Dave Eberhart, NewsMax.com
Friday, Oct. 7, 2005

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Is New York ready for a disaster – terrorist or otherwise?

Former FEMA director James Lee Witt doesn't think so.

Recently in Albany, New York he announced the formation of a state coalition - ProtectingNewYork.org - to better prepare and protect New Yorkers from the consequences of a catastrophic storm, terrorist attack or other event.

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In explaining the importance of a higher level of preparedness, Witt used the example of the "The Long Island Express," a hurricane which wiped-out much of eastern Long Island. That storm, which made landfall 67 years, missed New York City by less than 10 miles, took 700 lives and left 63,000 people homeless.

"If the Long Island Express hurricane made landfall today - same spot, same force as in 1938 - it is estimated that the damages in Suffolk County alone would reach $24 billion - nearly the same impact as the terrorist attacks of 9/11," Witt warned.

"The densely populated and highly developed areas along America's Eastern and Gulf Coasts are particularly susceptible to the ravages of nature. Actions to protect those, and other, areas must be taken by the state and federal governments, and must be taken now," Witt said.

"America can and must do a better job preparing her citizens and economy against catastrophic loss," Witt explained in yet another forum. "The system now in place is a hodgepodge of state, federal and non-profit disaster relief programs and private insurance. Too many people fall through the cracks and receive inadequate compensation for their losses. Tax dollars are spent re-building the same property that tax dollars re-built after an earlier storm. Insurance premiums go up and the availability of insurance goes down.

"A national agenda for catastrophe management requires a comprehensive, integrated approach to help victims recover from catastrophes, prevent severe disruption to our economy and minimize the financial burden on consumers."

Witt, currently chairman and chief executive officer of James Lee Witt Associates, which provides disaster recovery and mitigation management services to state and local governments, educational institutions, the international community and corporations, is very much on the skyline these post-Katrina days.

Witt know of what he speaks.

From 1993 to 2000, he was the Clinton administration point man for overseeing federal response to more than 350 disasters.

He was responsible for response and recovery operations for six of the ten most devastating disasters of all time, including the most costly flood disaster in the nation's history, the most costly earthquake, and a dozen damaging hurricanes.

These days, the busy chief executive of Witt and Associates has a host of clients, including the states of Florida, Louisiana, Illinois, New York, and the county of Los Angeles – as well as corporate heavyweights like Nextel.

But while seeing to the pragmatic interests of individual clients, Witt has his hand in the big picture as well, leading ProtectingAmerica.org. – the parent to Protecting NewYork.org.

Witt wants to ensure that through ProtectingAmerica, the heady lessons of yesteryear are not forgotten. On his FEMA watch, for instance, Witt integrated flood mitigation, control and protection into that agency's policy.

Shades of New Orleans

After the devastating Midwest floods of 1993, Witt pursued an aggressive flood prone property acquisition and relocation program, purchasing properties that were repeatedly flooded – ultimately saving taxpayers millions of dollars when floods again ravaged the same Midwest area again in 1995.

What Witt hopes to accomplish through ProtectingAmerica is the formation, as he styles it, of a "national agenda for catastrophe management."

"America must change the way we prepare and protect ourselves from the economic devastation that could result from a major catastrophe," Witt says.

As NewsMax was told, elements of the Witt agenda to protect America are already taking shape. Included in the vision: