Bolivar Peninsula, Texas, after Hurricane Ike, 2008
In the U.S. federal system, states play a major role in what U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once called “the laboratories of democracy.” One role for state government that has unfortunately received far less attention than most others is preparation for and management of long-term community recovery after major disasters. Too often, in fact, that role has been defined in the midst of crisis rather than being considered carefully beforehand, with programs and capacity being established and ready when events occur.
That lack of attention is starting to change and certainly has received some attention with the federal government’s adoption of the National Disaster Recovery Framework. But much remains to be done. In that context, it is useful that the Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence at the University of North Carolina has produced a half-hour video, “The Role of States in Disaster Recovery,” available for viewing online. It is a very professional job, interviewing not only state officials but two governors and talking about the real-life challenges of state involvement in disaster recovery. Try it out. I don’t think you can fail to learn something, no matter your starting point in approaching the subject.
Jim Schwab