Beryl In Houston Was The Beta Test For A Disaster No American City Is Ready For - No Power, No Water, Lethal Heat

[LT Barclay]

4. I was a contingency planner for the USCG. I really thought that disaster response would change after Katrina like

oil spill response changed after the Exxon Valdez with the passing of OPA-90.
As things stand now, disaster response is up to the state and local governments. FEMA will help them request resources, but they are a very small agency.
If I had my way, we'd have a 4-star on the Joint Chiefs in charge of disaster planning. Only the military has the resources, training and money to do this effectively. Currently all agencies in the federal government (as far as I am aware) plan on sleeping in local hotels, eating in local restaurants, and shopping in local stores. See any problem there?
The responders need to come in like an invading army with their own food, shelter, medical care and supplies and be able to provide food, shelter, medical care, search and rescue, as well as restoration to the impacted area.
It wouldn't require any re-organization of the military, just a build up of the Army Corps of Engineers, Navy SeaBees, Air Force TRANSCOM, USCG.
If this was in place, Puerto Rico could have been fixed up in a month. As it is, I'm sure the folks there are still struggling in some areas.
But gosh, if we did this, someone might get something for FREE, that isn't a billionaire, and that would just totally suck wouldn't it?