In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Senator Nell Soto (D – Pomona) is urging Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign SB 477, her bill to assist California communities in recovering from disasters.

SB 477, which gained final passage in the Senate last week, would authorize the Office of Emergency Services (O.E.S.) to establish a process that would be made available to assist communities in recovering from emergencies proclaimed by the Governor.

In a letter she sent to Schwarzenegger last Friday, Soto wrote that “The current crisis caused by Hurricane Katrina underscores the urgent need for this legislation.  Katrina’s calamitous aftermath demonstrates that pre-planning for all aspects of disaster response, including community recovery, is essential.”

Soto introduced her bill following the dozen major wildfires which devastated areas of Southern California in 2003. Soto said that the in aftermath of those fires – which burned over 750,000 acres, destroyed over 3,700 homes and killed 24 people – “It became clear that communities need a coordinated effort to recover.  We owe it to the victims to improve public policy based on lessons learned.” 

SB 477 addresses community recovery after FEMA and emergency personnel leave an affected area.  Soto’s bill authorizes O.E.S. to develop a model process on post-emergency recovery operations, which may last until an effected community is restored to pre-disaster conditions.

Community recovery projects may include assistance to individuals, families, and businesses, crisis counseling, disaster unemployment assistance, farm service assistance, tax relief, insurance and legal services.  These services are provided through partnerships among the local, State and Federal Government, non-profit agencies, faith-based organizations, non-governmental organizations and the private sector. 

Soto notes that after the wildfires in San Bernardino, FEMA and O.E.S. set up an assistance center and provided loans and grants to the victims some of the victims who did not have insurance and qualified. While the assistance did offer some benefit, it has been estimated that, nearly 15 months after the fires, less than 10% of residents whose homes were destroyed had acquired permits to rebuild. As a result, communities that were once teaming with families are now ghost towns. 

“At the time of the fires, California lacked a plan that addressed funding and coordination of state and local activities following a disaster,” Soto says. “Such a plan would have aided in the recovery of neighborhoods and businesses.”

Some fire victims told the Senator that they found deficiencies in the effective management of the recovery process, the provision of adequate interim shelter and housing, the planning and resources available for long-term, post-disaster housing, and adequate knowledge and preparation by the public for effective recovery.

“Due to a lack of organization and coordination, there were inequities between what fire survivors’ communities received in some areas compared to others,” Soto says. “For example, some areas have long term “disaster recovery centers” where survivors and disaster relief organizations and others offering support can meet.  Such centers do not exist in the San Bernardino region, where there was confusion about the kind of resources that are available to survivors.”

In her letter to Schwarzenegger, Soto stresses that “It is essential that California adopt an effective post-disaster community recovery process. Communities struck by disasters often experience a void in human services in the areas of immediate response and long-term recovery.

“In the initial minutes and hours following a disaster, affected communities rely on emergency services to respond, yet many human needs go unmet due to limited resources,” Soto writes. “Volunteer organizations, traditionally and impressively active following disasters, still have to muster people and resources before they can begin to operate. A successful community recovery relies on local decision making, primarily tailoring most things according to the local needs. My legislation will help facilitate such decision-making.”

Under SB 477, O.E.S. could become the coordinator of the recovery process, or local agencies can coordinate recovery, depending on the situation.  Soto’s bill asks 477 asks O.E.S. representatives to be onsite as soon as practicable after an emergency or natural disaster occurs, allow the office to coordinate the use of temporary services, and authorize O.E.S. to coordinate the establishment of temporary structures (including local assistance centers, showers and bathroom facilities, and temporary administrative offices).  O.E.S. would also be called upon to encourage the participation of nongovernmental organizations in the community recovery process to supplement recovery activities undertaken by federal or local agencies.