Hurricane Floyd is a historic disaster that hit the East Coast of the United States in September 1999. The most affected of states was North Carolina that had hardly completed 10 days after another Hurricane (Dennis) hit it on Sept. 5. Dennis was accompanied by vigorous torrential rainfall and was marked by winds blowing away at over 70 miles an hour. Hurricane Floyd had speeds of about 130 miles an hour near the eye of the hurricane. The destruction posed by the hurricane, it contributed to the third largest single evacuation in the United States’ history. It led to higher volumes of torrential rainfall resulting in widespread flooding in the eastern part of Northern Carolina.
The disaster was rated as a category 3 disaster given the extent of damage it caused and the number of evacuations it caused. The total number of deaths that were directly attributed to the hurricane was 57 in number while the number of losses wound to about USD 6 billion. These losses were majorly attributed to the floods that followed the hurricane.
In response to the disaster, President Bill Clinton’s government put several measures in place a couple of measures. There was a USD 304 Million dollar allocation to the victims to the disaster to help them recover from the disaster. These allocations went to several governmental instruments including EDA, FEMA, NOAA, EDA, ACE, U.S. Geological survey, and defense. This was possible through variant approaches the government took to ameliorate those affected by the hurricane.
The response of the emergency agencies such a FEMA was criticized later as slow. The preparation for the hurricane itself may have been superb, but the after-effects were not quelled in good time. Several lessons can be drawn from this, in responding to hurricanes the after-effects should also be taken into consideration. Measures such as ensuring that drainage of floodwater is efficient should be put in place.
In conclusion, the hurricane was one of the greatest disasters in America’s history. It was ranked as one of the most destructive given the deaths and in losses that it resulted in. The losses wound to $ 6 million and 57 deaths. The government responded quite positively given the amount of funds that it pumped into the amelioration of the situation. However, preparedness for the after-effects of the hurricane (Flood Floyd) seemed insufficient.
References
Clinton, B. (1999). Supplemental appropriations language in response to Hurricane Floyd: communication from the President of the United States transmitting a request for supplemental appropriations language to help in addressing the urgent needs of the mid-Atlantic states in. Washington: U.S. G.P.O.
FEMA: President Clinton Announces Federal Response To Hurricane Floyd. (n.d.). FEMA | Federal Emergency Management Agency. Retrieved June 13, 2012, from http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=7270
Hurricane Floyd. (n.d.). NC State: WWW4 Server. Retrieved June 13, 2012, from http://www4.ncsu.edu/~nwsfo/storage/cases/19990915/
