§ 824. Enhanced catastrophic incident annex

• (a) The Secretary, in coordination with the Administrator and the Federal partners listed in section 822(b) of this title , shall supplement each Federal Interagency Operational Plan to include an annex containing a strategy to ensure the health, safety, and general welfare of the civilian population affected by catastrophic incidents by—
  • (1) providing for the basic needs of the civilian population of the United States that is impacted by catastrophic incidents in the United States;
  • (2) coordinating response efforts with State, local, and Indian Tribal governments, the private sector, and nonprofit relief organizations;
  • (3) promoting personal and local readiness and non-reliance on government relief during periods of heightened tension or after catastrophic incidents; and
  • (4) developing international partnerships with allied nations for the provision of relief services and goods.
• (b) The strategy required under subsection (a) shall include a description of—
  • (1) actions the Federal Government should take to ensure the basic needs of the civilian population of the United States in a catastrophic incident are met;
  • (2) how the Federal Government should coordinate with non-Federal entities to multiply resources and enhance relief capabilities, including—
    • (A) State and local governments;
    • (B) Indian Tribal governments;
    • (C) State disaster relief agencies;
    • (D) State and local disaster relief managers;
    • (E) State National Guards;
    • (F) law enforcement and first response entities; and
    • (G) nonprofit relief services;
  • (3) actions the Federal Government should take to enhance individual resiliency to the effects of a catastrophic incident, which actions shall include—
    • (A) readiness alerts to the public during periods of elevated threat;
    • (B) efforts to enhance domestic supply and availability of critical goods and basic necessities; and
    • (C) information campaigns to ensure the public is aware of response plans and services that will be activated when necessary;
  • (4) efforts the Federal Government should undertake and agreements the Federal Government should seek with international allies to enhance the readiness of the United States to provide for the general welfare;
  • (5) how the strategy will be implemented should multiple levels of critical infrastructure be destroyed or taken offline entirely for an extended period of time; and
  • (6) the authorities the Federal Government should implicate in responding to a catastrophic incident.
• (c) In designing the strategy under subsection (a), the Secretary, in coordination with the Administrator and the Federal partners listed in section 822(b) of this title , shall account for certain factors to make the strategy operationally viable, including the assumption that—
  • (1) multiple levels of critical infrastructure have been taken offline or destroyed by catastrophic incidents or the effects of catastrophic incidents;
  • (2) impacted sectors may include—
    • (A) the transportation sector;
    • (B) the communication sector;
    • (C) the energy sector;
    • (D) the healthcare and public health sector; and
    • (E) the water and wastewater sector;
  • (3) State, local, Indian Tribal, and territorial governments have been equally affected or made largely inoperable by catastrophic incidents or the effects of catastrophic incidents;
  • (4) the emergency has exceeded the response capabilities of State, local, and Indian Tribal governments under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) and other relevant disaster response laws; and
  • (5) the United States military is sufficiently engaged in armed or cyber conflict with State or non-State adversaries, or is otherwise unable to augment domestic response capabilities in a significant manner due to a catastrophic incident.