Disasters, man-made or not, and there after effects have a considerable possibility to affect the economic and political environment of a community, state or even the whole nation. Natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, typhoons, fire and hurricanes impose serious damage and so seem to be bad for the economy. Some of the economic impacts of disasters are: loss of life, unemployment, loss of livelihood, loss of property land, loss of household entities, loss of crops and loss of public infrastructure. Because disasters destroy tangible assets and by this means decrease business production capacity. It may be critical to the corporations and firms, may force them to file bankruptcy and close down. Business closures lead to unemployment, and loss of livelihood, obviously and directly affects the normal way of life of lots of people.
The destruction of property land and loss of crops affects the economic life of not only the farmers but also economy of community. Because of damage and loss of crops, local supply of crops is low or none at all. These are just the few negative consequences of disaster. We say, things happen for a reason, meaning there is a negative reason as well as positive or let’s say beneficial aspects, that natural disasters may promote development. After a disaster, we try to rebuild and reconstruct destroyed buildings and businesses, this means improvement and then progress in a lot of aspects by having new job opportunities.Disasters, as mentioned earlier have political consequences that are significant factor in the preparation for and response to and recovery from disaster events. Just like the common citizens, politicians or government leaders are also affected by disasters of any kind and they often the ones expected by victims to respond promptly. In a catastrophe, initial actions and aide are very much anticipated from highly elected officials from local government to national leaders.
In this case, these elected political leaders are bound to be affected by the political impact of disasters. According to Michael Selves, Director of Emergency Management, “The involvement of political stuffers and policy assistants in disaster related activities and discussions is an important factor. The ability of the state and local emergency managers to make contact with and provide valuable information and insights to staff members is an often-overlooked strategy which will bear considerable benefit during future disasters” (Selves, 2018). In times of calamity, we need all the support and assistance we could get.
Elected officials are the authorized personnels to deal with these kinds of circumstances and they are the ones who can speed up the assistance the affected community needs.Community Recovery resources could be administrative and financial and can come from a variety of individuals and organizations. Individual Assistance, meaning the victims themselves might have own savings and insurance. Individual victims may have properties that are not damaged by the disaster and still functional. Another way for victims to promote their recovery is by generating additional funds or income and this could be through working two jobs or taking overtime. Friends, co-workers and families can also facilitate recovery through financial and in-kind donations.
Government assistance play a big role in a disaster recovery. One example is Federal Government Agency FEMA, “Federal Emergency Management Agency is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s response to natural and manmade disasters. FEMA is charged with providing both immediate and long-term assistance to local and state governments as well as individuals.
Throughout its almost 30-year history, FEMA has been synonymous with the word “disaster.” Not only is this because of the agency’s mission to assist in times of crisis, but also due to its long record of mistakes and, in some cases, failures that have exacerbated suffering caused by storms, fires or earthquakes” (Wallechinsky, 2016). Another assistance could come from Non-Government Organizations and this is considered as one of the major sources of support. Red Cross is a non-government organization that provides financial assistance by offering grants to victims giving them no obligations to pay. The organization also offers loans with lower interest rates compared with other loan agencies. Disasters in any form inflict a crucial impact on everyone’s life especially for victims.
Recovery is gradual and hard but put in mind we are very important factor in our recovery and of course we should not forget to get assistance from agencies, governmental or non-governmental organizations. This in a way facilitate recovery.
