GAO Report: Insights for Recovering from Hurricanes Ike and Gustav and Other Recent Natural Disasters

While receiving millions of dollars in federal assistance, state and local governments bear the main responsibility for helping communities cope with the destruction left in the wake of major disasters. Now that the wind and storm surge from Hurricanes Ike and Gustav have passed and the Midwest flood waters have subsided, state and local governments face a myriad of decisions regarding the short- and long-term recovery of their communities. We have seen that actions taken shortly after a major disaster and during the early stages of the recovery process can have a significant impact on the success of a community’s long-term recovery. Accordingly, this is a critical time for communities affected by these major disasters. Insights drawn from state and local governments that have experienced previous major disasters may provide a valuable opportunity for officials to anticipate challenges and adopt appropriate strategies and approaches early on in the recovery process. There is no one right way for how state and local governments should manage recovery from a major disaster, nor is there a recipe of techniques that fits all situations. While many of the practices we describe in this report were tailored to the specific needs and conditions of a particular disaster, taken together, they can provide state and local officials with a set of tools and approaches to consider as they move forward in the process of recovering from major disasters. Drawing on experiences from six major disasters that occurred from 1989 to 2005, GAO identified the following selected insights:

• Create a clear, implementable, and timely recovery plan.
• Build state and local capacity for recovery.
• Implement strategies for businesses recovery.
• Adopt a comprehensive approach toward combating fraud, waste, and abuse.