Disaster recovery requires a massive coordinated effort. Federal, state and local governments must lead. Philanthropy, nonprofits and the private sector will be key partners. Residents will voice their views, through community planning meetings and other venues, on how best to spend disaster-recovery dollars.

With so many stakeholders and rebuilding needs, the process of restoring neighborhoods and economic activity will become emotionally and politically charged. As Brock Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has already warned in Texas:

This is going to be a frustrating and painful process.

In the wake of Harvey and Irma, high-quality, regular and public information will be critical to disaster recovery. As recovery dollars are channeled through federal, state and local intermediaries to people and neighborhoods, a public resource along the lines of the New Orleans Index would help empower local groups and ensure informed, rational debate and decision-making. Given advances in technology and data availability in the decade since Katrina, creating such a resource is more feasible than ever.

Read the full article at Governing Magazine