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reaching for that hat as a disaster tech for the Mexican Red Cross.. but it works the same anywhere... and where they can try to privatize things
1.- Security... seems obvious that you will need NG and Local police to keep looters away... This can and usually is a small problem.... enter blackwater. So you need to make sure the local sheriff does not deputize these guys... and it is tempting. The locals are exhausted by now. So you may want to offer your selfs as local patrol deputies.
2.- When you go back you will need to make sure houses, and other structures are salveagable and that debris is removed. DEMAND this stays with LOCAL contractors... and not the usual cronies. If it stays with local contractors this helps to restart the economy. On a personal point, make sure that your house is throughly dried due to mildew which will be a problem anywhere from two weeks to a year. Oh and your local health department should instruct you on how to use clorox to help you in the process... it is not for keeping your whites whites anymore.
3.- Houses that are destroyed or condemned will need replacing. Here is where in an ideal world FEMA gets involved. Make sure that the check can pay for your local contractors. See above.
Oh and a note on locals... just because they are your local neighbors does not necessarily mean they will not try to take advantage... So do watch out for fraud. And demand to see licenses.
4.- Water... assume your water is bad for months to come. So boil it every day for at least ten minutes.
Mostly you need to keep as much of the effort as you can LOCAL... and with LOCAL materials. This will help to jumpstart the economy. Oh and watch out for the many who will try to buy you out of condemned properties
Oh and to the local businesses, if they get enough help rebuilding they may be able to restart and go on
One thing the International Red Cross loves to do after these kinds of disasters is to bring in building materials and let the locals rebuild... the closest to this in the US (no, I don't expect ICRC disaster teams on the ground) is Habitat for Humanity. Oh and this also means that getting rebuilding permits and all that is where some of this will be tried. So demand an eye be kept on all your local officials, who will be offered quite a bit of beanies for helping along in the privatization effort
Hope this helps....
What does she say? Oh yes, when you know what to expect, it is harder to do this. So do share with neighbors, your best hope is to fight it as a group.
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