Hurricane Katrina turned FEMA into a "symbol of a bumbling bureaucracy" so far beyond repair that it should be scrapped, senators said Thursday. They called for creation of a new disaster relief agency as the next storm season looms on the horizon.

Senate Panel Says FEMA Is Beyond Repair

FEMA is an agency of the Department of Homeland Security. FEMA's purpose is to coordinate the response to a disaster which overwhelms the resources of local and municipal authorities.

While on-the-ground, logistical support for disaster recovery is a major part of FEMA's charter, the agency is also responsible for the disbursement of funds for rebuilding efforts and relief for citizens and businesses. FEMA also provides training of response personnel throughout the country as part of the agency's preparedness effort.

Before there was FEMA, there was the United States Civil Defense.

Civil Defense was an effort to prepare civilians for military attack. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, or evacuation, and recovery. Programs of this sort were initially discussed at least as early as the 1920s but it was only after the threat of nuclear weapons became realized that they became widespread. As the intensity of the Cold War waned emphasis shifted from military attack to emergencies and disasters in general.

With Civil Defense, individuals are empowered to protect and defend their own communities versus waiting for a response from the state or federal governments.

Civil Defense works from the bottom up, instead of top down. Civil Defense would be part of a city or town's responsibility in cooperation with the police, fire and school departments. Citizens would be encouraged to make up the all-volunteer Civil Defense Brigades. Proper training and funds can be provided by federal government. Units could be city-wide, ward-wide or even just block-wide. It would be a professional neighborhood watch community effort.

Imagine if this was in place during Hurricane Katrina...