FEMA’s Response Following a Disaster
OutdoorHub Reporters 09.25.18
What are the limits of our governments ability to aid in disaster? When do the billions get racked up so high that no one is willing to cut the check? You know we are watching a very interesting time unfold before us. What happens to humanity as our world starts down path that is seemingly more violent and dangerous, while there are Billions more of us than ever before!
The reality is that you have to take responsibility for disaster preparedness. You have to take responsibility when it comes to how your family prepares. While local governments and FEMA set up a bunch of “shelters” these can turn into a nightmare. Do you remember the tales from the Super Dome during Katrina?
One crisis had been averted. But inside the Superdome, things were deteriorating rapidly. Temperatures had reached the upper 80s, and the punctured dome at once allowed humidity in and trapped it there. Food rotted inside the hundreds of refrigerators and freezers spread throughout the building; the smell was inescapable. In the bathrooms, every toilet had ceased to function. The water pumps had failed, and without water pumps to the elevated building, they couldn’t maintain water pressure. Every sink was broken.
That afternoon, Mayor Nagin asked to meet with Thornton and Mouton.
“The bad news is it’s going to take us several days to pump the water out of the city even if they can stop the water flow from coming in,” Thornton recalls Nagin saying. “So that means you’re going to have to be here probably another 5 or 6 days.”
Thornton looked him in the eye.
“Mr. Mayor, you’ve got to get these people out of here,” he said. “This place won’t be here in six days.”
USA Today
GOVERNMENT DELAY
FEMA has a serious problem when it comes to response and inspection. This is particularly true of low income areas that are often hit hardest by these storms. If you are well off and have money saved, waiting for that insurance money to refill your coffers is a lot better an option than having to live in a hollowed out home while you wait for something to go your way.
This is what a POLITICO investigator found out about FEMA’s disaster response.
A POLITICO investigation found that numerous low-income families were denied funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency because much of Kashmere Gardens was in a flood zone, and homeowners were thus required to carry flood insurance — a law that many of them were unaware of. Other families, struggling with language issues and inexperienced with the federal bureaucracy, simply couldn’t cope with a system that even FEMA officials agree is too complicated. Still others fell victim to shoddy contractors who took their money and failed to make repairs. –POLITICO
DISTRIBUTION OF RESOURCES IN YOUR AREA
While its not the most likely situation, there is a chance that your stockpile could be targeted by FEMA for redistribution. It would certainly not be their first option, but it could be necessary. FEMA does what they think is necessary and they do it under the power of the Federal Government.
During Katrina, FEMA rolled two refrigerated trucks up to the Super Dome dock and told the man in charge that these would be makeshift morgues as the amounts of dead started to pile up! The men working in the Super Dome sent those trucks away, as they were just feet away from the people struggling to survive after the storm.
If your area has local manufacturing and production, you will likely not be targeted by FEMA but if your area is without such a valve for local resources, you might have to consider your interaction with this powerful government entity.
SELF SUFFICIENCY IS KEY
If you aren’t already practicing self-sufficiency through things like growing food, water catchment, food storage and a basic written disaster plan, you need to act. Disaster will come and if you are prepared to answer the call you can be a better citizen and help out those in need.
It all starts with addressing your needs first and keeping those resources around when you need them most. Consider all of these categories and have answers for surviving the disaster and the crucial time after.
- Water
- Food
- Power
- Heat
- First Aid
- Self Defense
- Entertainment
This is a great start. You will expand from here but if you can address these issues you will find your way through most disasters.
DON’T FORGET EVACUATION
Of course, some disasters are simply to much to answer to. No matter how much you stockpile or what sort of urban homestead you might be operating, if it’s under water it doesn’t count. As a species we let our ego tell us that we are the most powerful force on this planet. We let our egos tell us to stay even though the officials are telling us to evacuate. You ignore these signs at your own peril.
There is nothing new in seeing homes underwater from floods following a hurricane. There is nothing new in people trapped after they were told to evacuate. Some disasters are just so powerful that you have to abandon ship.
This is where an effective 72 hour bag or bugout bag can be very handy.
Disaster preparedness is as much about weathering storms as it is about running from them. Do not make the critical mistake of getting a warning and ignoring it! It could cost you much more than your home and the things inside. It could cost you everything.
CONCLUSION
As hard as it might be to save money, the takeaway from all of this is that you need a survival emergency fund. It is imperative that you have the means to react, with cash, in the weeks or months following a disaster.
That emergency fund can be used to book some hotel rooms to make evacuation something of a vacation. This way you always have a place to go. That emergency fund can be used to pay for repairs, quickly, and not have to wait on insurance.
If you prioritize your savings and your written disaster preparedness plan, you will never be caught in the rain with nowhere to go and no answers for your family. Get started today.
