Weaknesses in Federal Disaster Response Strategies

Any time a disaster occurs, the affected people look upon, among other agencies, the
federal government for help in dealing in with the effects of the disaster. When the help takes
long to reach people in desperate need of it, the result is prolonging of human suffering and
misery, and driving up of recovery costs. It is, therefore, important for federal assistance to
disaster victims to be as quick as possible in order to be effective.
Unfortunately, federal assistance to disaster victims is not always fast enough or
adequate enough to meet the needs of the victims. Often, aftermaths of disasters are
characterized by focus on procedures and processes which make effective response difficult
to achieve. Thus, red tape and bureaucracy are some of the greatest impediments to effective
disaster response because they derail federal assistance to those in need of the help.
Apart from bureaucracy, effective federal help is also hampered by federal laws. For
instance, even though it has undergone multiple amendments to improve the speed and
effectiveness of disaster response, the Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act
of 1988 authorizes FEMA to provide only “temporary” housing in disaster situations. This
requirement hinders the ability of FEMA to effectively use disaster recovery housing
resources. Due to the requirements of this law, FEMA is often forced to choose expensive
and short-term fixes to housing problems resulting from disasters instead of less expensive
but long-term solutions. The temporary housing requirements recommended in the Stafford
Act of 1988 might have been effective thirty years ago. However, since then there have been
developments of housing options which are cheaper to set up and last longer than the housing
options that FEMA is usually forced to come up with under the Stafford Act (Bush, 2019).
Due to limitations imposed on FEMA by this Act, if I were to lose my home to a disaster, I
am unlikely to acquire a good permanent replacement.

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References

Bush, G. (2019, February 4). What we learned in Texas after Hurricane Harvey. Politico
https://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2019/07/02/hurricane-harvey-texas-000932/