Rivers from Texas to Illinois have flooded as a severe storm system moves through the Midwest. There have been numerous flood related deaths in Missouri and Illinois; many of these deaths were related to drivers being trapped in their cars as the flood waters rose. The Midwest is currently recuperating during a brief reprieve from rain but Southern states have begun preparations for massive flooding. Thousands of people have been displaced by the evacuation process, seeking shelter in hotels or with family members while their homes are claimed by the rising water. The Midwest is usually hit by flooding hardest in the spring and summer, and was expecting snow during December rather than rain. Whereas summer floods are easily contained and property damage is often minimal, the winter flooding has been catastrophic. Read on for a look inside the disaster relief process that has swung into action over the past few weeks.

FEMA and El Nino

Earlier in December, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) organized a specialized El Nino task force to tackle the oncoming weather phenomenon. FEMA operates under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security, coordinating efforts between regional, state and federal relief teams. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,

An El Nino is a weather phenomenon in which warmer tropical Pacific Ocean waters cause changes to the global atmospheric circulation, resulting in a wide range of changes to global weather. Over North America, the Pacific jet stream (a river of air that flows west to east) often expands eastward and shifts southward during El Nino, which makes precipitation more likely to occur across the southern tier of the United States.

El Nino is also responsible for the nationwide temperature spikes that have made this winter season relatively mild for most of the Eastern seaboard. The current El Nino moving through the Midwest is the strongest since 1998. El Nino’s impacts do not only impact the Western hemisphere. According to BBC News,

Aid agencies like Oxfam are worried that the impacts of the continuing El Nino in 2016 will add to existing stresses such as the wars in Syria, South Sudan and Yemen. They say that food shortages are likely to peak in Southern Africa in February with Malawi estimating that almost three million people will require humanitarian assistance before March. Drought and erratic rains have affected two million people across Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua. More floods are expected in Central America in January.

Weather services provide FEMA with consistent updates on El Nino weather patterns, information which FEMA then uses to design response plans for individual states and regions. FEMA coordinates with regional and federal officials to manage disaster response and evacuation. After Governor Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and deployed the National Guard in Missouri, he spoke with President Obama to discuss federal aid and intervention. According to a recent NASA report, the El Nino pattern is not waning and will continue to hit the country with significant force in the coming week. NASA satellites have tracked sea surface heights and temperatures over the past several weeks and will continue to work with disaster relief teams throughout the duration of the floods.

The History of FEMA

FEMA was founded in 1979, created via an executive order by President Carter. The federal government had completed informal disaster relief for domestic weather emergencies since the 1930s but the establishment of FEMA merged multiple agencies and marked an official commitment to aiding communities. In 2003, FEMA became part of the Department of Homeland Security, largely as a result of 9/11. According to FEMA’s website,

The agency coordinated its activities with the newly formed Office of Homeland Security, and FEMA’s Office of National Preparedness was given responsibility for helping to ensure that the nation’s first responders were trained and equipped to deal with weapons of mass destruction. Within months, the terrorist attacks of Sept.11th focused the agency on issues of national preparedness and homeland security, and tested the agency in unprecedented ways. Billions of dollars of new funding were directed to FEMA to help communities face the threat of terrorism. Just a few years past its 20th anniversary, FEMA was actively directing its ‘all-hazards’ approach to disasters toward homeland security issues.

But in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, FEMA was criticized for a number of reasons. Critics claimed that the evacuation process was not coordinated well enough and the number of supplies set aside for evacuees was not sufficient. Attempts to ensure that the process was running smoothly were in some cases interpreted as massive mistakes that slowed down the relief process on purpose. FEMA was considered to be uncoordinated on the ground, and images of New Orleans’ citizens baking in the heat of the SuperDome became synonymous with an ineffective FEMA response.

Hurricane Katrina was FEMA’s first massive challenge after becoming part of the Department of Homeland Security and was considered an embarrassment both for the agency and the Bush administration as a whole. FEMA director Michael Brown was considered by some to be insufficiently experienced in disaster management, although he claims that he did not have access to a great deal of information on the ground until days after evacuation began. The difficulties of Katrina evacuation and aid were not solely FEMA’s but the agency became the poster child for bureaucratic inefficiency.

The Difficulties of the Current Evacuation

As evacuation orders went into effect across the region, escaping the oncoming surge was made difficult because of compromised transportation routes. Interstates flooded, forcing travelers onto local roads that quickly became jammed. Trucks transporting commodities along set driving routes got stuck on the flooded roads and drivers were forced to abandon their cargo as the waters rise. Police forces and volunteers have been adding sandbags to major roads in preparation for flooding but the effects of these preventative measures have been minimal as multiple levees have broken across the region. Evacuees are forced to abandon their cars on the road, often after waiting on the roofs of their vehicles for hours for rescue teams. The majority of businesses and buildings have shut down during the floods, essentially turning several counties in Missouri and Illinois into ghost towns. People who tried to stay in their homes to wait out the flood found themselves fleeing to higher stories to escape more than water–untreated sewage filled the water of towns in Missouri and thousands of people were left without access to drinking water. In agricultural areas, pigs, horses and other livestock are often casualties of massive flooding. U.S. News reported yesterday that:

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it is not planning to open a southeastern Missouri floodway in response to the swollen Mississippi River – at least not yet.

Opening floodways to divert the flow of water is one solution to local flooding but it will likely not be significant enough to impact the whole state. When flooding occurs this heavily over such a wide stretch of land, there is no easy solution. Even if water can be diverted out of certain communities, it would be held by levees that may be incapable of successfully containing the rivers, endangering other towns further downstream. The activation of the National Guard should provide extra manpower and resources for evacuation efforts but as long as the El Nino weather pattern persists, the flooding will continue in full force. Without an end to the incessant rain and flooding, conditions will likely only worsen in the Midwest and South.

 Conclusion

The flooding in the Midwest presents a daunting challenge for rescue teams across the country, but if FEMA has learned from Hurricane Katrina, it will tackle it efficiently and quickly. Evacuation is a challenging process that requires dozens of teams to coordinate transportation and rescue efforts during any time of year, but winter weather conditions make the task Herculean. Flooding is only expected to increase and expand to the South in the coming days. As FEMA, the National Guard and various regional officials coordinate their efforts, thousands of residents await aid as their homes sink deeper and deeper under the flooded rivers. If handled correctly, these floods may redeem FEMA’s public image and create a functional template for future evacuation scenarios. If handled poorly, these floods may cement FEMA’s reputation as ineffective and disorganized in the face of tragedy.

Resources

Primary

FEMA: About the Agency: A New Mission: Homeland Security

Additional

ABC News: 22 Dead, 2 Missing in Record Flooding Across Midwest

Reuters: Midwest Braces for More Flooding as Rain-swollen Rivers Rise

Eastern Arizona Courier: FEMA preparing for possible El Nino disasters

Scientific American: Record Flooding Hits U.S. Midwest, Threatens South

PBS News Hour: FEMA Faces Intense Scrutiny

BBC News: El Nino Weather: Worries Grow over Humanitarian Impact

US News: The Latest: Flooding Forces Closure of 3 Historic Sites in Illinois Because of Unsafe Roads

Hexa News: Missouri Residents Told To Evacuate Immediately Due To Flood Danger

NBC News: ‘Historic’ Floods Threaten 19 Levees Along Mississippi River

Jillian Sequeira

Jillian Sequeira was a member of the College of William and Mary Class of 2016, with a double major in Government and Italian. When she’s not blogging, she’s photographing graffiti around the world and worshiping at the altar of Elon Musk and all things Tesla. Contact Jillian at Staff@LawStreetMedia.com

The post Flooding in the Midwest: The Challenges of Disaster Relief appeared first on Law Street.

ICYMI, check out the most popular articles of the week from Law Street, including the safest and most dangerous metro areas in the county, as well as the Elkhart Four’s case in front of the Indiana Supreme Court.

#1 Crime in America 2015: Top 10 Safest & Most Dangerous Metros in the Midwest

The Springfield, Illinois metro area is the number one most dangerous metro in the Midwest. According to the latest crime data from the FBI, which covers calendar year 2013, the Springfield metro had a rate of 768 violent crimes per 100,000 people. On the other end of the spectrum, the Wausau, Wisconsin metro is the safest in the Midwest with 93 violent crimes per 100,000 people. Read full article here.

#2 Crime in America 2015: Slideshow of the Top 15 Most Dangerous Metro Areas

While crime in the United States has been trending down for quite some time, some metropolitan statistical areas continue to experience relatively high rates of violent crime. According to the latest crime data from the FBI, which covers calendar year 2013, the Memphis metro area leads not only the South in violent crime, but also the country as a whole. Read full article here.

#3 The Elkhart Four Await Indiana Supreme Court Decision

The Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Aaron Hernandez trials have dominated courtroom coverage in recent months. But with guilty convictions being handed down in both cases and Tsarnaev’s sentencing still pending, there’s a case awaiting a decision from the Indiana Supreme Court that deserves America’s attention for a while–the Elkhart Four case. Read full article here.

Chelsey D. Goff

Chelsey D. Goff was formerly Chief People Officer at Law Street. She is a Granite State Native who holds a Master of Public Policy in Urban Policy from the George Washington University. She’s passionate about social justice issues, politics — especially those in First in the Nation New Hampshire — and all things Bravo. Contact Chelsey at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post ICYMI: Best of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

The Springfield, Illinois metro area is the number one most dangerous metro in the Midwest. According to the latest crime data from the FBI, which covers calendar year 2013, the Springfield metro had a rate of 768 violent crimes per 100,000 people. On the other end of the spectrum, the Wausau, Wisconsin metro is the safest in the Midwest with 93 violent crimes per 100,000 people. Of all violent crime across the nation 19.4 percent occurred in the Midwest, which is home to 21.4 percent of the nation’s population. The rankings below detail the violent crime rate for cities and their surrounding metropolitan area across the Midwest. Check out the rankings below to see the Top 10 Safest and Top 10 Most Dangerous metro areas across the South. All rates below are calculated per 100,000 people. Click here to read more information about Metropolitan Statistical Areas and these rankings.

READ MORE: 2015 CRIME RANKINGS FOR THE NORTHEAST, THE SOUTH, AND THE WEST

READ MORE: SLIDESHOW: TOP 15 MOST DANGEROUS METROS IN THE UNITED STATES

READ MORE: CRIME MAP OF THE UNITED STATES

TOP 10 MOST DANGEROUS METROS IN THE MIDWEST

#1 Springfield, IL Metro Area

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Overall Rank: #7
Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 768
– Murder: 17
– Rape: 74
– Robbery: 165
– Aggravated Assault: 512
Population: 212,387

The Springfield, IL metro area includes: Menard and Sangamon counties in Illinois, as well as the city of Springfield.

#2 Saginaw, MI Metro Area

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Overall Rank: #8
Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 752
– Murder: 19
– Rape: 75
– Robbery: 96
– Aggravated Assault: 562
Population: 198,026

The Saginaw, MI metro area includes: Saginaw County, Michigan as well as the city of Saginaw.

#3 Flint, MI Metro Area

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Overall Rank: #10
Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 721
– Murder: 14
– Rape: 82
– Robbery: 168
– Aggravated Assault: 458
Population: 416,606

The Flint, MI metro area includes: Genesee County, Michigan as well as the city of Flint.

Flint, Michigan missed this year’s rankings, but was ranked the #1 most dangerous city with a population under 200,000 last year.

#4 Rockford, IL Metro Area

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Overall Rank: #12
Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 711
– Murder: 8
– Rape: 58
– Robbery: 133
– Aggravated Assault: 513
Population: 344,806

The Rockford, IL metro area includes: Boone and Winnebago counties in Illinois, as well as the city of Rockford.

Rockford, Illinois is ranked the #2 most dangerous city with a population under 200,00 in 2015.

#5 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI Metro Area

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Overall Rank: #27
Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 587
– Murder: 7
– Rape: 34
– Robbery: 235
– Aggravated Assault: 311
Population: 1,571,468

The Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI metro area includes: Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington, and Waukesha counties in Wisconsin, as well as the cities of Milwaukee, Waukesha, and West Allis.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin is ranked the #7 most dangerous city with a population over 200,000 in 2015.

#6 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Metro Area

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Overall Rank: #34
Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 570
– Murder: 10
– Rape: 50
– Robbery: 164
– Aggravated Assault: 346
Population: 4,296,628

The Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro area includes: the Metropolitan Divisions of Detroit-Dearborn-Livonia and Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills in Michigan, as well as the cities of Detroit, Warren, Dearborn, Livonia, Troy, Farmington Hills, Southfield, Taylor, and Novi.

Detroit, Michigan is ranked the #1 most dangerous city with a population over 200,000 in 2015.

#7 Wichita, KS Metro Area

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Overall Rank: #35
Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 568
– Murder: 4
– Rape: 52
– Robbery: 78
– Aggravated Assault: 434
Population: 637,215

The Wichita, KS metro area includes: Butler, Harvey, Kingman, Sedgwick, and Sumner counties in Kansas, as well as the city of Wichita.

#8 Springfield, MO Metro Area

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Overall Rank: #46
Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 533
– Murder: 3
– Rape: 76
– Robbery: 95
– Aggravated Assault: 359
Population: 448,011

The Springfield, MO metro area includes: Christian, Dallas, Greene, Polk, and Webster counties in Missouri, as well as the city of Springfield.

Springfield, Missouri is ranked the #5 most dangerous city with a population under 200,000 in 2015.

#9 Toledo, OH Metro Area

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Overall Rank: #49
Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 530
– Murder: 5
– Rape: 34
– Robbery: 173
– Aggravated Assault: 318
Population: 609,674

The Toledo, OH metro area includes: Fulton, Lucas, and Wood counties in Ohio, as well as the city of Toledo.

#10 Cape Girardeau, MO-IL Metro Area

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Overall Rank: #66
Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 490
– Murder: 7
– Rape: 24
– Robbery: 103
– Aggravated Assault: 357
Population: 97,510

The Cape Girardeau, MO-IL metro area includes: Alexander County in Illinois; and Bollinger and Cape Girardeau counties in Missouri, as well as the city of Cape Girardeau.

 TOP 10 SAFEST METROS IN THE MIDWEST

#1 Wausau, WI Metro Area

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Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 93
– Murder: 2
– Rape: 13
– Robbery: 13
– Aggravated Assault: 66
Population: 135,041

The Wausau, WI metro area includes: Marathon County, Wisconsin as well as the city of Wausau.

#2 La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN Metro Area

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Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 123
– Murder: 2
– Rape: 19
– Robbery: 21
– Aggravated Assault: 81
Population: 135,914

The La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN metro area includes: Houston County, Minnesota; and La Crosse County, Wisconsin, as well as the cities of La Crosse and Onalaska.

#3 Appleton, WI Metro Area

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Rates/100,00 people
– Violent Crime: 124
– Murder: 0.4
– Rape: 17
– Robbery: 8
– Aggravated Assault: 99
Population: 229,465

The Appleton, WI metro area includes: Calumet and Outagamie counties in Wisconsin, as well as the city of Appleton.

#4 Eau Claire, WI Metro Area

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Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 125
– Murder: 1
– Rape: 21
– Robbery: 14
– Aggravated Assault: 89
Population: 164,463

The Eau Claire, WI metro area includes: Chippewa and Eau Claire counties in Wisconsin, as well as the city of Eau Claire.

#5 Sheboygan, WI Metro Area

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Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 142
– Murder: 0.9
– Rape: 24
– Robbery: 17
– Aggravated Assault: 101
Population: 114,951

The Sheboygan, WI metro area includes: Sheboygan County, Wisconsin as well as the city of Sheboygan.

#6 Rochester, MN Metro Area

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Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 142
– Murder: 0
– Rape: 31
– Robbery: 27
– Aggravated Assault: 85
Population: 211,141

The Rochester, MN metro area includes: Dodge, Fillmore, Olmsted, and Wabasha counties in Wisconsin, as well as the city of Rochester.

#7 Ames, IA Metro Area

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Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime:152
– Murder: 0
– Rape: 52
– Robbery: 16
– Aggravated Assault: 84
Population: 91,897

The Ames, IA metro area includes: Story County, Iowa as well as the city of Ames.

#8 Oshkosh-Neenah, WI Metro Area

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Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 159
– Murder: 0
– Rape: 12
– Robbery: 17
– Aggravated Assault: 130
Population: 169,484

The Oshkosh-Neenah, WI metro area includes: Winnebago County, Wisconsin, as well as the cities of Oshkosh and Neenah.

#9 Dubuque, IA Metro Area

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Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 160
– Murder: 0
– Rape: 17
– Robbery: 39
– Aggravated Assault: 104
Population: 95,753

The Dubuque, IA metro area includes: Dubuque County, Iowa as well as the city of Dubuque.

#10 St. Cloud, MN Metro Area

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Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 168
– Murder: 1
– Rape: 47
– Robbery: 26
– Aggravated Assault: 95
Population: 191,531

The St. Cloud, MN metro area includes: Benton and Stearns counties in Minnesota, as well as the city of St. Cloud.

The Office of Management and Budget began delineating Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in the 1950s in order to provide an established level of analysis for government reports and statistics. MSAs are characterized as having an urban core with more than 50,000 people and surrounding areas that have close social and economic integration. The FBI does not provide data on all of the 388 MSAs defined by the Office of Management and Budget. Click here to see the FBI’s explanation for why all MSAs are not included. MSAs are organized by counties or their equivalent. All statistics in Law Street’s Crime in America metro rankings are presented as rates per 100,000 people, and they are taken from the FBI’s annual Crime in the United States publication section on metropolitan statistical areas. To see the FBI’s data click here.

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Research and analysis by Law Street’s Crime in America Team: Kevin Rizzo, Alexis Evans, Chelsey Goff, Anneliese Mahoney.

CLICK HERE TO SEE FULL CRIME IN AMERICA 2015 COVERAGE, INCLUDING THE SAFEST & MOST DANGEROUS CITIES AND STATES.

Kevin Rizzo

Kevin Rizzo is the Crime in America Editor at Law Street Media. An Ohio Native, the George Washington University graduate is a founding member of the company. Contact Kevin at krizzo@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Crime in America 2015: Top 10 Safest & Most Dangerous Metros in the Midwest appeared first on Law Street.