What does the National Guard do before, during, and after a natural disaster like a hurricane?

The national guard will usually man shelters as security, man distribution points for water and food, helping with clearing of debris, assisting police with traffic, radio support, and anything else the governor needs

There is a disaster response plan that is followed. There are also yearly hurricane exercises (HURREX).

72 hrs prior to landfall we are propositioned in a safe location with all that we need to respond the minute it's safe. A lot of times we are part of the evacuation effort going door to door asking people to leave.

Once clear and we can move in (note, this doesn't mean it's sunny outside and the storm has passed, during hurricane Gustav I had water and waves up and over my HMMWV hood) the troops move to their place. This can be a POD site (water, food, ice distro) rescue efforts, or security patrols. Title 32 guard members have arrest powers within their state and can enforce civil law so long as they aren't federalized under title 10.

Once the area is passable and immediate emergencies are taken care of it is usually just POD security and supply distro and security/counter looting patrols. We work hand in hand with FEMA/ state emergency management to provide real time damage updates and issues. We also partner with local LEO's to augment their manning and coordinate efforts.

I've done such fun things as: catch looters, report gas leaks, and secure devastated neighborhoods after a tornado for example. Similar things occur after hurricanes but you have to add in the storm surge. I've responded for multiple tornadoes and hurricanes in MS. They each have their own set of problems. Neither is fun.

The state National Guard maintains a disaster planning section and has developed plans for the deployment of the state national guard units in the event of a disaster. However, they cannot act until released by the proper state authority, usually the governor. That was the under-reported problem in Louisiana with Katrina. The governor, in spite of the advice of her advisers and Washington, delayed the deployment of the National Guards to their designated deployment positions. As a result, few National Guard were able to make it to their positions before Katrina made landfall and had to sit out the storm before continuing their march. That is why FEMA had truckloads of sandbags, in position, to re-enforce the dikes but the National Guard personnel who were to fill & position those sandbags were miles away.