Hurricanes: Their Nature and Impacts on Society - Climate Science ...

154 HURRICANES: THEIR NATURE AND IMPACT ON SOCIETY
governor's request (Sylves 1996). The governor's request is based on a
determination that adequate response to the disaster event is beyond the
ability of the state. Following a disaster declaration, the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) is responsible for coordinating the activities of
26 federal agencies <strong>and</strong> the American Red Cross in response to the event. The
American Red Cross, a private non-profit organization, acts as a pseudogovernment
agency in the context of disaster response. The role of FEMA <strong>and</strong>
the other agencies is spelled out in a cooperative agreement between the
agencies, called the "Federal Response Plan" (GAO 1993c). The Plan was
extensively reworked following dissatisfaction with the federal response to
Hurricane Hugo (1989). The modified version of the Response Plan was
completed in April 1992. (See Section 7.4.1).
Restoration
A second phase in recovery from a disaster event is restoration, which can last
from several weeks to a period of years. In the restoration phase a community
has an opportunity to correct past mistakes that became evident during the
disaster <strong>and</strong> to even take steps to improve the community beyond where it
was prior to the disaster. During the restoration phase the context of decisionmaking
changes: many more decisions must be made than under normal
circumstances, putting time <strong>and</strong> other resource pressures on decision-makers.
A decision whether to use "normal or extraordinary [community decision]
procedures is itself a fundamental decision likely to create disruptive controversy"
(Salmon <strong>and</strong> Henningson 1987). In addition, "groups or interests
previously nonexistent (e.g., those with heavily-damaged property located in
flood areas) may reshape community influence patterns" (Salmon <strong>and</strong>
Henningson 1987). Thus, the restoration phase is one of opportunity <strong>and</strong>
concern. It is a period of opportunity to correct past mistakes, but also a time
of concern that past mistakes will be repeated or new ones made.
6.4 CONCLUSION: PREPAREDNESS ASSESSMENT
Short-term actions in the face of an approaching storm take place through
processes of decision established <strong>and</strong> refined over the long term. Appendix E
reprints a guide for local hurricane decision-makers prepared in 1992 by the
Department of Emergency Management in Lee County, Florida. The guide
lists 176 different actions related to hurricane forecast, impact, <strong>and</strong> response.
The different actions -ranging from the straightforward to the complex -
provide a useful starting point for assessment of a particular community's
preparedness. Such an assessment might begin by simply asking whether the
community is prepared to take each one of the 176 actions in the face of an
approaching storm. If not, then long-term preparedness efforts might need