I need two replies to this discussion board on either agreeing or disagreeing. 150 words for each reply, the original discussion is attached plus the case studies.
This week’s reading addressed Hurricane Katrina and the lessons learned in Case Study #6. This event that occurred at the end of August 2005 as a category 5 hurricane serves as the ultimate example of disaster response due to the scale, scope and duration of the incident, as well as the great loss of life unprecedented in this country (Winn, 2020). It is also a worthwhile discussion because of the many criticisms of the government’s response, both on state and federal levels.
Our Gulf and Atlantic coasts routinely experience hurricanes, some being powerful and destructive, so residents and leaders had a basis for planning. Additionally, the National Incident Management System and the National Response Plan had been published in 2004, so the federal government was moving in the right direction. According to Dr. Fisher however, “Beginning with the immediate post-impact period, anecdotal evidence indicated that disaster researchers, responders, the mass media and the general public perceived the organizational response to Katrina as inadequate on a number of levels” (2008, p. 185). Two key words through, are “anecdotal” and “perceived”. As we have discussed at length in this course, the anecdotal evidence is often proven to be inaccurate, and the perception of the public and media can be based on myth.
One subject of discussion in the case study was the role of the military in the relief and recovery effort. Over 50,000 guardsmen, from all 54 states and territories were present in the southern part of the United States assisting the relief effort. This was an area where I had personal experience. Our team from the Michigan Air National Guard (ANG) deployed to Mississippi and spent a month providing firefighting coverage for relief aircraft as well as search and rescue and later recovery operations in the community. Airlift was a large component of the Guard mission to Katrina. The Army and Air National Guard combined flew 7,000 sorties and airlifted 11,000 tons of relief supplies (National Guard, 2015). According to Fischer, “The military was favored for the purpose of transporting personnel and supplies into a disaster zone, for transporting out evacuees who have no other means of leaving, and for providing support (food, shelter, transportation, road clearance of debris) for other needed support personnel (p. 189.). As noted, outside relief personnel were delayed due to roads, bridges, rail lines and airfields being damaged by the storm or blocked by debris. Helicopters can land in less hospitable sites, but they are slower, with limited range and limited payload. Once airfields were clear military airlift was one of the first significant sources of relief to affected areas. We flew to Mississippi in ANG C-130s, then those were filled with refugees who were flown back to Michigan and housed in an Army National Guard training base.
The text also noted the stresses faced by first responders in the disaster zones. Many were directly affected by the hurricane themselves, having their homes damaged or destroyed, and in some cases with family members missing, injured or killed. Even those not significantly impacted by the storm had been working non-stop for weeks and were near a breaking point (p. 194). This was our experience as well. We worked directly with Mississippi National Guard personnel as well as firefighters from the local area who had been working nearly around the clock. Hurricane Katrina made landfall in the morning of Monday, Augst 29th and we did not arrive on scene until that Saturday. It was several weeks before the operations tempo slowed down enough to give people time off. Probably the greatest service we provided was giving some breathing room to the local emergency service personnel.
The involvement of the National Guard can have a point of diminishing returns however. First, every person flown into a disaster area requires food, water, power, sanitation and bed-down. This can divert supplies that are desperately needed by local residents. Care has to be taken that only the necessary number of troops are sent, and that they only stay as long as needed. Fischer acknowledges this and suggests that any relief agencies travel with their own support (p. 196). Second, once the initial rescue and immediate post-recovery period starts winding down, the out of state troops can be seen as taking legitimate work from local workers and businesses. Often these are eager to get back to work, both for economic reasons, and for the sense of personal well-being that comes from taking responsibility for their own recovery. Military assets should be used when the local or state resources are overwhelmed, and then begin to scale back when no longer needed. In Galatians, Paul encourages believers to “bear one another’s burdens” (NASB, 6:2) in one verse, while a few verses later states that “each one will bear his own load” (6:5). When people are overwhelmed, the right thing is to give them assistance to get through the crisis. However, it is also important to know when it is time to step back and allow others to fulfill their rightful responsibilities.
References
Fischer, H. W. (2008). Response to disaster: Fact versus fiction and its perpetuation. The sociology of disaster. University Press of America.
National Guard. (2015). 10 Years Later- Remembering Hurricane Katrina. United States National Guard Digital Media.
https://www.nationalguard.mil/Features/2015/Remembering-Hurricane-Katrina/Links to an external site.
New American Standard Bible, (1978). Ryrie Study Bible- NASB, ed. Ryrie, C. C. Moody Publishers. (Original version published in 1971).
Winn, C. (2020, August 27). Hurricane Katrina: Remembering the storm that changed the Mississippi Gulf Coast. WLOX- Gray Media Group.