The focus of the current survey is the Hurricane Katrina tragedy and its horrific effects. Was it possible to avoid the scale of the current destruction or minimize the number of victims? Were the efforts to rescue victims, provide aid and restore order to the region adequate? What measures must be taken so as not to repeat what happened?

Russian Bazaar posed these questions to local and federal politicians and agency officials responding to emergency situations.

Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY)

Immediately after seeing the hurricane survivors in Houston, I introduced a bill in the Senate about returning FEMA to the status of an independent, cabinet-level agency. Witnessing the state of despair of the people whose entire normal lives were destroyed by Katrina, it is hard to believe that they received adequate assistance. It is totally obvious that the bureaucracy created as a result of moving FEMA into the Department of Homeland Security does not work.

According to the bill, the FEMA director will report directly to the President and will have authority on critical decisions. The bill puts forward a mission for FEMA, which emphasizes disaster preparation, fast and effectively response and equally effective victims' assistance. The bill also guarantees that FEMA will finance programs like Project IMPACT and will work to establish successful partner relations between federal and local emergency authorities. Finally, the bill requires FEMA to maintain control over funds needed for disaster preparation and response on the scale of natural catastrophes. Only full independence will enable FEMA to effectively avert similar national crises in the future.

I also introduced another bill about creating an independent commission to investigate the current system of providing aid to victims. This investigation will help us be sure that disaster response in the future will be more satisfactory. The commission will be based on the model of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, created after September 11. Its task will be a full and unbiased assessment of everything that could and should have been done to avoid such horrific losses and sufferings on the part of thousands of Americans. Emergency professionals, who possess the specific knowledge and vast experience in the area, must be a part of the commission. They will be able to determine how to fix the broken Federal Catastrophe Response mechanism.

Senator Joseph Liebermann (D-CT)

Being a member of the standing Senate Committee on National Security, I, along with the chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), made a decision that the committee will conduct an investigation to examine federal readiness for Hurricane Katrina and their response to it. The central objective of the investigation will be to ensure that the federal government will be able provide the necessary aid to victims of the worst natural disaster in American history.

Furthermore, the committee will conduct hearings on the problems of the readiness of the country for possible future disasters and its abilities to react to them.

The mission of the committee, under whose jurisdiction FEMA is found, is to guarantee that the agency has the means to deliver aid to victims, and it is capable of coordinating the available resources. We will work with FEMA and other agencies to determine what additional aid and services are needed by authorities at this difficult time.

Our mission also consists of determining why there was insufficient readiness for this tragedy and such a poor response to it. Although it is still too early to draw conclusions, it is nonetheless obvious that serious errors were made.

We intend to hear answers about how such monstrous failures were allowed, but at present we should be concentrated on determining what assistance congress can render to those conducting rescue and assistance operations.

Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY)

We must do everything possible today, tomorrow and in the future to help those who have suffered the most. The Senate has already allocated 10.5 billion dollars for this purpose. But thousands of people are still in need of aid.

I know perfectly well how difficult it is to organize mass recovery operations and deliver aid on this scale. Nevertheless, we must end this terrible crisis. In my office, the telephone rings without stopping, just like in the offices of my colleagues. People ask us the difficult questions of why a tragedy has occurred and what could have been done to avoid it. Now we must concentrate on saving lives, but I want people to know their questions are not falling on deaf ears.

A time will come when we will pose these difficult questions, not to accuse, but to learn about errors and how to better prepare for possible disasters in the future. Now we must unite, like after the tragedy of September 11, 2001. We must help New Orleans and other cities destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, just like the entire country helped New York.

Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)

It is clear that the devastation was partly caused by far-from-adequate preventive and response measures. Since then, all Americans, including New Yorkers, have realized that they are also hardly ready for the worst. We must hope that this terrible tragedy will force us to seriously reexamine our disaster preparedness, be it natural or man-made destruction.

New York State Assemblyman William Colton (D-NY)

Hurricane Katrina brought unimaginable destruction. I think it is too early to judge what could have minimized destruction and loss of human life. New York City and State are better prepared for disasters after the tragedy of September 11, 2001. Still, much needs to be done to better coordinate the actions of first responder agencies, such as organizing public transportation routes, building new shelters and to determine how people will evacuate the city and the state in case of a possible catastrophe.

Outfitting our rescue services with the best means of communication is also one of the central tasks. Although in New York acts of terror are more probable than hurricanes we should still be prepared for anything.

Joseph Bruno, commissioner of the New York City Office of Emergency Management

We live in a time in which it is difficult to completely prevent all tragedies – be they acts of terror or natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina. However, we can take measures which diminish the force of impact, reduce to a minimum the destruction and the number of victims.

OEM advises New Yorkers to prepare in advance for extraordinary situations, by preparing a Go-Bag, an Emergency Supply Kit, and developing a Household Disaster Plan. Detailed information about how this can be made can be found on the OEM site: www.nyc.gov/readyny.

Furthermore, the inhabitants of our city must determine, if they live in coastal or evacuation zones, and where the nearest evacuation shelter is located. Information about this can be obtained by dialing 311 or by visiting www.nyc.gov/emols.

New York City has already taken some measures to train residents in case of possible hurricanes. For example, OEM pamphlet Ready New York: Hurricanes and New York City, which includes instructions for developing a disaster plan, protecting your house from storms, and also a map of New York indicating evacuation zones and shelters. This pamphlet is published in five languages: English, Russian, Spanish, Haitian-Creole and Chinese. It can be obtained by dialing 311 or by visiting www.nyc.gov/readyny.

And finally, OEM launched an advertising campaign to prepare New Yorkers for potential natural disasters.