First-Person Report - Forecast 2010: A New Model for Disaster Management

- Mark Merritt
http://www.domesticpreparedness.com/Commentary/Viewpoint/First-Person_Report_-_Forecast_2010%3a_A_New_Model_for_Disaster_Management/

The nation’s fifth largest recent disaster has affected the citizens of Iowa for the past 18 months but, thanks to an innovative approach to disaster management, that state’s weather problems have been almost unknown to the outside world. One result is that, as we begin 2010, the most significant change in disaster management is probably going to be the way in which other states handle their own long-term disaster-recovery programs.

In 2008, Iowa experienced the most devastating series of natural disasters in the state’s history, when severe floods, tornadoes, and storms hit Iowa – resulting in 85 of the state’s 99 counties being declared federal disaster areas. Initial statewide estimates for damages were between $8 billion and $10 billion.

Coordination – The Key to Sustained Progress - The RIO’s most important role is to coordinate work among the many state and federal agencies and local entities involved in disaster-recovery decision-making and program administration.