Will Recession Hurt Hurricane Preparations?

The recession is hitting emergency preparedness, but not necessarily in terms of disaster response budgets tightening. Instead, one report says it may be affecting how people prepare their homes and their families for hurricane season.

In an article in the Naples Daily News, Matt Clark says that although “disaster response services have remained largely intact following government budget tightening, some area families are putting off the purchase of hurricane kits until a storm threatens landfall.”

Throughout the article, Clark interviews a number of Florida homeowners and business owners to gauge the status of their preparation plans, and found that the recession was indeed causing them to make some difficult decisions.

“Usually we have that at the beginning of season, but now it’s like, if we need it, we’ll buy it,” Bonita Springs resident Denise Wells told Matt Clark. “We don’t have the extra money to spend on stuff that could sit around for years. We just hope our batteries still work.”

But one area that isn’t getting cut is government services, Clark says. “Aside from the Federal Emergency Management Agency cutting back on post-storm ice distributions last year, and the state eliminating sales tax holidays for hurricane supplies, most disaster response services have escaped the budget ax.”

To read the full article, click here: http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/may/30/will-recession-hurt-hurricane-preparations-season-/