by Anna Schlauch
One of the top stories of
2012 was the destructive and devastating Hurricane Sandy. Not a single person
in New Jersey escaped the storm without a personal story to tell, inconvenience
to their life or devastating damage to their home, property or town. Today,
over two months after the storm, the devastating mark Hurricane Sandy left can
still be seen all over the tri-state area. Over the past few years, storms have
not only become more frequent, they have become far more powerful and
destructive. Because of this recent weather trend, the U.S federal government
needs to direct its attention toward disaster response in order to ensure
proper preparation and protection of American lives. There are several things
the government can demand to make sure Americans are properly prepared for
natural disasters and do not suffer tremendous losses. The U.S government needs
to call for mandatory evacuations and demand that people leave their homes as
soon as a devastating storm or natural disaster becomes a possibility. This
way, people cannot refuse to leave their homes, which will ensure their own
safety as well as the safety of rescue workers. In addition, government needs
to demand that those who own a home near the shore have flood insurance. After
Hurricane Sandy, FEMA spent a lot of government money on homes that were not
protected by flood insurance. Mandatory flood insurance for those who own a
home that is at high risk of flooding will save FEMA, as well as tax payers, a
great deal of money. In addition to flooding, one of the biggest problems
Hurricane Sandy brought was power loss. The U.S Government needs to consider
how many families were without power for painfully long periods of time and
improve utility services. If the U.S government privatizes utility services,
instead of leaving them government managed, competition between power companies
will increase as private companies seek to become the most powerful company.
Increased competition between power companies will lead to improved services to
customers, as the companies will become more responsible and quick to act. In
2013, the U.S government needs to analyze recent storm damages and consider
what needs to be done to ensure the safety of Americans in such situations.
I agree that there needs to be fundamental changes made to disaster prevention and the way we go about evacuations. The devastation across the Jersey Shore in towns like Manasquan, Belmar, and Mantoloking will not be fixed easily. However, yesterday's passage of $50.7 billion in Sandy Relief aid will go along way in helping the shore to recover. Like the Gulf Coast and New Orleans, when major disasters hit, aid and legislation came to prevent similar catastrophes in the future. The question that lingers though is why on even such a clear cut issue the margin still is 241-180 to pass? Why would 180 members of the House vote against such a vital piece of legislation to aid citizens of this country? The idea that even during times like these, for some member of the House party politics takes precedent, is a very disheartening thought; one the plants the seed of doubt for real successful legislation to be passed to prevent similar catastrophes.
ReplyDeleteHopefully the government can get a better handle on storm relief. Katrina was a disaster for a long time, hopefully Sandy can get the aid it needs so the disaster will not linger longer than it needs to.
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