Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy blew off steam in October 2012, sending a mighty hit with massive rains, and a powerful storm surge (Bucci 1). After putting an end to sixty-nine lives in the Caribbean islands, sandy stroke the eastern United States, where it killed seventy-two more lives (1). Districts in the Mid-Atlantic were among the place destroyed by Sandy (NYC OEM 201). Small cities and metropolitan regions were filled with water as well as New York. Some areas in Manhattan did not have power supplies as the storm crashed into the city and disorganized everything (201). Regions close to Atlantic City, New Jersey, were preoccupied by the increasing water horizontal position (201). A meteorological expert said that Hurricane …show more content…
The Salvation management worked hand in hand with local emergency management officials to find out where help was required most. Moreover, in addition the Red Cross and Salvation Army, local faith-based and community organizations played major parts in the emergency response to Hurricane Sandy. Sandy was absolutely serious storm that will not be soon out of one’s mind. Luckily, United States is still a strong nation. In the outcome of Hurricane Sandy, the federal government responded by allocating out more than $60 billion in total emergency spending (Bucci 1). One of the issues pushing the need for emergency spending is the rising volume of disaster declaration spreading by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) over the past twenty years. Each declaration issued by FEMA approached the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF), a fund planned for emergencies that overcome state resources. If FEMA were to stockpile the DRF and its capital for national crises, the need for emergency spending would decline …show more content…
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act of 1988 (Stafford Act; Bucci 1), the ruling federal law for disasters. Regarding this rule, the federal government waives 75 percent to 100 percent of casualty response debt as long as FEMA has issued a disaster declaration. Meeting the qualifications for debt forgiveness is somewhat simple: the disaster inquiry must be “of such hardness and importance that direct response is above the means of the State and the distressed local governments and that federal help is mandatory”. The financial verge is still low: “when a state’s storm damaged costs of problem reach $1.29 per capita, for a few states is less than one million in loss. The uncertain provisions of the Stafford Act and minor casualties opening constitute tremendous encouragement for governors to inquire federal disaster announcement instead of being responsible for all costs, particularly at the time of tight financial plan. FEMA readiness pace lack preparedness because there is nothing representing the amount to which states have confidence in the federal government for disaster spending like New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s request that the federal government necessarily provide him untouched check to deal with Hurricane Sandy (Bucci 1). With his complaint that congress’s unwillingness to give him that unwritten on check was a forsaking of task. Governor Christie unsuccessful
The flood also has helped create today's response to disasters: quick federal aid, often with the president on hand to take credit.
A lot of homes, businesses, and other places were destroyed. Atlantic city homes were flooded. Many people, not just in New Jersey, had no power for days to weeks. The storms surge made it all the way past the board walk. Hoboken, New Jersey was hit hard. Their homes, businesses, and transportation ways and means were destroyed. Winds there were counter-clockwise making it worse for Hoboken. A lot of New York was hit too. They also had no power for long periods of time. Many of their homes and etc. were destroyed during the storm.
Royer, Jordan. “Hurricane Sandy and the importance of being FEMA”, Crosscut.com, Crosscut.com, Web. 1 Nov 2012, 3 May 2014.
In the late summer of 2005, a terrible tragedy occurred that changed the lives of many in the south-east region of the United States. A Category 3, named storm, named Hurricane Katrina, hit the Gulf Coast on the 29th of August and led to the death of 1,836 and millions of dollars’ worth of damage (Waple 2005). The majority of the damage occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana. Waple writes in her article that winds “gusted over 100 mph in New Orleans, just west of the eye” (Waple 2005). Not only was the majority of the damage due to the direct catastrophes of the storm but also city’s levees could no longer hold thus breaking and releasing great masses of water. Approximately, 80% of the city was submerged at sea level. Despite the vast amount of damage and danger all throughout the city, officials claimed that there was work being done to restore the city of New Orleans as a whole but many parts, and even the people, of the city were overlooked while areas of the city with higher economic value, and more tourist traffic, were prioritized along with those individuals.
In 2003, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was rolled into the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. FEMA’s responsibilities are to prepare, protect, respond, and recover from diminish all hazards. There was a mass coverage about the failure for FEMA to act immediately to Katrina, but once they were able to get things organized such as giving food and water, and setting up the tent and shelters communities can be strong and move on.
The Coast Guard, for instance, rescued some 34,000 people in New Orleans alone, and many ordinary citizens commandeered boats, offered food and shelter, and did whatever else they could to help their neighbors. Yet the government–particularly the federal government–seemed unprepared for the disaster. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) took days to establish operations in New Orleans, and even then did not seem to have a sound plan of action. Officials, even including President George W. Bush, seemed unaware of just how bad things were in New Orleans and elsewhere: how many people were stranded or missing; how many homes and businesses had been damaged; how much food, water and aid was needed. Katrina had left in her wake what one reporter called a “total disaster zone” where people were “getting absolutely
The 109th Congress questioned the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after Hurricane Katrina. Congress called for mandatory reports from the white house, Inspectors Generals, the Government Accountability Office, and others. A common denominator in all of these findings were that some of the losses brought by Katrina were caused, at least in part, by deficiencies within FEMA; such as: questionable leadership decisions, organizational failures, and inadequate legal authorities. As a result of these findings, Congress further utilized their control strategies to reorganize FEMA, and restructure the way responsibilities were handled following emergencies. Congress passed the “Post-Katrina Emergency Reform Act of 2006” in order to accomplish these revisions. This newly enacted bill reorganized FEMA, expanded its authority, established new leadership positions and position requirements within FEMA, and imposed new conditions and requirements on the operations of the agency. Congress also utilized the appropriations process to influence this portion of bureaucracy by enacting supplemental appropriations, one-time waivers of requirements and temporary
If there can be a good or bright side of the horrific catastrophe known as Hurricane Katrina it must be that the federal, state and local governments are better prepared to response to catastrophes of the future. In order to better respond, those agencies must include all possible stakeholders in the planning process as well as relying on all the resources of the nation. The CPP and FLCP initiatives by FEMA are steps in the right direction.
America’s response to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans was stress, heartache, and emptiness from the loss of everything that some of them owned. It caused devastation to the people who lived there, because they lost their homes, as well as family members on this terrible day. Some Americans felt like they were not treated fairly by several organizations and first responders. People were not prepared for the amount of disaster that struck on that day.
Hurricane Katrina was one of the most devastating tragedies to ever hit North America. It claimed the lives of over 900 people from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Unfortunately, that is not why a majority of people in America remember. As many know, these three states in the heart of the Deep South represent some of the poorest in the country. After the storm, the government was disgracefully slow to respond to the cause. Health care was in an overwhelming shortage. Depending on where people lived, determined their chances for survival. Race and class are believed to be the main factors in determined who was put at the top of the priority list. The purpose of this essay to explain how these factors contributed to the pitiful response
"Hurricane Sandy: One Year Later | FEMA.gov." Hurricane Sandy: One Year Later | FEMA.gov. N.p., 28 Oct. 2013. Web. 04 Dec. 2013. .
Hurricanes are formed over tropical waters. These intense storms consist of winds over 74 miles per hour (Ahrens & Sampson, 2011). The storms addressed here are Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy. This paper will explore the contrasts and comparisons between these two horrific storms.
Walters (2010) explained in the wake of serious disasters, FEMA will initially deploy a cadre of disaster assistance reservists to help local officials take a first cut at establishing long-range recovery strategies and needs. For example, in the wake of Katrina, FEMA officials helped communities develop and pursue long-range recovery goals, which included helping communities track down the resources outside of FEMA’S direct control, and in Iowa City, FEMA worked with city officials on preparing grant applications, which led to a $25 million grant to aid in two recovery priorities (Walters,
The DHS came up with a comprehensive team to mitigate the effects of the hurricane Irma. In fact, the entire operations proved that family effort is necessary in the event of calamities. The DHS cannot have experts in all aspects of a disaster, thus other federal agencies and departments as well as volunteering organizations can help a great deal to save lives during
These same tropical storms are known as cyclones in the northern Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal, and as typhoons in the western Pacific Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean’s hurricane season points from mid-August to late October and averages five to six hurricanes each year. Hurricanes begin as tropical disturbances in warm ocean waters with temperatures of at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit. These low pressure systems are served by energy from the warm seas. If a storm reaches wind speeds of 38 miles an hour, it is known as a tropical depression. A tropical depression becomes a tropical storm, and is given a name, when its sustained wind speeds top 39 miles an hour. When a storm’s sustained wind speeds reach 74 miles an hour it becomes a hurricane and earns a category rating of 1 to 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Hurricanes are enormous heat engines that generate energy on a staggering scale. They draw heat from warm, moist ocean air and release it through condensation of water vapor in thunderstorms. A current hurricane that occurred was Big Sandy. FEMA became involved with the issue when the hurricane hit Rockaway, New York. President Obama declared a major disaster on October 30, 2012. According to what President Obama said, “We're going to have a lot of work to do. I don't want anybody to feel that somehow this is all going to get cleaned up overnight. We want to make sure that people have realistic expectations. You know, we go through tough times, but we bounce back. And the reason we bounce back is because we look out for one another and we don't leave anybody behind. And so my commitment to the people on this block, the people in this community, and the people of this state is that that same spirit will carry over all the way through until our work is done. In this country, we look out for one another.