If you have ever lived through a natural disaster caused by a hazard like a tornado, hurricane, or flood, you know the importance of help to recover from the disaster. The first help often comes from neighbors and friends, but later the government plays a big role in providing shelter, health care, and food, followed later by rebuilding and low-cost loans. I recently read an opinion piece on the current status of the national emergency response and recovery institutions written by Dr. Samatha Montano, a “disasterology” specialist who has studied the evolution of many disasters over time to see what responses worked and what was missed. Sadly, she finds that there is much that has not been handled well. She described the issues in a recent New York Times opinion column at Opinion | America’s Disaster Recovery System Is a Disaster – The New York Times (nytimes.com) Sorry if it is paywalled for you. She is also the author of “Disasterology: Dispatches From the Frontlines of the Climate Crisis.” If you are involved in emergency management, I encourage you to read it and see what she has found.
