On Oct. 29, America watched as Hurricane Sandy ravaged the East Coast, plunging the vulnerable Atlantic cities into darkness. Within just a few hours, the majority of the eastern seaboard had become a murky, concrete swamp.

Although Dec. 21 is sup

posedly the end of the world according to the current most popular apocalyptic theory, natural disasters like hurricanes are real and present dangers to humans. As the last remnants of Sandy dissipated over northern Canada, the damage left in her wake was at last revealed, with a total repair cost estimated to reach more than $60 billion. While reporters and witnesses alike have struggled for the words to describe the catastrophe, images of chest-high waters in Manhattan, immense fires in Queens and heavy snow in West Virginia came together to create a chilling monument to Hurricane Sandy’s lethal power.

“We can never be fully prepared for something so tragic. Hurricanes are unpredictable; Sandy was only a category one and still did almost as much damage as category three Katrina,” Hurricane Katrina survivor and sophomore Sarah Clement said via email.

And yet, while the immediate consequences of Hurricane Sandy have been devastating, it is important to acknowledge that Sandy was neither America’s first tragedy nor its last. In fact, a recent study conducted by Disaster Survival Resources of America has shown an average of 601 disasters per year in the United States alone, resulting in the deaths of more than 12,000 individuals. Despite the increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters in recent decades and the extensive variety that affects the United States, many states are still not prepared to handle the repercussions of a disaster.

Junior Rachel Upton, a two-time hurricane survivor and recent transfer from Punta Gorda, FL, said, “I think it’s sad that Sandy is what’s caused the recent reaction, when there have been so many more devastating disasters. America is shocked again and again by these events, even though it happens all the time, because we tend to just forget about it
after a while.”

According to Sean Scott, author of The Red Guide to Recovery, in light of inevitable future natural disasters, it is invaluably important for American citizens to prepare themselves and their families to the best of their abilities.

“The message of preparedness has to become more of a reality for everyone. Getting people to buy a 72-hour disaster preparedness kit is a great start, but the real impact of disasters lies in the weeks and months that follow,” Scott said. “This is where disaster survivors often become disaster victims, simply because they have no idea what to do, who to trust or where to turn.”

Upton also believes that a nationwide disaster survival plan that considers disaster mitigation and management should be instituted into public eduction to ensure safety.

“(My) school (in Florida) didn’t really talk about it, but it would’ve been nice to know what we should’ve done to prepare for disasters beyond getting batteries and flashlights. I think it can be as simple as a drill, but it can also be taken as far as educational classes that say, ‘This is what happens, and this is how we make it better,’” Upton said.

Similarly, Scott said, “People need to make the necessary preparations to provide for themselves, their families and their pets for as long as possible. But, overall, getting the message of preparedness to hit the hearts and souls of Americans will be one of the keys to making our country more resilient to disasters.”

The task of disaster management requires a close working partnership among all levels of government and private sectors. Therefore, in addition to individual efforts, both the federal and local governments help to combat unawareness.

On a county level, the Hamilton County Emergency Management Agency is responsible for facilitating citizens and local public safety agencies within Carmel and the surrounding areas. The agency is based on four phases of emergency management: mitigation, or reducing the probability of the occurrence of a disaster; preparation, or the process of creating resource plans; response, or the mobilization of resources; and recovery, or the immediate and long-term efforts toward recovery.

On the national level, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is responsible for the collective public safety of all U.S. citizens, and specializes in risk analysis and reduction.

In recent years, it has been projected by FEMA that as population increases, the total economic and societal devastation of natural disasters will increase simultaneously. Therefore, according to Scott, the need to prevent property damage, high disaster costs, injury and deaths is more prevalent
than ever.

“There is a false sense of security in the United States that FEMA and the insurance companies will take care of everything if a disaster strikes,” Scott said. “But in most post-disaster situations, once the first responders complete the response phase and get the critical infrastructure up and running, the residents are left to fend for themselves.”

Similarly, Clement said, “The aftermath (of Katrina) was one of the worst parts of the whole thing. The water had all drained out, but you could tell it had been there. Some places were a lot worse than others and in the worst places you could not even tell that there was supposed to be houses there. The weather people can give all the facts they want, but they can not give us the outcome until it happens.”