Hurricane Sandy: What Went Wrong Essay

Hurricane Sandy introduced herself to the United States in October of 2012. The super storm began its course in the Southeast, and moved all the way up to the Mid-Atlantic. The aftermath of this storm caused massive amounts of devastation to homes, businesses and shore areas. It left families grieving for those who were lost, and left a nation feeling sorry for those that were now homeless. The preceding actions that took place after the storm are what might be remembered most about this devastating storm. Epic Failure The post storm relief effort of Hurricane Sandy or lack of it is what is making news today. The lack of both a tactical and strategic plan from important leaders of our country has left victims of the storm still struggling to pick up the pieces nearly three months affect the storm. With strategic planning, â€Å"issue x is staring us in the face and we need some way to help us think about its resolution, or else we will be badly hurt.† (Bryson, 2011) But months after the storm it seems that our leaders are still thinking and not reacting. In parts of Long Island, many are still without power. New York councilmen, Mark Cuthbertson was quoted saying, â€Å"This was among other things an epic failure of communication.† (Cuthbertson, 2012) A failure of communication all comes back to a lack of planning. Everyone knew this storm was coming and the possible effects it could have so there really shouldn’t have been an excuse for a lack of communication. A benefit concert held at the famous Madison Square Garden was held to give relief to those affect by the storm. The concert producers announced the benefit performance â€Å"raised about $50 million for people affected by Hurricane Sandy.† (Mckinley, 2012) To this day however, no one really knows where that money has gone. Perhaps there giving little by little to victims but not a significant amount to start the rebuilding process. Everyone has begun to assume where the money has gone. This money was raised to help the victims out immediately, but no one has seen anything yet. Organizations like FEMA have also made mistakes after hurricane Sandy. While FEMA did give some emergency checks to some victims, the process to get any money from the organization was faulty. Many of the victims lost a lot of property if not everything. FEMA seemed to be giving a lot of the victims the run around. They were asking for documentation that many lost in the storm, which allowed FEMA to slow down the process of giving this relief money. Instead, Joel Rose of the National Public Radio reported, â€Å"FEMA is encouraging victims to apply for a low-interest loan from the small business administration.† (Rose, 2012) Many victims choose not to do this, because they were out of work and would have to pay back the loan. Relief efforts were also interrupted by politics. President Obama passed a bill giving 50 billion dollars in relief money. Many Republicans voted against this bill because they felt it puts the country into more debt. Republicans argued, â€Å"it’s spending that’s traditionally been untouchable, but it’s still spending.† (Keith 2013) They agreed to vote for the bill as long as the bill was offset by cuts elsewhere. Conclusion/ Summary The hesitation of the United States leaders in regards to planning are the key to what went wrong after Hurricane Sandy. The inability to show us where relief money is going has caused uproar. The faulty application process of FEMA has caused more headaches then relief. If money was raised it should be spent and spent on relief immediately. A plan should have been outlined and shown to the victims with a timeline of when, how and where the relief effort and rebuilding will occur. Hesitation only gives doubt to Americans, and that seems to be what is happening. References Bryson, John. M. Strategic Planning For Public and Nonprofit Organizations (4th ed.). Jossey-Bass, 2011 Cuthbertson, Mark. N.P.R. Group Probes Delayed Power Restoration Post Sandy, December, 2012, http://www.npr.org/2012/12/12/167029241/commission-probes-n-y-power-loss-after-hurricane-sandy Keith, Tamara. N.P.R. House Takes Up Sandy Relief Bill After It Was Dropped By Previous Congress, January, 2013, http://www.npr.org/2013/01/15/169452224/house-takes-up-sandy-relief-bill-after-it-was-dropped-by-previous-congress Mckinley, James. The New York Times. 12-12-12 Producers Say Concert Brought In $50 Million, December, 2012, http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/19/12-12-12-producers-say-concert-brought-in-50-million/ Rose, Joel. N.P.R. Some Sandy Victims Tied Up With Bureaucracy, November, 2012, http://www.npr.org/2012/11/15/165233716/some-sandy-victims-tied-up-with-bureaucracy