Disaster recovery needs to be rethought. It needs to shift to the concept of disaster resilience. Daniel Kaniewski, former acting deputy administrator at FEMA, says far too many people only realize the value of resilience, which is taking action before disaster happens, after it happens and they have lost everything. In Episode 4 of our […]
Disaster recovery needs to be rethought. It needs to shift to the concept of disaster resilience. Daniel Kaniewski, former acting deputy administrator at FEMA, says far too many people only realize the value of resilience, which is taking action before disaster happens, after it happens and they have lost everything.
In Episode 4 of our This Moment Matters podcast series, Kaniewski talks about why thinking and acting in terms of resilience is critical, especially as the effects of climate change bring more intense storms as well as greater wildfire threats. Currently, he’s Managing Director of Public Sector at Marsh McLennan where he continues to study disasters and disaster resilience.
But Kaniewski is hardly an armchair expert. He began his career at 18 as a volunteer firefighter paramedic in northern Minnesota. “You had to learn fast not only to care for those in need, but to realize you have to be resilient yourself because you see some pretty tragic circumstances,” he said.
One of his insights is that disaster relief, whether from FEMA or other agencies, is only meant to get people out of harms way. “With more disaster comes a greater burden on responders to help disaster survivors in their time of need,” he said. “But, unfortunately, disaster relief just doesn’t cover what it takes to restore people back into homes.”
Disaster resilience – being prepared for disasters at the community and home level – is the key.