*This is a report from an event at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. They served excellent pastries.
Areas where citizens have a geographically large sense of community can better handle the conflicts between local and federal government that make disaster recovery and preparation difficult.
The conflict between federal and local government during disasters was the focus of a National Press Club conference, "Expert Voices in Disaster Recovery," by the Disaster Recovery Contractors Association June 26.
One of the most successful disaster recovery programs in recent years was the flooding in Colorado in fall 2013, because citizens of the larger counties and states typical of the American West could act in concert with residents of different areas to prevent problems. Flooding prevention in the East has been less cohesive.
"A number of efforts at mitigation 40 years ago made floods two years ago worse," said Glenn Cannon, director of the Pennsylvania Management Agency.
Disaster recovery, especially the long-term solutions, work best from the grassroots up with the state government providing infrastructure. Cannon used a pilot program from the Federal Emergency Management Agency during the disaster recovery of Pennsylvania's worst floods in decades.
The pilot program involved all existing community and state organizations that might have useful tools. This decreased the redundancy and cost that comes with creating new organizations for emergencies, but convincing some state agencies that had not previously been involved in disaster relief to help required political strong-arming, Cannon said.
Convincing community members that they have a stake in long-term recovery can require some short-term concessions. Opening up the local Wal-Mart or Lowes might now seem like a first priority in disaster relief, but Cannon said it provided psychological benefits by giving people a sense of normality and a resource to start rebuilding.
Thad Allen of Booz Allen said he noticed a similar phenomenon as the principal federal official over Hurricane Katrina. He realized he would need to close the food shelters so the other elements of civil society - in this case, the local waffle house - could begin to operate.
Hazards to cooperation between local and federal officials include losing sight of the goal.
"Once those [professional] teams were asked to work with local stakeholders, they got whittled down to short-term thinking," said Columbia Professor Klaus Jacob.
For Joseph Nimmich of FEMA, the is that access to resources from higher-up gives people a false sense of hope for a return to pre-disaster life, when in reality, "a disaster is a life-changing event."
For example, local government has urged citizens who left their flooded homes to return to avoid losing tax revenue. For example, 250,000 New Orleans residents sought shelter in another state during Hurricane Katrina, but although their homes were destroyed, local government officials urged them to return in hopes of avoiding losing a seat in the House of Representatives after the next census.
Federal oversight can help locals to think about the future while recovering from past disasters.
"When you rebuild, you have to think about the extraordinary flood which always seems to come along," Jacob said.
Areas where citizens have a geographically large sense of community can better handle the conflicts between local and federal government that make disaster recovery and preparation difficult.
The conflict between federal and local government during disasters was the focus of a National Press Club conference, "Expert Voices in Disaster Recovery," by the Disaster Recovery Contractors Association June 26.
One of the most successful disaster recovery programs in recent years was the flooding in Colorado in fall 2013, because citizens of the larger counties and states typical of the American West could act in concert with residents of different areas to prevent problems. Flooding prevention in the East has been less cohesive.
"A number of efforts at mitigation 40 years ago made floods two years ago worse," said Glenn Cannon, director of the Pennsylvania Management Agency.
Disaster recovery, especially the long-term solutions, work best from the grassroots up with the state government providing infrastructure. Cannon used a pilot program from the Federal Emergency Management Agency during the disaster recovery of Pennsylvania's worst floods in decades.
The pilot program involved all existing community and state organizations that might have useful tools. This decreased the redundancy and cost that comes with creating new organizations for emergencies, but convincing some state agencies that had not previously been involved in disaster relief to help required political strong-arming, Cannon said.
Convincing community members that they have a stake in long-term recovery can require some short-term concessions. Opening up the local Wal-Mart or Lowes might now seem like a first priority in disaster relief, but Cannon said it provided psychological benefits by giving people a sense of normality and a resource to start rebuilding.
Thad Allen of Booz Allen said he noticed a similar phenomenon as the principal federal official over Hurricane Katrina. He realized he would need to close the food shelters so the other elements of civil society - in this case, the local waffle house - could begin to operate.
Hazards to cooperation between local and federal officials include losing sight of the goal.
"Once those [professional] teams were asked to work with local stakeholders, they got whittled down to short-term thinking," said Columbia Professor Klaus Jacob.
For Joseph Nimmich of FEMA, the is that access to resources from higher-up gives people a false sense of hope for a return to pre-disaster life, when in reality, "a disaster is a life-changing event."
For example, local government has urged citizens who left their flooded homes to return to avoid losing tax revenue. For example, 250,000 New Orleans residents sought shelter in another state during Hurricane Katrina, but although their homes were destroyed, local government officials urged them to return in hopes of avoiding losing a seat in the House of Representatives after the next census.
Federal oversight can help locals to think about the future while recovering from past disasters.
"When you rebuild, you have to think about the extraordinary flood which always seems to come along," Jacob said.
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