World-renowned chef Jose’ Andres called out the U.S. government’s insensitive response to Hurricane Maria. Andres took initiative and his culinary skills and organized getting food to people in the aftermath of one of the worst natural disasters in Puerto Rico’s history. He righteously questioned the concept of “emergency” in the “Federal Emergency Management Agency.” Twelve years out from Hurricane Katrina, it appears that there’s little change in FEMA’s effectiveness.
Since August 29, 2005, the trauma of Katrina still haunts this nation and, for the residents of the Gulf Coast, life will never be the same. Almost a year out from Hurricane Maria, the lives of Puerto Ricans are still turned upside down with no relief in sight. The facts are clear and irrefutable for both situations.
The levees broke in New Orleans based upon governmental negligence. Unconfirmed reports state that approximately 1,800 people died directly or indirectly because of Katrina. The storm’s damage was estimated at $125 billion. One million people were displaced. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimated that about $1 billion of the FEMA payouts were fraudulent.
Translation to me is that the hustlers who knew the system were the beneficiaries and the others who didn’t have the hook-up were taken through miles of red tape and most never received the funds needed to rebuild. The population of New Orleans was cut in half with many residents never able to return.
Puerto Rico is a colonized island of the U.S. and has no political representation relative to Congress. Maybe that’s why Congress only approved $5 billion in aid when the estimated damage is $94 billion. As with Katrina, the death toll is underestimated. We now know the death count is thousands more than the original count of 74. The island still doesn’t have complete power. There are food shortages, and other services are not at capacity.
President George W. Bush patted then-FEMA head Michael D. Brown on the back for a great job during the Katrina un-recovery efforts. Williams Brock Long was appointed to head FEMA by Trump who declared he was doing a “fabulous” job in the Puerto Rican un-recovery. I’m thinking that if you look at both these president’s racist policies towards black and brown people in general, then you can conclude that Brown and Long are doing a great job of following policy.
Here’s where we come in. These are our tax dollars being squandered and unaccounted for. Billions are going into the coffers of cronies who are getting (no-bid) contracts to do work that is barely getting done or not getting done at all. The people who are supposed to benefit aren’t in much of a position to advocate for themselves because they are in survival mode, so we need to step up and hold our government accountable.
The grand piano of Fats Domino could have been a casualty of Katrina but people who valued it saved it. The piano was literally dismantled piece by piece and cleaned of mold and debris, restoring it to its original and historic status. The same passion and serious attention to detail must be applied to the restoration of human lives and their communities. There’s hardly a media mention of Katrina tragedy on the anniversary or any other time.
Climate change is informing us that natural disasters are going to be more frequent and more destructive. FEMA has decreed September as Emergency Preparedness Month. The alarm is for citizens, but we need to be demanding that the agency produce a more effective plan for response and recovery in times of disaster. During the month of September, write your congressperson to find out what is their commitment to holding themselves and FEMA accountable. It’s time we see a new and improved FEMA which has a genuine understanding of the word “emergency.”
