4 Hardships That Governments Face To Recover After Natural Disasters
Sep 20, 2021
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If there’s one thing governments really have no hold of, it’s the damaging results of natural disasters like earthquakes, storms, and blizzards. While they can’t do much to prevent such disasters from happening, governments are instead tasked with helping their citizens recover.
Recovering after a natural disaster can be hard for governments in many ways. This is why even if they are protected, citizens should stay vigilant so they can do their part in helping the community overcome these challenges as well.
Public Morale
People lose loved ones and their homes in some calamities. For governments, it can be quite a challenge to raise public morale after such adversities. The people of Florida, for example, may be resilient people because they’ve been through many disasters already, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need assurance and comfort once another one strikes.
In times like these, the general public needs to see their leaders actively taking the necessary steps to ensure their safety and well-being. Though easier said than done, it’s a problem that governments can quickly resolve with immediate action.
Restoration Of Public Utilities
Natural disasters are costly, what with the serious damage caused to infrastructure, power grids, water plants, and other utility sources that governments and their citizens rely on. For the most part, this is the biggest challenge that a government can face after a disaster.
In particular, damage to infrastructure needs to be sorted out as soon as possible to aid citizens. While governments have emergency funds set aside for these situations, it’s often not enough to cover the massive costs after a very destructive calamity.
Economic Impact After Disasters
After allocating the money needed to restore damaged infrastructure and services, as well as aiding citizens through medical and financial assistance, governments are often faced with the economic impact of disasters. These can linger for months after a disaster happens, especially in areas where tourism is a big contributor to national GDP.
Even after global donations, recovery takes a while for governments. If you check out this bar graph from Compare The Market Energy, you can see the costliest disasters in the world by the GDP of the countries. In disaster-prone areas like Florida, for instance, economic impacts become more debilitating due to frequent storms.
Planning For The Next Disaster
After all these challenges, governments also have to focus on planning for the next disaster. This can be tough considering the budget and morale restrictions, but it is a must. Should another disaster occur immediately, governments must make sure that it doesn’t cause as much damage again.
Usually, this means reading the data and learning what upgrades need to be made to the city’s infrastructure to prevent the worst from happening twice. It’s during this phase where the government needs to listen to the output from its citizens.
Natural disasters are harrowing and unavoidable. Both governments and their constituents must do their part so that when the next calamity strikes, they are more than prepared to withstand whatever comes their way. Vigilance is the best defense against these calamities.
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