The mitigation process for natural disasters from what I gather is a staggering effort on the part of the Emergency Manager in towns across our nation. Plans must be updated on a continual basis to assure coverage and grants from FEMA. With all that said, it still gives the town no guarantee that they will be approved for funding and if they are, still no guarantee as to when the money will arrive. The waiting list is long and as time goes by, people across our country continue to deal with the events of a natural disaster sometimes years after the fact. Remember, mitigation is to help reduce or eliminate the effects of a reoccurring natural disaster, waiting for funds only guarantees that if the town is hit again, there will be nothing in place to prevent further damage, leading only to more damage.
If this wasn't hard enough to deal with, now FEMA is considering a new policy to reduce it's contributions starting on the third similar occurrence over a ten year period. Now don't get me wrong, I agree that if towns aren't using mitigation funds to actually prevent the affects of a disaster, we as tax payers shouldn't be footing the bill over and over again. However, this reduction of contribution is going to leave gaps for finding solutions and ultimately hurt the town and towns people in the process. I would think this type of pressure will only lead to more property buy-outs instead of investment in finding and implementing new solutions.
Here's the article - http://www.gsnmagazine.com/cms/features/news-analysis/2509.html
FEMA is looking for opinions on this policy change and will be accepting them until October 13th, so let your voice be heard at www.regulations.gov and citing docket number FEMA-2008-0006.
Remember, another approach to this is in the works. Each One for US All has been established to fill the void where government grants fall short or fall off completely. Now more than ever the support from each one to help all is needed. Together we can provide the funding for new ideas, solutions and a solid future.
DD
Friday, September 4, 2009
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1 comment:
Dan, a huge change, if you ask me. I'm sure most towns aren't aware of the pending change. This could ruin some communities, who probably shouldn't have had a natural disaster in the first place (Yardley, New Orleans, etc). Thanks for letting me know.
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