By Nicollette Louissaint, The Hill, June 25, 2019.
As climate change causes increasingly frequent and disastrous events, we must be more prepared than ever to face a crisis. A recent poll found that most of us are taking note, with 54 percent of Americans thinking a major disaster could impact them or their families in the next five years. This increased awareness is a good thing. However, more than half of Americans do not have an emergency plan in place — emphasizing the gap between our concerns and the ability to prepare.
Instead of pointing fingers or placing blame, we must recognize that a lack of preparation can be due to many factors. Competing priorities play a major role in the time or resources a household can devote to preparedness. If the priority is feeding the family or paying the electricity bill, extra resources to prepare for an event that might happen, like a hurricane or wildfire, are scant. Secondly, a lack of preparedness education at the individual level leaves many vulnerable to the harsh realities of disasters.
Far too often, we’ve witnessed the lingering effects of disasters and the impact that has on communities for years after an event. In fact, many communities across the U.S. are still in some stage of recovery from large-scale events that happened years ago. The lack of disaster planning and training has resulted in communities playing catch-up, while simultaneously trying to prepare for an upcoming disaster. Most communities, especially those in disaster-prone areas, are not resourced to respond while still recovering. We’ve seen this in areas of Texas, Louisiana, Puerto Rico and even New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy. And it’s not just hurricanes. Look at parts of California, where residents are still struggling to rebuild from the wild fires. The same can be said for Nebraska, as it grapples to recover from historic flooding with more expected to come.
All efforts to improve community resilience should start by assessing the needs and challenges of a community during a calm period. This will enable us to plan ahead so that we can address those needs at a moment’s notice once disaster strikes.
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