Sheri Fink Quotes

The larger the disaster, the more necessary it is to have the government as the principal driver of recovery.

I feel often that we don't have the right language to talk about emotions in disasters. Everyone is on edge, of course, but it also pulls people away from a lot of trivial anxieties and past and future concerns and gratuitous preoccupations that we have, and refocuses us in a very intense way.

During a large disaster, like Hurricane Katrina, warnings get hopelessly jumbled. The truth is that, for warnings to work, it's not enough for them to be delivered. They must also overcome that human tendency to pause; they must trigger a series of effective actions, mobilizing the informal networks that we depend on in a crisis.

Commander in Chief of Disasters.

Every day should be #GivingTuesday when it comes to surviving natural catastrophes and man-made disasters.

And I, unfortunately, have been to too many disasters as president.

As Mayor of San Francisco, I will work hard to ensure that, in the event of natural or man-made disasters, San Franciscans are prepared and our City is protected.

This is the United States of America. It means we respond to our fellow Americans in times of crisis and emergency and disaster.

The hurricane complicates things in that what would have been purely a business decision becomes a decision of the heart.

A leader or a man of action in a crisis almost always acts subconsciously and then thinks of the reasons for his action.

He taught me never to smile, which helps me when I visit disaster sites.

It is in the genes of cities to bounce back from disasters - whether natural or man made. The denizens of suburbia have no choice but to survive and move on. But it is the manner in which different cities respond to emergencies that sets them apart.

During the aftermath of Katrina, National Guard troops were positioned on every block to establish a sense of safety and source of help for the people in need. They did not leave communities until people were safe and sound.

Americans do not have a good track record when it comes to preparing for disasters, unless they see a clear possibility of personally being in harms way.

Disasters happen. We still have no way to eliminate earthquakes, wildfires, hurricanes, floods or droughts. We cope as best we can by fortifying ourselves against danger with building codes and levees, and by setting aside money to clean up afterwards.

One of my favorite books is 'The Swiss Family Robinson.' The reason is, I'm fascinated by the postapocalyptic recovery. What do we do in a disaster? How do we make do?

What the world needs is an Emergency Boss. An Emergency Czar. An Emergency Commander. A true Master Of Disaster. One person completely responsible for the anticipation, immediate reconnaissance, and urgent execution of rescue and relief efforts around the world.

Politically speaking, it's always easier to shell out money for a disaster that has already happened, with clearly identifiable victims, than to invest money in protecting against something that may or may not happen in the future.

We are entering an era of heightened disaster, thanks to climate change. Being prepared for disaster will mean being prepared to sift truth from rumour, and being prepared to adjust our worldview.

Considering the dire circumstances that we have in New Orleans, virtually a city that has been destroyed, things are going relatively well.

How can you have a partnership when one of the partners doesn’t show up for 5 days…. The President said nothing while Americans watched people drown in New Orleans.

A disaster like a hurricane is like a football game. You are going to lose the first quarter. There is no way you will win that quarter. The question is how ugly you will lose that quarter. Then you go into the second quarter – the search and rescue.

I’ve worked as a leader for many years and I’ve always trained myself to be prepared for the worst.

There’s nothing wrong with a politician saying ‘I don’t know.’ Especially in a disaster there is nothing wrong with saying ‘I don’t know.’

The nation’s disaster mechanisms do not seem to be in the hands of those who know how to use them.