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FEMA: Disaster Relief or Plain Disaster?
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20049 |
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Section : |
CURRENT ISSUES
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| Issue
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12 / 1992 |
2,553 Words |
| Author
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Russell R. Dynes
Russell R. Dynes is director of the Disaster Research Center
at the University of Delaware. |
After Hurricane Andrew hit the U.S. mainland, the eye of a political storm hovered over the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA became a convenient target for criticism. In addition to the national media coverage of the storm, local stations from across the country armed with new technology did their own "damage assessment," while neophyte reporters sought out delay and inefficiency.
Accusations of inattention and incompetence in the early days after impact were constantly contrasted with the mobilization of last year's "disaster," Desert Storm. That contrast suggested FEMA should have been there rescuing victims, providing hot meals, and issuing checks for damaged houses. Of course, a major disaster in a political year engenders controversy. When Dade County Emergency Manager Kate Hale asked "Where's the cavalry on this one?" on TV the evening of the day after impact, the blame was placed on Washington. Soon after, President Bush appointed Secretary of Transportation Andrew H. Card to coordinate the federal response. All of these media impressions and conflicting images made it difficult to understand "what should have happened" after Andrew.
What is FEMA?
FEMA is a federal agency that gets attention in times of crises, and that attention is usually negative and often misplaced. The primary function of the agency is not to handle all disaster tasks itself, but rather to enhance the ability of state and local governments to plan for and respond to disaster. FEMA supplements state and local efforts to develop disaster preparedness and has a similar supportive role in disaster response and recovery.
In presidentially declared disasters, FEMA coordinates the activities of various federal agencies in support of local and state governments. In the usual sequence, when a disaster occurs, a local government may indicate to the state that response needs are beyond its resources and ask for help. Similarly, a state affected by one or more disasters exceeding its capacity may request help from the federal government. When all this happens and a presidential declaration is made, several federal programs providing disaster assistance become available. FEMA then establishes disaster application centers where representatives of federal, state and local government as well as private relief organizations can initiate assistance for disaster victims.
Some of this assistance is available in the form of temporary housing, unemployment
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