By G. Gregory Tooker

Mounting carnage and damage driven by extraordinary weather events such as have occurred in North Carolina and recently in Texas and “tornado alley” demonstrate the growing need for disaster preparedness at all levels of government. Any voluntary cutbacks of resources dedicated to emergency response in answer to such is evidence of professional malfeasance. Furthermore, such resources must be allocated without preference, devoid of any consideration for geographical location or the politics of a particular population.  

Despite continued denial in some sectors of the reality of climate change, weather-related disasters continue to mount in both frequency and severity. These will continue to grow in number, regardless of how vigorously the deniers voice their uninformed opinions. It behooves every community and family to assume increased responsibility and develop an emergency response plan addressing the exposures to which their loved ones and property may be exposed.  

Here in Massachusetts, state and local government appear better equipped to assist citizens in need of preparation as well as respond to actual emergencies. From a national perspective, the capability of FEMA to respond effectively seems questionable, given the downsizing of that resource. This applies not only to post-event response but also to nationally managed alert systems geared to timely and accurate forecasting of weather-associated events.

Bottom line, we are facing a future more challenging than we have known in the past. Given this trend and the fact that we will be expected to rely more and more on our own capabilities to respond to weather-related disasters, we should all evaluate our preparedness without delay.

Opinions expressed in the Guest Column do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher.