Report: FCC needs clearer guidance on disaster response role

The federal government needs to improve its communications policies during disasters like hurricanes, according to a new watchdog report.

A report with the U.S. Government Accountability Office looked into how the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) handled the response to Hurricane Maria, which battered Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands in 2017.

The report said the Department of Homeland Security did not provide clear enough guidance for the FCC.

“DHS did not define specific actions for FCC in the emergency support function guidance related to restoring communications infrastructure; this lack of clarity could have contributed to confusion and delays in the hurricane’s aftermath,” the report said.

The report calls for DHS to outline specific roles of the FCC during an emergency and to provide training for technologies that can help provide disaster assistance.

It also calls for the FCC to be more transparent to the public about how its Hurricane Recovery Task Force is doing so that the public can access critical communications systems to call for help or request restoration assistance.

The FCC said it agrees with the recommendations and is working on making the changes.

It comes as the National Hurricane Service warned this week that this hurricane season could be a busy one.

“The prediction for this year is an above average season,” said National Hurricane Center Director Ken Graham.

The report also said the FCC did provide some key disaster relief duties during Hurricane Maria including collecting network outage information and providing staff assistance to Puerto Rico.

©2021 Cox Media Group