In the wake of Hurricane Helene, it’s clear better solutions are needed. Though the death count continues to climb, far too many people lost their lives to this devastating storm. Tremendous winds and the ocean surge resulted in billions of dollars of lost homes and belongings in Florida, and the loss of life farther north from torrential flooding is simply heart-wrenching. Notably, the hurricane caught many off guard, especially those in North Carolina and Tennessee. But one has to ask couldn’t more have been done to warn those in harm’s way. The public sector including government officials, emergency medical agencies, and first responders play a critical role in disaster relief services. But more is needed, and the inclusion of privatized disaster relief services should be considered.
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In retrospect, more could have certainly been done to protect lives, especially in regions where hurricanes uncommonly occur. Public warnings failed to stress the potential danger that Hurricane Helene might bring. That includes the real chance of flash floods and mudslides. In fact, with these types of natural disasters, flooding accounts for more than half the fatalities. Therefore, knowing the potential rainfall from what downgraded into a tropical storm, evacuation mandates and recommendations should have been much sooner. And in addition to a lack of communication, emergency services were fragmented across the areas affected and inadequate. These are areas where privatized disaster relief services could help including the privatization of emergency medical services. It’s time this bold idea be strongly pursued before future lives are lost.
Disaster Relief Shortcomings
In examining recent events related to Hurricane Helene, most of the shortcomings occurred well away from coastal areas. Floridians are well accustomed to hurricane warnings and appreciate the potential devastation they bring. It’s therefore not uncommon for early calls for evacuations to occur. But in areas where hurricanes and tropical storms are less common, this isn’t common knowledge. With Helene, few took the storm’s potential serious, and a sense of urgency wasn’t well communicated until it was too late. Privatized disaster relief services would definitely take a different approach in such a situation. And privatized emergency medical services would be better able to respond with fewer in danger.
One of the major problems in North Carolina, Tennessee, and other southeastern states involves poor evacuation routes. Small rural roads and highways are poorly equipped to handle mass evacuations, and the few interstates accessible similarly lack capacity to accommodate this. These issues are then combined with many in these areas who cannot afford to leave. The cost of evacuating, missing work, and paying for accommodations elsewhere are simply not possible. Social determinants of health and wellbeing play a significant role in these areas. Here too, privatized disaster relief services would be better able to address these barriers. Through privatization of emergency medical services, incident management systems, and more, better outcomes could be realized.
Benefits of Privatization
In many sectors, privatization has greatly improved outcomes and resulted in significant advances. The most obvious currently is the privatization of space travel with NASA’s commitment to SpaceX and Boeing. In many ways, such pursuits cuts through unnecessary bureaucracies and overcomes barriers of public sector agencies. The same would be true for privatized disaster relief services. For example, the privatization of emergency medical services would likely improve the efficiency and quality of care while reducing costs. Disaster relief services would be more agile and responsive and better utilize scarce resources including personnel. In essence, privatized emergency medical services and disaster relief efforts would be leaner, better, and faster, and that saves lives.
These aren’t the only benefits of privatized disaster relief services. Private incident management activities would invest in more comprehensive communications systems. This would not only extend the geographic range of warnings and evacuation recommendations. But it would also provide greater resiliency in changing these messages as things develop real-time. Privatization of emergency medical services would also see greater investments in needed disaster infrastructures. These investments could improve access to remote areas while also facilitating mass evacuations. Lastly, privatized disaster relief services would be more thorough in their continuity planning and mitigation efforts. This isn’t because the public sector fails completely in these areas. But they often lack the ability to expand services over many different regions. This was the case with Helene in some states and communities, and as a result, the response was insufficient.
Innovative Ideas and Solutions
It is well known that private industry routinely outshines the public sector when it comes to innovation. This would certainly be true as it relates to privatization of emergency medical services and disaster relief efforts. Privatized disaster relief services would employ many new technologies. For instance, river and dam gauges to monitor rising water levels could be installed for early notification systems. These could be connected to loud siren systems in rural areas or even linked to emergency broadcast apps. Warning systems would also provide multilingual communications to ensure broader awareness among all citizens. And naturally such systems could employ generative AI in a variety of ways. These are just of the few technologies that could revamp and innovate disaster relief structures.
Based on the many advantages that privatized disaster relief services could offer, it’s worth beginning the process. That means developing a contracting system and funding program to include private companies in disaster management. The process should naturally start at a federal level given the fact that disasters tend not to respect municipal or state boundaries. This would allow privatization of emergency medical services and other activities to companies with a broader reach. Not only would this ensure better continuity of these services to more regions, but it would also invite economies of scale. The end result would be more comprehensive disaster management that more responsive, less costly, and more effective. If there is a silver lining to Hurricane Helene, then perhaps this is it. The public sector has had its shot. Now it’s time to let private industry take over.
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