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Emergency workers across Oklahoma and Texas have met to discuss disaster response in the 2nd Decision and Support Symposium.
The event, which is taking place at Polk Street Business & Industry Center at Amarillo College, has drawn many officials to the city to discuss the issue of emergency disaster response.
This year’s event is being hosted by Potter-Randall Office of Emergency Management and the Weather Service, and has seen personnel from departments such as fire, military, police, county leadership and school districts discuss ways in which to further support the community.
According to Roland Nunez, a senior forecaster for Amarillo’s National Weather Service, the aim is to “build better relationships with the decision-support community”.
He also commented that the events aim to build a foundation for new disaster response services, noting: “How do we better connect with folks and what they’re needing?”
While the event is not open to the public, the gathering will allow the various organizations to hear stories and issues direct from the mouths of those directly involved, and “check the pulse of what they’re needing”.
One of the main events on show is a simulation of a disaster playing out, which shows how officials respond in the event of a disaster.
Individual Response
Many people often assume that the word ‘disaster’ pertains to national disasters that affect an entire city, or even a nation – but very often disasters take place that affect smaller communities, where very often the damage is equally as destructive.
Microgiving provides a platform where those in need of their own individual financial disaster response can receive help – if you are in need of support, please register as a recipient to see how our donors can help in your time of need.
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An investigation into the Small Business Association’s (SBA) disaster response for hurricane Katrina was recently carried out by the Associated Press (AP). Investigation results show that the SBA failed miserably in its response to overwhelming loan applications after Katrina.
Flood Response Was Income and Race Biased
Faced with over 300,000 SBA loan applications due to the ravages of Katrina, 55 percent of applicants were subsequently denied disaster response. The AP results show that not only did the agency falsely deny thousands of loan applications, but those that were approved showed evidence of bias based on income and race. Former SBA loan officers admitted that applicants with a higher income and better credit scores were processed first because their applications could be closed more quickly.
On the other end, applicants with lower income and less desirable credit scores were automatically denied to avoid the complexity of the loan process. Those in greater need of disaster response were ignored, forced to submit unnecessary documentation, subjected to shorter deadlines and ultimately declined so that loan officers could clear the queues of pending applications. Of the billions in loans approved, only 65% of loans were actually disbursed, often because by the time the SBA offered a final approval, the applicant had already given up with the process.
The SBA is the federal agency charged with helping small business and individuals recover from disaster events. The demand for organizations such as Microgiving begins to grow when SBA-like organizations fail to provide much-needed relief to victims. Many victims of Katrina still require suitable disaster response, and many more are seeking financial aid due to the recent BP oil spill – donate online today and see what a difference you can make.
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Disaster response managers of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) were prompted to advise coastal cities and states to have their “emergency response plans in place” due to Hurricane Earl’s threat against the eastern seaboard. FEMA repeatedly issues reminders that it does not issue evacuation orders. These are instead issued by local emergency managers. To minimize danger to all, local emergency managers must have sufficient plans in place in the event that evacuation is required.
North Carolina Disaster Relief
For North Carolina, it must consider that large surf, rip currents and tidal flooding on the Outer Banks of the coast may cut off the primary evacuation route, Highway 12. This means that local emergency managers may have to make an early evacuation call. If they wait too long, even if only to see how close Earl could get to the inland, evacuation could be too late.
While flooding is the primary concern, this obviously does not mean that winds travelling in excess of 135 mph are not a worry. Earl has shown the collateral damage he can deliver; he didn’t land in Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands, but his winds caused 200,000 people to lose power. For North Carolina and other areas in Earl’s northern path, disaster response must be prepared for winds and flooding.
And while federal, state and local officials must be ready with their disaster response, so too must organizations such as Microgiving. As the hurricane season prolongs, there will be a greater need to donate online as lives are touched by the damaging winds and flooded areas. Disaster response requires preparedness at all levels; federal, state, local and individual. Giving is truly the best gift one can bestow, and you can be sure your noble actions are making a difference.
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