In one sense, first responders, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and government officials at the local, state and federal level have learned from the experience of Katrina. The Christian Science Monitor reports:
“Ahead of the storm, there were questions about whether Texas-style self-reliance or a centralized, civil-defense-era response from the federal government should govern. But as an all-hands-on-deck response to historic floods has unfolded, the all-of-the-above support exemplifies something new, disaster experts say: a template for what the nation’s top emergency managers call ‘whole-community’ response. It’s a dramatic shift since hurricane Katrina in how the United States prepares for natural disasters.
” ‘I do think we’ve seen a change,’ says University of Tennessee law professor Glenn Reynolds, author of ‘An Army of Davids,’ in an email. ‘But the real difference isn’t citizens getting involved, it’s the willingness of responsible officials to see that involvement as a plus rather than a potential problem. I think the excellent record of civilian volunteer responders in the post-9/11 record is behind that willingness.’ ”
The immediate search-and-rescue operation and preparation to house, feed and clothe evacuees in the short term have benefited from the experience of integrating private and public supply chains and from social media.
That’s the good news. But look a little deeper and the underlying social, economic and political fault lines exposed during Katrina have not been attended to. In a deep-red state like Texas and in the GOP-controlled Congress and White House, there needs to be some soul-searching, accountability and change of heart as well as policy.
We can start with climate change. Scientists are not about to link a specific weather phenomenon to global warming, but it’s not disputable that warmer air holds more moisture and that melting glaciers raise sea levels. The BBC explains:
“There’s a well-established physical law, the Clausius-Clapeyron equation, that says that a hotter atmosphere holds more moisture. For every extra degree Celsius in warming, the atmosphere can hold 7 percent more water. This tends to make rainfall events even more extreme when they occur.” Moreover, intensity of rainfall can also be linked to temperature change.
Human cost of climate change
Activists for stronger measures to slow global warming should not overplay their hand here, but this should be a time to explain the human cost of climate change. As former secretary of state and lifelong Republican George P. Shultz has argued, the greater the chance for devastating results from climate change, the more incentive there should be to “take out an insurance policy.”
Let the climate change deniers from Texas and elsewhere make the case that we should continue to ignore the science no matter the potential costs and abandon even voluntary efforts.
Beyond climate change, the tragedy in Houston should prompt scrutiny of measures such as President Trump’s elimination of a flood risk standard for construction. In addition, examination of policies that permit unbridled urban sprawl, which also plays a part in natural disasters such as this, should be undertaken.
And finally, but certainly not less important, is the tenacious problem of urban poverty, uneven resources, poor housing conditions and lack of mobility (both social and physical) in major American cities. The notion that — pardon the expression — a rising tide lifts all boats has been disproved when we see that some fellow Americans literally and figuratively drown without greater government intervention.
Harvey is one more reminder that the right wing’s unending attacks on the social safety net in the name of “limited government” must end.
In short, many of the nostrums of the far right — climate change denial, unregulated growth, attacks on the safety net, etc. — in the harsh light of the Harvey cleanup should be challenged with new determination and scientific rigor.
