It’s in our national interest for communities to be successful in their disaster recovery efforts. This was one of the main reasons FEMA established the National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF). Your local long-term recovery framework needs to be strong enough to support passionate discussions and public discourse but not so rigid it suppresses new ideas and innovation. Rebuild your community in a way that reduces risks, promotes quality of life and supports economic development.
The quality of recovery on the Gulf Coast impacts inland communities. People returning to work, healing, rebuilding, community planning, and generating tax revenue are all key indicators of a community recovering.
A while back, I was in a watershed planning meeting going through
a presentation on flood claims from the Great Flood of 2016. Someone pointed at
the map and asked about the geography that was absent of flood claims. I was
waiting on that question. I then showed them the IA claims and stated the population
in this area could not afford flood insurance. They applied to FEMA for
help in a different program. What followed was a conversation about low and moderate
income (LMI) areas, the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) and equity.
Disasters do not impact families equally. Poor
people come from all walks of life. There is linkage between breaking the cycle
of poverty and breaking the cycle of disaster-rebuild -disaster.
Using the early 2000s as a marker, the frequency and magnitude
of natural hazard events is raising questions if not alarms. In Louisiana, we
are living from disaster to disaster. This doesn’t seem normal. I have worked
in this industry for more than 25 years and I have questions.
I will start by asking if our investments in emergency management
are proportional to the increase in frequency and magnitude? Are we attempting
to inhabit geography that is uninhabitable? Are environmental conditions
changing? Is it temporary or permanent? Are we creating emergency response plans
to complex for implementation by humans? Are we appropriately explaining
risks to our people?
The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act or as I refer to it “The Stafford Act” has served our nation
well over the years. Is it adequate to manage catastrophic events? Is it
appropriately designed to manage overlapping active disaster declarations for a
common geography?
We need risk reduction across the State of Louisiana. Our lawmakers
need to hear from the next generation. We need our best and brightest working
on this.
All emergency management practitioner, meteorologists,
academia and related fields of study, are encouraged to communicate with their
respective lawmakers. Write your lawmaker, participate in a conference call, or
attend a public meeting. If you have expertise or a storm story you would like to share, lawmakers need to hear from you.
Get involved.
NOAA - Climate change increased chances of record rains in Louisiana by at least 40 percent
Sources: FEMA, USGS, Experience, Local knowledge
Tom M.
Scott McCreery - Same Truck
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