Newswise — In late April, Maine Republication Senator Susan Collins, chairwoman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, issued a report that recommended replacing FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, with a new organization. Calling FEMA "discredited, demoralized, and dysfunctional," Collins proposed creating a "stronger, more capable structure" within the Department of Homeland Security.
As FEMA's fate hangs in the balance, June 1 marks the official start of the 2006 hurricane season. Government and private forecasters have warned that 2006, as with 2005, will be worse than usual, but they don't expect it to top last year's record of 27 named storms and 14 hurricanes. The forecasters also have warned that the mid-Atlantic states and the Northeast are long overdue to be hit by one or more powerful hurricanes. What are the possible consequences for the East Coast - and indeed the entire nation - if a major storm should hit while FEMA is replaced by a new federal agency?
To assist in reporting on the start of the hurricane season and the possible replacement of FEMA with a new agency, the University of Virginia offers a broad array of experts who can comment on issues concerning climatology, public administration, law, architecture and city planning, public health and environment and psychology:
PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Richard L. Guerrant, M.D., director, Center for Global HealthInfectious disease specialistDr. Guerrant, an infectious disease specialist, has extensive, real-world experience treating patients in disaster areas following major storms. He can discuss the diseases that may result from contaminated drinking water and their effects on people, particularly children and the elderly. He also can talk about the challenges of getting medicine and supplies to people in devastated areas. Dr. Guerrant is a highly articulate, passionate speaker and an excellent interviewee.
Joseph "Jay" Zieman, chair of the Department of Environmental SciencesCoastal ecologist - effects of storms, coastal developmentZieman specializes in coastal zone ecology and is a wealth of information about the effects of major storms on coastal areas. He also is originally from Mobile in coastal Alabama and earned his undergraduate degree at Tulane University in New Orleans, so he knows that area well. His expertise includes coastal development in general and how it alters the natural vegetation and barrier islands that would normally protect coastlines; flooding; erosion; and problems of pollution from raw sewage entering the water supply.
Phillip "Jerry" Stenger - Virginia State Climatology OfficeClimatologistStenger, a climatologist, can discuss weather, long-term climate, hurricane tracking and trends, why some storms are more powerful than others, and the possible severity of the 2006 hurricane season.
Bethany Teachman, assistant professor of psychologyAnxiety and panic disordersTeachman can address the way people respond to trauma, stress and fear. She specializes in treating people who suffer from anxiety disorders and panic attacks. She is a very good interviewee.
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, MANAGEMENT AND POLICYMatthew Holden, professor emeritus, Department of PoliticsHolden is an expert on issues involving public management, executive organization and public policy. He also has sustained experience working in the federal government, serving as a commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from 1977 to 1981.
"If an agency has full and strong presidential support, and if it has appropriate budgetary support, it will almost always perform better than if it lacked those kinds of support. But an agency also needs an outside political base or constituency to survive. For FEMA, that support might come from state or local political leaders."
LAWRichard C. Schragger, associate professor of lawA scholar of local government law, land use and legal theory, Schragger has expertise in local government and inter-governmental coordination in natural disasters.
"The need for coordination between local, state and federal officials in times of crisis necessitates rethinking our current federalism, which often emphasizes the distinct roles played by different levels of government, rather than the cooperative relationships between them."
Jonathan Z. Cannon, professor and director, Center for Environmental and Land Use LawCannon served as general counsel for the Environmental Protection Agency before joining the U.Va. School of Law in 1998. His areas of expertise focus on issues of post-storm clean-up, environmental hazards and liabililty, and watershed management.
ARCHITECTURE AND CITY PLANNINGWilliam Morrish, professor of architecture, landscape architecture and urban and environmental planningMorrish is an expert on cities and infrastructure as a cultural landscape. He has helped with the research and planning following earthquakes in Los Angeles, the 1993 Mississippi River flood and the World Trade Center disaster. After Hurricane Katrina, Morrish worked as part of a 50-member Urban Land Institute initiative to conduct extensive research and evaluation of the catastrophe in New Orleans.
"This disaster is not over yet. The process of renewal and recovery hasn't even started. It takes one to two years before you even get an economy going at a minimal level and eight to 10 years, if you have green lights, to get it up and running. The city that had been there for 300 years was basically and radically changed, and it will never be the same."
John D. Quale, assistant professor of architectureQuale's research interests are broadly focused on ecological and climate responsive design.A leading expert on sustainable and modular building practices, he is the creator and project director of preHAB, a partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville to design a prototype environmentally responsive panelized house kit for victims of Hurricane Katrina and other disasters.
"It is widely known that prefabricated building techniques can save time, money and materials, but the potential environmental benefits of this method are largely unrecognized by the industry. Off-site construction can significantly reduce the energy required to construct a building."
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