Without question, Hurricane Irene struck a major blow to the United States' East Coast over the weekend. At least 24 people have died, hundreds of thousands remain without power across the mid-Atlantic, and the estimates of direct costs of damage are in the range of billions of dollars. Our thoughts are with those who have suffered at the hands of the storm and who are beginning the process of rebuilding.
As the effects of the storm continue with "epic" flooding being reported in Vermont, pundits and politicians alike are already calculating its implications on government policy, with some calling for more funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which is currently suspending payments for some of its recovery efforts in order to pay for the weekend's damage. There are, without a doubt, many lessons to be learned from the hurricane and how governments--local, state, and federal--should prepare for and respond to disaster. However, Hurricane Irene should not be used as an excuse to expand FEMA's role in responding to natural disasters.
Over the last several days, governors and mayors from North Carolina to New York have appeared on television and radio communicating with their constituents, warning them to take precautions in preparation for the worst. Fortunately, as bad as Hurricane Irene was, the absolute worst did not come, and all indications are that state and local governments took careful steps to ensure that their citizens were prepared.
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