In the immediate aftermath of a devastating hurricane, many Georgians and those in other states are finding it difficult to navigate through blocked roads, tangled debris and flooding. And, in some Georgia areas, traffic signs and signals are still missing that would otherwise serve as landmarks that help people find their way around. Meanwhile, the loss of power and most forms of communication obviously have made it difficult to contact family members and others.
Amid the chaotic devastation survivors tend to encounter early first responders of all description, some of whom may have lost their own homes and may have families in distress. They work non-stop serving others for days until their adrenalin runs out and they are exhausted and dirty. Numerous human dramas unfold as uncoordinated search and rescue operations begin and as bad as the initial post-hurricane landfall scenario is for survivors, their nightmare has only just begun.
Meanwhile, state and local government leaders work to bring order from chaos and deal with unrelenting news reporters. As the second wave of good-Samaritan volunteers arrive with vital supplies and encouragement, life-threatening situations begin to subside, and the emotional grip of life-changing losses set in.
While property owners work to coordinate with insurance adjusters, the inevitable next problem hurricane survivors tend to experience is looting. (Augusta, for example, has been dealing with this.) Looters are truly disgusting, but history repeats itself as looters rummage through unsecured ruins of homes and personal items of hurricane victims. Looting itself is not a violent crime, so deadly force cannot be used against looters although the temptation to send them to their makers will be strong. Nonetheless, curfew orders are often issued, and national guardsmen will be assigned to protect exposed areas.
Outside the most impacted areas, groups of victims who have been evacuated from nursing homes, hospitals and other medical-type facilities often have no habitable home to which they can return after the storm. They may be temporarily safe in emergency shelters such as schools, churches, or community centers for a few days, but it will be difficult to find adequate facilities to which they can be relocated. Most handicapped victims will be nervous, frightened, and traumatized to some degree, especially if they can’t contact relatives or friends, or get necessary medications.
Pets that survived the initial storm surge often become lost and scattered. In all the chaos, it becomes difficult to provide for and feed them, much less work to reunite them with their owners who may or may not have survived the storm. Unfortunately, pets are not usually allowed into shelters for humans.
As the long hurricane recovery process continues, the underside of human nature tends to rear its ugly head in the form of price-gouging. While it is not typically illegal to raise the price of relief items like fuel, food, water or medical supplies above reasonable profit levels, it is certainly greedy and unethical. Thus, it often becomes necessary for governments to issue an emergency order making it illegal to engage in price gouging throughout the state to protect hurricane victims.
As governments begin the process of clearing debris and rebuilding public infrastructure, private property owners also strive to rebuild. They tend to have difficulty finding scarce skilled trade workers to hire and when they do, they are likely to face inflated costs. It is also not unusual at this point to find scam artists ready to prey on the vulnerable.
Problems of rebuilding after a hurricane are compounded by a scarcity of building supplies and materials. Under normal conditions, in today’s inflationary economy, building supplies are extraordinarily expensive. Under hurricane recovery conditions, prices tend to flirt with price-gouging levels. In past hurricane recovery periods, there have also been incidents of trucks and convoys transporting vital rebuilding supplies to a devastated area being hijacked by robbers who resell the materials.
Hurricanes are forces of nature that tend to bring out the good, bad and ugly in human nature. To put them into their proper perspective, especially for those seeking to help and lift the victims, it is important not only to beware of thieves and profiteers (the bad), but also on the lifesaving rescue personnel, loving volunteers and generous donors (the good).
I am reminded of a saying my grandmother once taught me: “From the day we are born until we ride in a hearse, there is nothing that happens that couldn’t be worse.”
The most important thing anyone can do to help hurricane survivors is to pray for all the emergency responders and victims. They will all need courage and encouragement in the months to come.
The author, a law enforcement veteran, has served as both police chief of Savannah and Marietta.
