Hurricane Harvey Research Paper

August 25, 2017 Hurricane Harvey hit the coast of Texas with absolute power. It was originally predicted that it would not surpass category 1, the elements combined and made Harvey extremely vicious. It hit the most populated areas on the United States becoming one of the most destructive. People did not have enough time to properly prepare for the unpredicted devastation ahead. However, the government and the people responded with strong efforts. Let’s start with the federal department. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (which is referred to as FEMA), with its government accomplices mobilized a work force and with many assets to help states affected. About 21,000 government assets were sent to help out during the vicious Tropical Storm. A lot of people sought refuge during the storm and the Federal government gave them many places to stay for example many government owned sites were converted refuge sites for the victims. The U.S coast guard played a huge role to aid victims. Thousands of coast guards were deployed in support of the relief efforts. They evacuated victims through government transport such as helicopters and big vehicles that could travel through the flooding. They are also opened various docks and waterways within Brownsville, Kentucky without any restrictions to the public. FEMA provided thousands of meals, medical and household items. Fema also paid rent for the victim’s short-term housing. Other ongoing Federal

Sadly, as attorneys, we are all too familiar with the fact that shameless people often use tragic events to exploit the most vulnerable. From fake news fake news to insurance scams, it breaks our hearts to think that victims of Hurricane Harvey could so easily become victimized for a second time. Indeed, with so much misinformation and disinformation being spread around social media, it can be hard to know what to do and who to trust.

As of September 1, Texas is still being impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Along with all the destruction that Texas has to deal with, now they are dealing with downpours, winds, and flooding. Fifty-two inches was recorded in rainfall in Houston in the matter of five days, which broke a historical record. Billions of dollars was given to relieve some of the financial need, as most of the people in Texas didn’t have flood insurance.

The NFIP is an all-inclusive insurance program built to provide citizens located within a designated floodplain to have a reliable means to recover from floods. Therefore, let’s first discuss the provisions of the NFIP, its benefits, consequences of repetitive loss, the status of sustainability, and potential changes to the program in the near future. The NFIP is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and insurance policies are available to those located within a designated flood zone and a participating community (FEMA, 2017). However, though administered by FEMA potential enrollees can only obtain a policy through their local insurance agent. In addition, FEMA determines who is eligible to apply for a policy

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, is responsible for coordinating the government’s role in preparation, prevention, response and recovery from domestic disaster, whether they be natural or man-made. FEMA.gov lists 1849 total disasters declared since 1953, with an average of 32 each year (13). This particular agency has generated a lot of praise and but just as much criticism. Over the course of FEMA’s history, there are many lessons to be learned and FEMA is always looking for ways to be more effective. This paper will examine the history of FEMA, evaluate its performance over the years and pinpoint lessons to be learned and actions to be taken.

FEMA has elected to have state licensed insurance companies agents. Then the brokers sell flood insurance to consumers .State regulators are responsible for holding the agents of insurance companies and brokers involved for providing NFIP customers with the same standards and the level of service that the states require for selling their other lines of insurance. Those private insurance companies involved in the WYO program must have license and should be regulated by states to engage in business of property insurance to sell flood insurance to those

For the past 35 years, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, commonly known as FEMA, has been dedicated to preparing, protecting, responding and serving the American people following major disasters and crisis. Effective on April 1, 1979 under President Jimmy Carter’s administration and funded through federal funding, FEMA has been committed to preparing, protecting, responding and assisting in recovery efforts in the state as well as the local government during crisis and disasters. Similarly to any agency, FEMA has faced many challenges when providing funding to victims and survivors of disasters. Critics have criticized FEMA in their response to disasters.

Did you hear about hurricane Irma? Hurricane Irma was the second major hurricane in 2017. This hurricane cause so many disasters. It flooded Florida, left thousands leaving without power, and left so many destroyed houses and buildings.

Water damage can result from a number of factors ranging from a simple pipe or appliance leak to flooding or drainage backups. The amount of damage can also vary widely from a wet carpet to warped wood or even harmful mold. If you think your insured has [you have] {there is} water damage in their [your town] home or business {your property}, you should call a qualified water damage repair service, like ServiceMaster Dynamic Cleaning, to assess the damage and estimate what water damage restoration and remediation is necessary. Whether insured or not, it is important for property owners to document the damage with photographs or video, and immediately begin loss mitigation procedures.

As of September 5, 2017, Hurricane Harvey damaged 203,000 homes, of which 12,700 were destroyed. There were 738,000 people who registered for assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The agency has paid $378 million to them. Immediately after the storm, it delivered 80 tractor-trailer loads of emergency supplies. These included cots, blankets and meals. (Source: "Texas Officials: Hurricane Harvey Death Toll at 82," The Washington Post, September 14, 2017.)

Once the President declares a disaster a federal disaster, the declaration of an emergency triggers financial and physical assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which is responsible for the coordination of the federal government’s response to natural and manmade disasters. Under the Housing Program, FEMA will provide temporary housing to survivors whose primary residents were destroyed during the hurricane.

The region suffered more than $20 billion in damage overall, making it one of the most costliest disasters in U.S. history (Bolin & Stanford, 1998). Due to the magnitude and severity of the disaster it grabbed the immediate attention of the federal government, and within hours after the earthquake President Clinton sent key member of the administration to assess the damage and begin recovery operations. Most notably, James Lee Witt not only was in charge coordinating the response effort, but also took immediate action to begin relaying information to the public and disaster victims as quickly as possible (Gordon & Emerson, 2010). In the days to follow the quake, Witt held daily public press conferences with the Governor and would spend many evenings walking through temporary shelters, speaking with victims and listened to their stories (Bolin & Stanford, 1998). While Witt made it his duty to thoroughly reassure the public that the government was there to help, he also made the decision to modify existing FEMA programs to expedite grant money to victims. Under normal circumstances, displaced families would only receive a grant check for $3,000 if they could show proof of their displacement. However, due to the severity of the disaster, FEMA decided that the risk of fraud was far exceeded by the benefit of distributing grant money

Unfortunately, the rural areas, like mine, could not get the help we so desperately needed. After several days of being stranded on our roof from the rising floodwaters, we saw what looked like a boat slowing inching towards us. It has been almost three months since Harvey landed in Texas. We have returned to our home to find it in a pile of rubble.

It is my opinion that some of the problems FEMA experienced can be attributed to the public’s lack of awareness of the assistance available during those chaotic times. To combat this lack of awareness, FEMA teamed up with the Ad Council and a private advertising firm, Muezzin Brown & Partners, to develop a public service campaign that made the public aware, through the use of media outlets, that assistance was available and provided FEMA’s toll-free number to register for assistance. (Haddow, Bullock & Coppola, 2017)

According to the National Hurricane Society,(NOAA),thousands of lives are lost as a result of horrific hurricanes. The hurricane headed toward us, Hurricane Rita, has the budding possibility to cause maximum destruction to homes and land, may take lives, and has potential to cause serious flooding. For this reason, I will send out an evacuation order so that lives will be preserved.