Hurricane Recovery Continues: Has America Forgotten?
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What’s the story?
The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season inflicted massive damage across multiple states and territories, each new storm pulling attention and resources towards itself, with the previous disaster-stricken area still in the thick of recovery. So that our fellow Americans are not forgotten as they continue to work to put their lives and communities back together, let’s check in on the state of hurricane recovery across the U.S.
Hurricane Harvey
Hurricane Harvey decimated large swaths of Texas, particularly in and around Houston. The storm made landfall August 25, 74 days ago. Power was completely restored across the region within two weeks. As of late October, according to USA Today, the majority of schools were back in session, grocery stores and gas stations were open. There were still 186 people in shelters and 122 FEMA temporary trailers being deployed.
Long term recovery is a less positive story, however. Many people are still waiting for long term assistance, living in hotels on temporary FEMA vouchers because so much housing stock was destroyed. Undocumented residents (Houston alone has over 500,000) who cannot access federal or state assistance are even worse off, depending on relief agencies and private businesses or individuals to help with housing and replacing all the possessions that were destroyed.
According to NBC, 117,000 homes in Houston alone were damaged, and 25,000 permanently destroyed. In the aftermath, they fear, the separation between rich and poor will grow, with richer Texans being able to front the money for rebuilding themselves while they wait for state or federal reimbursements, while poorer citizens are left for months or even years with nowhere safe or healthy to go:
"The poorer victims of the storm are now in danger of falling deeper into poverty or homelessness, while the wealthier are expected to rebound more quickly. Those in the middle will now struggle harder to stay afloat.”
Gov. Greg Abbott has requested $61 billion in further recovery money from Congress in order to "future-proof" flood prone areas, reports the Houston Chronicle, but that request is held up behind tax reform and federal appropriations bills that have to be approved by early December. Abbott expects the funding will be piecemeal at best moving forward.
The Chronicle’s Editorial Board refers to those affected as "abandoned" by their congressional delegation and “forgotten” by the rest of the U.S.
Hurricane Irma
Hurricane Irma hit the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Florida over the weekend of September 8-10, 60 days ago. As of late October there were no residents still in shelters, though 27,759 people had checked into hotel rooms using temporary FEMA vouchers since the storm hit, many of whom are still looking for permanent housing.
According to the Insurance Journal, the state of Florida had spent $650 million on recovery by late October, and were waiting for federal reimbursement. No reports exist documenting that money has yet been received.
Through emergency food stamp programs the Orlando Sentinel reports that $1.3 billion in food assistance has been distributed, and it’s not over yet. The local Fox News affiliate details the various deadlines looming for applying for different types of federal assistance. The Miami Herald reports that the FEMA recovery center is closing tomorrow and food distribution centers closing by the end of the week.
Hurricane Maria
Hurricane Maria smacked Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) on September 20, 48 days ago. Both islands suffered heavy damage, with nearly 100 percent of the territories' power grids wiped out.
As of November 6 in Puerto Rico, Axios reports, "59% of the island is still without power, 17% is without clean drinking water, and 11% of grocery stores are still closed." The official death toll stands at 54, but local officials estimate that there were hundreds more deaths subsequent to the initial storm due to lack of power, food and water that are not being included in that number.
In the USVI by late October, USA Today reported that 229 people remained in shelters. Weather.com reported that as of October 31, six weeks after Hurricane Irma hit the island, which was then followed by the devastating Maria, thousands of residents were still without power.
In Puerto Rico, more than 100,000 residents have left for the mainland. 2,844 people remain in shelters across the island and 67 shelters are open and operating.
15,000 federal civilian personnel and military service members, including about 2,200 FEMA personnel, are on the ground in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands as of early November. 35 states have personnel helping in Puerto Rico and 22 have personnel helping in the USVI.
What do you think?
Have Americans in these areas been forgotten? How do those of us not in the thick of the recovery help? What is our obligation as fellow Americans and what is the federal government’s obligation given the size of the devastation and the many, many months it may take to fully recover?
Tell us in the comments what you think, then use the Take Action button to tell your reps!
— Asha Sanaker
(Photo Credit: Wikipedia / Creative Commons)
RELATED READING:
Is Texas ignoring a potential fix for slow hurricane recovery? — Houston Chronicle
Recent Hurricanes Pushed Rare Island Species Closer to the Brink — National Geographic
Puerto Rico on Her Mind: How to Help a Stricken Island Called Home — New York Times
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