Beltway Confidential

The US needs a better response to natural disasters, here’s where to start

By Erin Dunne

Published August 31, 2018 9:09pm ET

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The US needs a better response to natural disasters, here’s where to start — FILE - In this Sept. 28, 2017, file photo, a man walks past debris from homes on his street damaged in flooding from Hurricane Harvey as an oil refinery stands in the background in Port Arthur, Texas. Although many Texas families are still struggling to recover from Hurricane Harvey a year after it caused widespread damage and flooding along the Gulf Coast and in and around Houston, daily life has mostly returned to normal in many of the hardest hit communities. | (David Goldman/AP)

The true numbers of those killed by Hurricane Maria came out earlier this week, revealing that far from the initial report of 64 dead, the storm had killed 2,975.

Instead of waiting for yet another disaster and a similarly botched response, the United States needs to take planning for natural disasters seriously, now. Here are four key ways that the U.S. could improve its response to disasters saving lives, resources and money.

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Hurricane Harvey Hurricanes Natural Disasters