June 25, 2020

U.S. gov’t unprepared to handle hurricane season

topic:	Natural disaster
located:	USA
editor:	Yair Oded

As hurricane season intensifies in the U.S. and cases of COVID-19 continue to surge in many parts of the country, grave concerns arise about the federal government’s ability to provide adequate disaster relief amidst these twin crises.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) – the U.S. government’s agency in charge of planning, coordinating, and executing disaster relief – is adamant that it is more than prepared to respond to the upcoming hurricanes in a manner that would take the coronavirus pandemic into account and keep the virus at bay. Such sentiments were further echoed by President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. 

Alas, a growing number of experts, scientists, state officials, and lawmakers from across the country suggest otherwise. 

Back in May 2020, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimated that the upcoming hurricane season will be exceptionally perilous, with six major storms predicted. With every state in the country already under an official state of emergency due to coronavirus, the strain on FEMA may be too overwhelming. This was iterated recently in a letter by Democratic congress members from the Subcommittee on the Environment. 

“With a deadly tornado season already underway, above-average flooding to date, a hurricane season that began on June 1, and wildfire season looming, we are concerned that FEMA may not have the staff and other essential tools to successfully respond to multiple natural disasters during the ongoing coronavirus crisis,” the letter reads.

As reported by The Intercept, FEMA and its counterparts in state agencies will face significant challenges organising evacuations and securing shelters in a manner that protects the population from exposure to coronavirus. The pandemic and social distancing guidelines may also discourage some people from evacuating due to fears of contracting the virus and making some more hesitant about opening their homes to friends and family members in need of shelter.  

FEMA’s lack of preparedness and its inability to execute adequate relief responses result to a great extent from the ongoing defunding of the agency by the Trump administration. Last year, at the height of hurricane season, the Department of Homeland Security announced to Congress that it is funnelling hundreds of millions of dollars from FEMA’s budget to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other border security agencies – a move many congress members deemed both unethical and illegal. 

On the hills of the U.S. government’s botched COVID-19 response that left millions of America’s most vulnerable exposed to the ravages of the pandemic and the attendant economic fallout, the Trump administration’s deliberate weakening of FEMA would undoubtedly have disastrous ramifications on populations across the country who now face compounded threats. 

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