The “private sector will fix” expectation will be normal for today’s governments. The challenge with climate chaos, is that Puerto Rico was another step to the new normal.
> On Apr 16, 2018, at 04:05, Sean Donelan <[email protected]> wrote: > > > In the U.S. disaster response system, the primary responsbility for disaster > response falls on state (territory) and local governments. In theory, the > federal government response is supposed to be secondary. > > > https://www.politico.com/story/2018/04/15/puerto-rico-hurricane-fema-disaster-523033 > > [...] > > The plan also expected private sector companies to quickly restore > telecommunications on the island. “There are minimal expectations that > federal assistance would be required to restore the infrastructure during the > response and recovery of a storm,” it said. If communication systems were not > fixed quickly, the document said, first responders could use satellite phones > instead or rely on mobile communication trucks delivered to the island. > > But during Maria, Puerto Rico’s communication system was wiped out, leaving > telecommunications companies scrambling to slowly repair the infrastructure > as state and local officials struggled to communicate with FEMA and other > first responders. Local officials described limited communications as one of > the biggest challenges in the first week after the storm. > > [...] > > To many in the disaster community, the problems with FEMA’s plan were > representative of broader disaster management challenges across the entire > agency. FEMA, individual communities and the country prepare for disasters > that fit within their current capabilities, they said, but don’t plan for > disasters that could cause even more damage, requiring greater planning or > resources in such a dire scenario. > > “If you go back and look at almost any federal disaster plan, it suffers from > planning to your current capabilities versus planning to what actually could > happen,” said a former FEMA official, adding “I wouldn’t say this is a > special case, but it is a problem endemic to the federal government.” > > [...]
