When Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast, it flooded many people with concerns about the federal and state government’s abilities to help victims.
“If you’re a person who lost your home, a person you know, or anything, you are anxious and upset – concerned over the speed and amount of assistance you are receiving,” said Maureen Perkins, director of community services for the Central New York Chapter of the American Red Cross in Syracuse.
Much of the response to natural disasters comes from state and federal government. The process works like this: When a natural disaster hits, local government responds independently or asks the state government for help. The state government agencies determine the scale of the disaster. If large enough, the state officials will declare a state of emergency and ask for federal help. That comes from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA.
At issue with the nation’s financial problems is also how much government relief the country can afford. For example, FEMA is facing budget cuts as the Obama administration and Congress struggle to reduce the federal deficit. But Onondaga County, the county legislature is increasing the budget of the county’s emergency management agency.
Since 1954, New York has had 77 natural disasters that were severe enough to get federal help, according to FEMA’s records. Since 1972, the federal government has recognized ten natural disasters in Onondaga County that required federal disaster relief. Among those were the three biggest: The July 13, 1974, storm and flood that caused approximately $7.2 million in property damages and $6.5 million in property losses; the January 1996 storm and flood that caused around $7.6 million in flood damages; and the Sept. 7, 1998, Labor Day storm that caused an estimated $90 million in property damages, three deaths and seven injuries.
After disasters, victims’ complaints often get much attention. But polls show that the public view of governments’ disaster relief efforts is often better than the early complaints would indicate. And the agencies’ track records have gone up and down.
For example, some of the worst views and track record for the federal government and state government come from 2005’s Hurricane Katrina that devastated New Orleans. In a Gallup polls of Katrina survivors, 36 percent said FEMA – then under the Bush administration — did a good job and another 32 percent said the federal government did a poor job. Survivors viewed Louisiana state government’s response also with 39 percent saying the state had done a good job and 30 saying it had done a poor job.
With 2012’s Hurricane Sandy, both state and federal government won more praise for their response, despite some major problems. For example, Gov. Andrew Cuomo fired the state’s emergency management director for misusing public workers to clear his own driveway of a fallen tree shortly after the storm.
But in a Quinnipiac University poll, 84 percent of Hurricane Sandy victims felt that the federal government, under the Obama administration, did a good job at responding to the storm, while 5 percent thought it did a poor job. The New York state government also scored well, with 86 percent of the victims saying it did a good job and only 3 percent saying it did a poor job.
This increase in positive opinions shows that both the federal and state governments have gotten better at responding to natural disasters, suggest some experts on disaster relief. “We learn something every time,” said Perkins of the American Red Cross in Syracuse.
To capitalize on that learning, government and non-government organizations are planning to start a “resiliency program.” Representatives from FEMA, the Red Cross, and other agencies would meet together after a natural disaster to more closely coordinate and share lessons from their experiences, said Matt Michael, chief communications officer for the American Red Cross Central New York Chapter.
“There was a time when organizations could fix things independently but the money just isn’t there anymore,” Michael said.
Now, at the federal level, FEMA is facing budget cuts. In 2012, FEMA’s budget was close to $7.1 million. In 2013, the agency’s budget calls for $6.1 million, with close to $5.5 million for major disasters.
In Onondaga County, for 2012, the county’s Department of Emergency Management had a budget of approximately $1.1 million. In 2013, the department will have a budget close to $1.3 million. That’s an increase of 18 percent.
Local governments do what they can to respond to natural disasters on their own but will ask for state governments to step in and help if necessary, said Kristin Devoe of the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services. If the state government can’t help enough, it asks the federal government for help.
“We can’t just walk in and say what the local government needs to do. We wait until there is a need for response,” Devoe said.
State government works hand-in-hand with FEMA when a federal disaster is declared, Devoe said. For example, the government’s recovery section helps individuals apply for disaster aid from FEMA.
To deal with natural disasters, Devoe said, the federal, state and local governments can use many resources. “For a large natural disaster, we would bring in state police, the National Guard, trucks, and any resource we have available,” Devoe said. “Whatever we have in our arsenal.”
(Kristen Beatty is a senior with dual majors in broadcast journalism and political science.)
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