The Disaster Accountability Project (DAP) is a non-partisanwatchdog organization dedicated to improving disaster management systems. DAP was founded in 2007 by Ben Smilowitz as a reaction to the responses to hurricanes Katrina and Rita.[1] DAP is a 501(c)(3)non-profit organization and is a 2008 Echoing Green fellowship organization.[2]
Initiatives
Disaster Accountability Project Hotline - a toll free hotline through which survivors of a disaster, relief workers, and whistle-blowers can report gaps in relief services.[3]
Federal Emergency Management Agency's ice policy - an effort to pressure FEMA to reverse its decision to only deliver ice for "medical emergencies" following a disaster.[4]
FEMA Structural Reforms - among other reforms, DAP has advocated for the elevation of the FEMA Administrator to a U.S. Cabinet-level position.[5]
Report on Southern Louisiana Emergency Preparedness[6] - a study conducted in 2009, which evaluated the emergency preparedness plans of 22 Southern Louisianaparishes based upon their comprehensiveness and accessibility to the general public.[7][8] The study revealed that 11 of the 22 parishes surveyed could not or would not produce copies of their emergency plans when requested.[9][10][11][12]
ReliefOversight.org[13] - a website created as a response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. ReliefOversight.org monitors the activities of relief organizations in disaster zones during the aftermath of a natural or man-made disaster.[14][15][16]
