Houston, Texas was recently hit by Hurricane Harvey, a storm that hit the Texas Gulf Coast this past Friday night. The storm has left five people dead so far, and numerous injuries have been reported. Rescue efforts have been moving forward for those in the disaster area, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency, aka FEMA, has noted that a full recovery from Hurricane Harvey will take years.
The administrator for FEMA, Brock Long, told press “FEMA is going to be there for years, sir. This disaster recovery — this disaster is going to be a landmark event.” He went on to say “We’re already pushing forward recovery housing teams. We’re already pushing forward forces to be on the ground to implement National Flood Insurance Program policies as well, and doing the inspections that we need. So, we’re setting up and gearing up for the next couple of years.”
For those unaware, Long was a manager at FEMA when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. Many are worried about FEMA’s response to the disaster. Long responded by saying Katrina and Harvey are “vastly different.” He went on to say “Every storm impacts different jurisdictions differently. Every Category 4 storm is different. This is a storm that the United States has not seen yet.” The storm is not over yet, as a heavy downpour of rain is set to continue on in the Houston area over the next few days.
Source: nypost.com