A Bush administration report has found widespread shortcomings in the response to Hurricane Katrina and recommends 125 needed improvements. The report, released Feb. 23, states “our system clearly has structural flaws for addressing catastrophic incidents.”

The report says Dept. of Homeland Security regional offices should be beefed up and a national operations center set up at DHS headquarters, including a strong infrastructure support unit. It calls for DHS-Dept. of Defense planning “for a significant DOD supporting role” in catastrophes.

White House homeland security advisor Frances Fragos Townsend says an emergency has “a before, a during and an after, and we’ve got a lot of work to do in all three areas.”