Contrary to much commentary, America’s response to Hurricane Harvey has so far been good. It is tragic but remarkable that fewer than 40 people have lost their lives in Houston and its environs, given the scale of the disaster. The death toll is likely to rise but the contrast with South Asia, where more than 1,200 have died from flooding, is yawning. The US federal disaster response system picked up valuable lessons from the debacle of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, such as deferring to authorities on the ground and drawing on the knowledge of local volunteers.
与诸多评价相反的是，迄今为止，美国对飓风“哈维”(Hurricane Harvey)的应对其实还行。它是一场悲剧，但考虑到这场灾难的规模，它又很了不起——在休斯敦及其周边，丧生者不到40人。死亡人数很可能会上升，但与南亚的情况有天壤之别，在南亚，已有1200多人死于洪水。美国联邦救灾系统从对2005年飓风“卡特里娜”(Hurricane Katrina)的极其失败的应对中汲取了宝贵的经验教训，例如要遵从当地政府的意见，以及要利用当地志愿者的才识。