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<br />Interfaith Disaster <br />Response Network <br /> <br />According to Linda Reed <br />Brown, director of the Interfaith <br />Disaster Response Network, <br />breaking the cycle of dependency <br />is as important for disaster <br />victims as it is for taxpayers. <br />"Most people don't want <br />to take charity year after year," <br />says Brown. "It's a question of <br />pride for a lot of people. Full <br />recovery requires taking respon. <br />sibility. <br />"Interfaith Disaster <br />Response Network, an umbrella <br />organization encompassing 13 <br />faith groups in Missouri, strongly <br />favors the buyout option. <br />"The storms of 1995 <br />have strengthened and solidified <br />our preference for relocation to <br />move out of harm's way," says <br />Brown. <br />"Interfaith Disaster <br />Network cannot afford to be co- <br />dependent with individuals and <br />communities who have come to <br />rely on 'free' help after a disas- <br />ter. Sufficient insurance and <br />preventive measures must come <br />to bear in these situations. <br />"While social and <br />religious organizations such as <br />Interfaith Disaster Response <br />Network will continue to provide <br />assistance when other systems <br />fail, Linda Reed Brown sees an <br />equally important mission for her <br />group and others like it: <br />"We need to be at the <br />forefront of the education that <br />tells us that in the long run, the <br />best disaster readiness plan is not <br />a detailed evacuation system or a <br />warning system that can crumble <br />with a bridge washout or a <br />communication failure. Rather, it <br />is land use that eliminates the <br />need for evacuation. <br /> <br />VII. Timely & Creative Programming <br /> <br />After the true extent of the '93 flood's devastation became apparent, it <br />was important to act quickly. After eight months of high water and "being <br />in limbo" in temporary housing, it was time to make decisions. Flood <br />survivors needed homes to live in. The temptation to go back to the flood- <br />plain and rebuild was strong, in spite of the psychological trauma. <br />Clearly, the government had to act quickly if it planned to break that cycle <br />of flood, rebuild, flood, rebuild. <br />With quick action on the part of Congress, the two responsible federal <br />agencies (FEMA and HUD) moved quickly to get the money flowing <br />through the pipeline. Missouri was among the first to access the buyout <br />funds and has been the first to successfully complete the projects, These <br />timely responses, at all levels of government were critical to obtaining <br />maximum participation from those residents for whom the emotional <br />wounds were still fresh. <br />Rather than imposing a "one-size-fits-all" mentality. the buyout program <br />was designed from the federal level down to offer flexibility in administra- <br />tion. For the most part, there was a refreshing suspension of unnecessary <br />regulations which would slow down the process. This flexibility allowed <br />federal, state and local governments to exercise creativity in program <br />design, a novel approach in any bureaucracy. <br />It worked. Within months of the waters receding below flood stage, <br />residents began closing on their flood-damages property and using those <br />funds to purchase homes that were high and dry. <br /> <br />"The success of the Buyout Program involves three key elements: <br />1) Priorities and well-thought out program guidelines; <br />2) A good partnership between the FEMA Hazard Mitigation <br />program, HUD's Community Development Block Grant program, the State <br />of Missouri and the local governments which are running their local buyout <br />programs; and <br />3) Our commitment to move citizens out of harm's way in the <br />floodplain. <br /> <br />-Governor Mel Carnahan <br /> <br />A Closer Look: Arnold, Mo. <br /> <br />"Upriver, officials in Arnold report that buyouts of houses and trailer parks <br />have saved about $10,000 a day in emergency services, as well as eliminat. <br />ing a lot of sandbag-slinging. " <br /> <br />According to Eric Knoll, adminis- <br />trator for the City of Arnold (pop. <br />18,828), the impact of the buyout <br />was clear during the 1995 disaster. <br />"The 1995 flood was a lesser <br />flood than 1993," says Knoll. "But, <br />it was still the fourth largest flood in <br />Arnold. Most of the areas affected <br />had been bought out, so the people <br />weren't there." <br /> <br />. The Economist <br />May 27, 1995 <br /> <br />"In 1993, we had 60 or 70 sand- <br />bag sites," says Knoll. "In this <br />year's flood, we were down to 3 or 4 <br />sites. That was a direct result of the <br />buyout. We didn't have to fight the <br />river this year like we did in the <br />past." <br />Arnold, which sits at the <br />confluence of the Meramec and <br />Mississippi Rivers, was hard hit <br />