Hurricane Katrina's Disaster Risk Reduction

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The wind howls, the bullets of rain shoot down, and the sun hides behind thick daunting clouds as Hurricane Katrina ransacks the vibrant southern coast of the United States. States including Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, and many more surrounding were then thrown into a war against nature. On August 29, 2005, $118 million cubic yards were destroyed and over $110 billion dollars in damage were left in Katrina’s path of destruction. On that day, 1,836 lives were taken and millions more were ruined (Amadeo 1). Ten years later after the devastating hurricane seemed like a forgotten nightmare, the Carolinas faced severe flooding inducing 25 deaths and over $1 billion dollars worth of damage (Collins 1). Improving response efficiency to natural …show more content…
A noticeably strong proposed solution is to focus on preparing the citizens of disaster prone areas with the knowledgeability of how to reconstruct after a disaster as well as how to better prepare for the chance of a catastrophe striking. This would be directed through the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) strategy, informing those living in areas of risk what they could be exposed to, as well as how to handle the disasters they are threatened by if they were to occur (USAID 6). Another possible solution would be to continue to rely on federal funds for relief, supporting the funds through increasing taxes on all US citizens including those not located within disaster prone areas (Mayer 7). A third solution would be to initiate the Five Principles of Reform which shares the responsibility of recovery between the state and the federal government as well as raises the qualifying standards a disaster must meet before being admitted federal aid. States must be partially responsible for providing aid following catastrophic events in order to effectively respond to natural …show more content…
It focuses on the victim’s benefit and prepares the people for the risks they assume when they decide to live in disaster prone area. However, the solution that will provoke the most change would be the Five Principles of Reform. DRR does have certain beneficial qualities that does not eliminate it as a strong solution. However, it lacks the essential long lasting impact that the Five Principles of Reform brings. The Five Principles of Reform will contribute to the prolonged project of creating economic stability. The responsibility of providing sufficient funds can no longer be thrown upon the federal government as well as the responsibility to provide aid to say hypothetically the Carolinas cannot be thrown upon the people not affected by the disaster, it is simply not just. FEMA and USAID can no longer be the safety net for states to fall back on in the case of a small or big disastrous occurrence. Focusing on prevention and education is a strong argument, but establishing a concrete movement of change that will take stress off the already laboured funds behind the scenes will be more impactful as a whole (Mayer). Enforcing education and improving the disaster prone areas preparation period would be beneficial, but the Five Principles of Reform brings to the table the intense change this

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