
too sensitive to release publicly while the Hawaii plan was not, a FEMA
spokesman said: “We aren’t able to speak for DoD or the State of Hawaii.”