Last time, we visited the drought out West, one of the many natural disasters that has raged through the United States recently. These disasters don't discriminate; they hit the north, the south, the east, and the west. We've seen sinkholes, droughts, floods, tornadoes, tsunamis, the list just goes on and on.
One of our main concerns, though, is the people that these disasters are affecting. It's the people that are left to relive, recover, and rebuild from these disasters. My question is, who is helping them? Whose responsibility is it to lift these people up and restore them to their pre-disaster days?
For many of us disasters are becoming old news. The more disasters we hear about, the more we expect... until they hit us personally. What kind of help do you think you would deserve if you were hit by a drought? A sinkhole? A hurricane? If you have as much faith in humanity as I do, you'd expect people to give everything the have to help those that are struggling, but if we're honest with ourselves, the majority of people turn a blind eye to the issues that could some day hurt us and leave us all to relive, recover, and rebuild at some point in our lifetime.
Who is going to be there when relief efforts are long worn out? Volunteers and service organizations can't just stay in one location forever; there are more disaster zones to assist. At what point should the government step in? If we're being honest with ourselves, do we even know how long it takes to clean up a disaster? Victims of Hurricane Harvey may be able to give us some insight.
Hurricane Harvey hit the coast of Texas in early September 2017. That was just five months ago. Imagine 6.5 million people trying to evacuate at once. For those who couldn't get out, more than four feet of rain in four days. For those coming back? 450 miles of land they once called home, underwater. 45 people were confirmed dead just nine days after the storm, a number that would spike to more than 80.
At first, Houston was flooded with help. First responders were focused on life and death 911 calls. Volunteers were asked to come forward with boats and high-water vehicles. The convention center became a shelter for 10,000 evacuees. Furniture stores became housing. The owner of "Mattress Mack," Jim McIngvale said, "We're going to keep these folks here as long as they need to be here. They may be here three days. They may need to be here seven. We're here to help. That's what we do. That's who we are."
It's obvious that in the initial moments of a disaster, people are more than willing to help. Neighbors help neighbors. First-responders work day in and day out. Community members reach out a helping hand. But what happens next?
Cleanup and damage costs were estimated to reach $75 billion. These estimates made Harvey second only to Hurricane Katrina in terms of most-costly natural disasters in U.S. history.
Just one month after Harvey's initial landfall, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was paying for 60,000 displaced individuals to live in hotel rooms. However, of the 834,800 registered for assistance, only 298,00 had been approved. More than 1,300 people were still living in shelters. 200 to 300 million cubic yards of debris continued to line the streets (compared to the 100 million cubic yards left behind by Katrina, which hit three states, not one) and it was estimated that 176,100 homes were damaged or destroyed. Eli Magana, Houston resident, admitted "A lot of people are going to be wiped out financially. People are trying to remain hopeful to see if they can get... help."
One month after a disaster as large as Hurricane Harvey, and some are worried they won't even get help. More than half of those registered for assistance, still waiting.
More than three months later, nearly half of residents that had been affected by property damages or job loss claimed that they were still not getting the assistance they needed. Federal officials approved $1.4 billion in assistance (less than 2% of the estimated damage costs). Six in ten applicants that were denied assistance reported they were given no information on how to try again. Four in ten were not confident that relief dollars were trickling down to those who needed them most. The White House sent Congress a $44 billion disaster aid package, but Senator John Cornyn called it "wholly inadequate" while White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Texas should "step up" and provide more state money to rebuilding efforts.
Even with $44 billion, Texas would not have the money needed to cleanup and repair damage, but is Sandra Sanders right? Should assistance come from the state?
Well maybe the state isn't ready to handle it. State records did not indicate which contracts were storm-related, which made tracking and accountability impossible. Some federal assistance goes through federal agencies like FEMA and the Small Business Administration, but distribution through the state? Completely unclear. State contracts awarded to private companies? Also unclear. Without a central database for monitoring and allocating funds, Texas may have been improperly distributing funds.
What approaches are there to take? Should we pass a federal law that requires states to track funding? Would that make the process of waiting for aid even longer? Should more funding come from the state government? Federal?
Our country will continue to face disasters as large as Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Katrina, and the effects of the crisis will live on, long after the funding has been sorted out and the damage has been cleaned up. But what affect do these crises have on the people? And what more can we do to help?
One of our main concerns, though, is the people that these disasters are affecting. It's the people that are left to relive, recover, and rebuild from these disasters. My question is, who is helping them? Whose responsibility is it to lift these people up and restore them to their pre-disaster days?
For many of us disasters are becoming old news. The more disasters we hear about, the more we expect... until they hit us personally. What kind of help do you think you would deserve if you were hit by a drought? A sinkhole? A hurricane? If you have as much faith in humanity as I do, you'd expect people to give everything the have to help those that are struggling, but if we're honest with ourselves, the majority of people turn a blind eye to the issues that could some day hurt us and leave us all to relive, recover, and rebuild at some point in our lifetime.
Who is going to be there when relief efforts are long worn out? Volunteers and service organizations can't just stay in one location forever; there are more disaster zones to assist. At what point should the government step in? If we're being honest with ourselves, do we even know how long it takes to clean up a disaster? Victims of Hurricane Harvey may be able to give us some insight.
Hurricane Harvey hit the coast of Texas in early September 2017. That was just five months ago. Imagine 6.5 million people trying to evacuate at once. For those who couldn't get out, more than four feet of rain in four days. For those coming back? 450 miles of land they once called home, underwater. 45 people were confirmed dead just nine days after the storm, a number that would spike to more than 80.
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| Homes Underwater in the Aftermath of Hurricane Harvey - US News |
At first, Houston was flooded with help. First responders were focused on life and death 911 calls. Volunteers were asked to come forward with boats and high-water vehicles. The convention center became a shelter for 10,000 evacuees. Furniture stores became housing. The owner of "Mattress Mack," Jim McIngvale said, "We're going to keep these folks here as long as they need to be here. They may be here three days. They may need to be here seven. We're here to help. That's what we do. That's who we are."
It's obvious that in the initial moments of a disaster, people are more than willing to help. Neighbors help neighbors. First-responders work day in and day out. Community members reach out a helping hand. But what happens next?
Cleanup and damage costs were estimated to reach $75 billion. These estimates made Harvey second only to Hurricane Katrina in terms of most-costly natural disasters in U.S. history.
Just one month after Harvey's initial landfall, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was paying for 60,000 displaced individuals to live in hotel rooms. However, of the 834,800 registered for assistance, only 298,00 had been approved. More than 1,300 people were still living in shelters. 200 to 300 million cubic yards of debris continued to line the streets (compared to the 100 million cubic yards left behind by Katrina, which hit three states, not one) and it was estimated that 176,100 homes were damaged or destroyed. Eli Magana, Houston resident, admitted "A lot of people are going to be wiped out financially. People are trying to remain hopeful to see if they can get... help."
One month after a disaster as large as Hurricane Harvey, and some are worried they won't even get help. More than half of those registered for assistance, still waiting.
More than three months later, nearly half of residents that had been affected by property damages or job loss claimed that they were still not getting the assistance they needed. Federal officials approved $1.4 billion in assistance (less than 2% of the estimated damage costs). Six in ten applicants that were denied assistance reported they were given no information on how to try again. Four in ten were not confident that relief dollars were trickling down to those who needed them most. The White House sent Congress a $44 billion disaster aid package, but Senator John Cornyn called it "wholly inadequate" while White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Texas should "step up" and provide more state money to rebuilding efforts.
Even with $44 billion, Texas would not have the money needed to cleanup and repair damage, but is Sandra Sanders right? Should assistance come from the state?
 |
| Volunteers praying with owner of home damage by Harvey - US News |
Well maybe the state isn't ready to handle it. State records did not indicate which contracts were storm-related, which made tracking and accountability impossible. Some federal assistance goes through federal agencies like FEMA and the Small Business Administration, but distribution through the state? Completely unclear. State contracts awarded to private companies? Also unclear. Without a central database for monitoring and allocating funds, Texas may have been improperly distributing funds.
What approaches are there to take? Should we pass a federal law that requires states to track funding? Would that make the process of waiting for aid even longer? Should more funding come from the state government? Federal?
Our country will continue to face disasters as large as Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Katrina, and the effects of the crisis will live on, long after the funding has been sorted out and the damage has been cleaned up. But what affect do these crises have on the people? And what more can we do to help?
I really like the question in here where you say "what help do you think you would deserve?" The phrasing does a really good job of making me actually think about if I were the one impacted from the situation. I can't believe that Hurricane Harvey was 5 months ago! It really feels like it was a long time ago, and yet for the people living there they are dealing with the ramifications even today. Personally, I like the idea of a joint federal-state approach. It seems fair to track what the state does with the funding so that the public understands what efforts are being concentrated on and they can give their input.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the way you wrote this, how you did it in a order by day type of style. I had no idea that these hurricanes put people in such disaster and how little help they are receiving. Hopefully one day these people will get the help they need from the government.
ReplyDeleteIt really is astonishing how the public moves on right as the lasting effects of the storm set in. I disagree with the white house that funding for cleanup should come from the state. In times of crisis, I think all resources need to be utilized to ensure that the lives of the people affected are not completely ruined, especially since all of these issues are only going to get worse.
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ReplyDeleteI remember seeing an image titled "they cycle of disasters". It goes something like "disaster" -> "#prayfor___" -> "Change facebook profile picture to overlay of flag" -> "life goes back to normal", and then "disaster" all over again. This shows the astonishing ability of people to shun out the tragedies of others. Furthermore, I really liked your argument about how the various levels of government bouncing their responsibilities around does not do much to actually help those who are affected by these disasters
ReplyDeleteI really like your writing style and how you took it chronologically through the help (or lack there of) that victims of natural disasters. It's always encouraging when you see so many people helping the effort so quickly, but it almost seems like once the disaster is out of the media, the help kind of dissipates as well.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this post! I loved your style and tone of voice. You asked a lot of rhetorical questions that really got me thinking throughout reading this! I really liked that and the way you presented your information! It was really informative, yet kept me engaged the entire time. I always assumed that those affected by hurricanes received much help and funding, and was surprised that this was not true.
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