FEMA: Hurricane Andrew

By Tracy Bostic For more information, see: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

Overview

In 1992, Florida was devastated by a major weather event, Hurricane Andrew. Approximately $30 billion of damage was done to Florida City, Homestead and other small cities. Nearly 126,000 homes were destroyed and thousands were left homeless.

The response by federal agencies was said to be disastrous with individual state troopers struggling to decide where and how to deliver food to effected citizens. Residents were given frozen meats with no way to cook, and reports explained that residents were fighting over supplies, such as boxes of powdered milk.

Kate Hale was the Dade County emergency management director; Jeb Bush was the governor of Florida. After the hurricane hit, it took four days for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to arrive and begin relief efforts. At the time, Wallace Stickney headed the agency as director and received criticism for the delayed response. He explained that the structure of FEMA's response to natural disasters needed reconsideration.

History

Stickney was appointed the head of FEMA beginning in 1990. The agency's primary purpose has been debated many times since its formation and criticized as well as praised following its response to natural disasters such as hurricanes and other emergencies. According to Stickney, one of the hindrances in ensuring FEMA's involvement during the crucial first moments following a national disaster is contacting the appropriate federal organizations and representatives to request the needed resources. Another is deciding upon the level of involvement FEMA should have in coordinating and maintaining disaster relief efforts and how to best ensure delivery of aid during disaster aftermath.

FEMA is said to be responsible for actions such as debris removal, provision of temporary housing and distribution of aid and materials to those affected during a natural disaster. According to FEMA officials, the agency spends up to $1.5 billion for domestic disaster recovery. It also remained involved in civil defense operations, which at the time had a budget of approximately $150 million. During the hurricane Andrew aftermath, many political insiders criticized FEMA and its leadership proposing the possibility of deconstructing the agency and placing the responsibility of disaster management within the office of the military.

Due to the way FEMA was criticized for its response and other federal agencies were under review for their role in Hurricane Andrew's aftermath, many changes were proposed. Developments to the current program were made relatively quickly and FEMA began to develop assistance programs that would aid residents and provide a framework for future disasters.

On August 30, 1992, FEMA's response to Hurricane Andrew included the development of 10 Disaster Application Centers to help residents affected by the disaster. The satellite centers were constructed in cities including Homestead and Florida City to register applicants for assistance such as housing, grants and loans to replace storm-damaged properties. There were also mobile units dispatched to help disaster victims unable to reach the satellite offices.

In September, Holiday RV Superstores was awarded $4.3 million to provide travel trailers for Hurricane Andrew disaster victims. The total contribution of 400 trailers to Florida citizens was scheduled to be completed by October 1992.

Present Day

The aftermath of Hurricane Andrew was said to establish many changes within the FEMA organization. Officials established protocols to forecast natural disasters and plan for evacuation and relief efforts before disaster strikes instead of reacting to these occurrences. According to plans released by FEMA shortly after the disaster in 1992, more money was being spent to prepare for natural disasters and to ensure that less damage would be caused by future occurrences.

While some said FEMA did not adequately prepare to deal with a hurricane and its aftermath and underestimated needs when conducting relief efforts, the agency seemed to learn from its mistakes and perform better during Hurricane Charley 12 years later and the floods in Missouri which happened shortly after Hurricane Andrew.

In the years that followed, leadership changed at FEMA as well as at the head of government agencies in South Florida. The government set aside millions of dollars for hurricane preparedness and improvements in hurricane shelters. FEMA was given the power to dispatch the military rather than have to wait for a governor and the president's approval. The agency is said to have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars developing hurricane preparedness plans.