A Lesson Learned?

Four years after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, Gustav and Ike have once again brought disaster relief closer to the fore of our national political consciousness. While the delay of the Republican National Convention unveiled a new level of care for the disaster victims, more attention still needs to be paid to these devastating natural events—not only here in the United States, but amongst our Caribbean neighbors as well.

In Haiti, 800,000 people require immediate aid, while infrastructure has suffered an estimated $4 billion worth of damage from Hurricane Ike alone. In light of the magnitude of these numbers, the additional offer of a mere $9.5 million by USAID to hurricane relief in the island nations rings hollow. Americans, so preoccupied by the fear of damage to New Orleans yet again, sadly seem to have forgotten the many Caribbean islands literally in the path of the storm.

This domestic anxiety may, in part, be attributed to the remaining fears about our own disaster relief preparedness. The United States’ near avoidance of disaster with Hurricanes Gustav and Ike has renewed speculation into a lingering question: has the government learned its lesson from Hurricane Katrina? Although New Orleans was largely spared during this bout of severe weather, snafus from both storms indicate that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) still has no broad, comprehensive flood management plan, and lacks the ability to coordinate effectively with state and local officials. Chairman of FEMA, Michael Chertoff, has made proposals for improvement that include satellite tracking of relief vehicles and specialized reconnaissance teams. In the face of the deep institutional problems, however, these solutions are far from panaceas. As the recent hurricanes have illustrated, a full three years after “Katrinagate,” FEMA has failed to address the root causes of its problems.

FEMA remains under the auspices of the Department of Homeland Security: a subordinacy that has placed the goal of protection against terrorist attacks far above that of disaster relief. Monetary backing for FEMA’s national response teams, which constitute its primary line of offense in the event of emergency, has all but evaporated. What’s more, the department has excised the preparedness component of FEMA in order to divert the majority of its funds to counter-terrorism measures. Without the ability to plan effectively, FEMA’s response to natural disasters can be nothing but truncated and uncoordinated.

The de-prioritization of FEMA’s mission has severely weakened the organization’s morale, and top disaster specialists, senior leaders, and experienced personnel have left in droves. The dearth of long-term professional staffers is exacerbated by a lack of workers in general: the Louisiana branch, for example, has a mere 90 employees to manage the entire state.

This dual lack of resources and manpower has left FEMA floundering. The organization has yet to impose a cohesive system of management on levees nationwide, which are currently owned by a hodgepodge of federal and local officials. As a result, many levees are poorly constructed and fail to meet government safety standards. Additionally, FEMA continues to encourage community participation in the National Flood Insurance Program. By subsidizing insurance premiums for buildings in areas at high risk for destruction, the initiative has increased development in flood-prone areas, therein exacerbating the damage reeked by seasonal hurricanes.

Getting FEMA back on track necessitates the political will to make disaster relief a priority and the funds to deliver on government promises. Fiscal backing will be needed to revitalize the preparedness arm of the organization, to strengthen national response teams, and to entice qualified employees. In addition, leadership will have to create a comprehensive response strategy, which includes viable emergency housing provisions and mandates market-priced national flood insurance in vulnerable regions.

Although media coverage of the recent hurricanes has focused on FEMA’s preparedness and lauded local responses to severe weather, it is clear that there is much room for improvement. This potential for growth remains particularly crucial when placed in a context that extends beyond U.S. borders into the Caribbean. We cannot turn a blind eye to the suffering of our island neighbors, nor can we forget the potential for disaster if FEMA’s operations do not continue to improve. Americans, and the world, deserve better than our current state of disaster management.