Eight years have passed since the devastating hurricane Katrina that diminished New Orleans to soggy shambles,

yet there are still many years that lay ahead on the citys road to recovery. This is also true for the earthquake that shook Japan, and there are different steps that Japans government should take if it happens again. In addition, the U.S. government needs to do things differently should a disaster like this occur again in the future. Average citizens can even take precautions to prepare themselves for disasters and continue to clean up after Katrina, the U.S. government can make alterations in the disaster plan, Japan can make revisions in their plan, and there are many ways the U.S. can help other countries should they face a natural disaster in the future. Action on a Local Level Citizens in the U.S. who want to prevent natural disasters as devastating as Katrina, and continue to help New Orleans reach full recovery can do so in numerous simple ways. Manual labor is still needed in New Orleans to continue gutting and cleaning homes that were flooded when the levees breached. People willing to do so can volunteer with organizations in order to get involved with the restoration of these houses. The Red Cross believes that it could still be 10 years or more before all of the houses are fully restored (Cuber). Another good thing to be aware of is the particular types of natural disasters that are common in ones state. For example, people in Texas should be concerned with wildfires and tornadoes rather than hurricanes and tsunamis (Cuber). Every family should have a game plan for if a disaster is to occur. This includes agreeing to evacuate if an evacuation is advised, packing an emergency evacuation kit, securing their home, and making a plan for what to do with their pets if an emergency is to occur (FEMA). Having a plan like this can save lives because it reduces panic at the time of a disaster. Local governments should advocate for smarter building designs adapted to environmental challenges. For example, architects in New Orleans should be required to design houses that are raised, have hardwood floors, and plaster walls. All of these aspects help to reduce damage is a flood is to occur (Hurricanes). Doing so would lead to less damage in houses and buildings, therefore resulting in a quicker recovery process. Though all of these steps have very beneficial outcomes such as restoring New Orleans, being prepared, and preventing as much damage, there are still some downsides. For example, restoring all of the houses can be very expensive, and using the local governments money for this would cause them to have to cut back on spending in other areas. In addition, some people building houses in New Orleans may not like the requirements and restrictions on housing designs, and feel that their freedoms are being taken away. Regardless, the benefits of these precautions outweigh the cons. Action on a National Level The U.S. federal government can also make an adjustment to the national disaster plan in order to reduce devastation during and after a natural disaster such as not waiting as long to send help to affected areas. To do so, FEMA and other relief

organizations should not be included under the federal government bureaucracy, because under this, they are not allowed to take action until the president declares something a state of disaster, and all the levels of bureaucracy significantly stall the amount of time before FEMA is allowed to take action, because there are so many political decisions made on each level between FEMA and the president, that it takes a while before FEMA gets a conformation that they can take action (Sobel). Those who ignored the bureaucratic decision-making process, such as the U.S. Coast Guard during Katrina, ended up helping more people, because they did not waste valuable time waiting around to get permission to do so (Sobel). The Coast Guard evacuated more than 33,500 people, and was saving lives before any other government agency (Ripley). In the future, the government should not be so cautious when helping a city facing disaster, so that people can get help more quickly. During Katrina, the hesitancy that the government showed caused hundreds trapped in their homes to die that could have lived if they acted sooner (Ripley). The government waited a full 24 hours after the levees broke to enter New Orleans, and send FEMA in to help (Sobel). These first hours are critical to saving lives, and help should be sent in as soon as possible in order to save as many lives as one can. However, one downside of immediately entering a disaster-struck area is not being fully prepared, because they dont know what to expect. In addition, it is hard for the government and FEMA to take action directly after a disaster strikes because its hard to enter the area (FEMA). When it comes down to it, exploring the devastated area as soon as possible would be more beneficial to the people living there, because the recovery process will begin sooner. Action on a Global Level Although there are still a few kinks that can be straightened out of Japans disaster plan, if a disaster does strike again, their government should continue to respond the way that it did for the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011 that destroyed much of Ishinomaki City. Their government did a great job of quickly clearing roads and railways to get Japan back on its feet as soon as possible. Immediately after the disaster, the government established an emergency response team headed by the prime minister. Within one day, 110,000 active and reserve troops and 28,000 police immediately began to reconstruct major railways and highways. Within two weeks, almost 100 percent of the affected highways were functional. After 40 days, all of the major railways were back in action (Heritage Foundation). If another disaster is to happen, Japan should take immediate action like this again. In addition, other countries should follow in Japans footsteps in order to recover quickly. When it comes to the U.S. helping other countries after a disaster, it is ones moral obligation to help others in need. After the earthquake in Japan, the U.S. dispatched a disaster management expert from Washington to help in Japan (Huang). America should do this again in the future if a disaster is to strike elsewhere in the world because if some form of devastation happens here, the other countries are more likely to help the U.S. Also, helping with different types of disasters in other parts of the world prepares the government and relief

organizations with knowledge and experience for if something like that were to happen in this country. The U.S. also donated an initial 10 million dollars to the Japanese Red Cross (Huang). This would be beneficial to do again in the future because it helps the receiving country get back on its feet, and creates stronger ties and a better relationship between the U.S. and country in need of help. However, some would argue that the U.S. has no business giving other countries money when its economy is not at a peak. They think that it is a waste to spend money on another country when there are other projects here in the U.S. that the money could be going to. Regardless, helping other countries and contributing to their restoration after disasters creates better relations between global citizens, and creates more insurance of international help should the roles be reversed in the future.