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Using federal grant funding, and with the help of a consulting firm, Fairfax County has just approved and just published its recovery plan. (Note the download is 368 pages.)

When I have had the chance to read and analyze it, I will add comments.

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It is not often I get the chance to post some key job openings for those interested in disaster recovery, but today is one of those days!

FEMA has several vacancies for Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinntor positions  (GS 14/15) in some of their regions.  Details about the positions, which are open through the 15^th of Feb. are at this website on USAjobs.

Good luck!

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An AP news article provides details about an ominous threat: Delhi ignores own quake peril warnings; January 25, 2012, Here is the lead in:

The ramshackle neighborhoods of northeast Delhi are home to 2.2 million people packed along narrow alleys. Buildings are made from a single layer of brick. Extra floors are added to dilapidated buildings not meant to handle their weight. Tangles of electrical cables hang precariously everywhere.

If a major earthquake were to strike India’s seismically vulnerable capital, these neighborhoods – India’s most crowded – would collapse into an apocalyptic nightmare. Waters from the nearby Yamuna River would turn the water-soaked subsoil to jelly, which would intensify the shaking.

The Indian government knows this and has done almost nothing about it.

Related articles

• AP IMPACT: Delhi ignores own quake peril warnings (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

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I was browsing the new RAND publications catalog and came across this document, which may be of interest to readers.  The NonGovernmental Sector in Disaster Resilience is about 50 pages long and available as a free pdf download.  It is well written, as is generally true of RAND publications.

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In the New York Times on Jan. 22, there was an article titled Blogs vs. Term Papers. I would be interested in reader feedback on this topic.

Just to remove the suspense, this author believes in term papers, journal articles, and books. In my view, blogs are on the lowest rung of literate writing!

Good comments. Keep them coming.

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Once again I am straying from the main theme of this blog, but I do want to share an unusual report that provides some very compelling information and context for those of us interested in emergency management and homeland security.

From the World Economic Forum, the report on Global Risks 2012.  I think this is an amazing piece of work from some significant players in the risk world; the 64 page report was issued Jan. 2012.  I think you will share my perception that risk and emergency managers will be busy for the foreseeable!

Note that this research product was done by corporate and university sponsors.

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Another major report came out this week, this one as assessment of Think Tank List  The full text is included here.

The devastating earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand made 2011 the costliest year yet for the insurance industry in terms of natural disaster losses, a leading reinsurance company said Wednesday.

Munich Re AG said in an annual report that insured losses last year totaled $105 billion — exceeding the previous record of $101 billion set in 2005, when losses were swollen by claims from Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

The company said the total economic cost last year from natural disasters — including uninsured losses — totaled about $380 billion. That was far above the 2005 record of $220 billion.

Japan’s earthquake and tsunami in March caused overall losses of $210 billion and insured losses of between $35 billion and $40 billion, Munich Re said. That didn’t include the consequences of the subsequent meltdowns at

To read the full report, go to the Munich Re website.  For a related article, see this one from Nature.com, which discusses some of the factors behind the high cost of the disasters.

NEW: On Jan. 18, the New York Times reported that NOAA has just providing additional data to show that there were in fact 14  U.S. disasters that cost $1. B or more in 2011. See this graphic by NOAA.  And apparently, they are not finished making calculations!

See also the Jan. 19th posting by Phil Palin on Homeland Security Watch blog, which also provides a graphic and also cites the Economist article that I noted in the last posting.

Eight states received a total of $400. million for disaster assistance in 2011, according to CNN on Jan. 21, 2012.

And a related article in China Daily.com, a useful reminder about the importance of prevention, whether for health matters of for disasters.  January 17, 2012.

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FEMA has a knack for issuing reports and not bothering to tell anyone.  I am not sure of the release date but there is a new report available in the recovery section of the FEMA website.

Here is the direct link to the 76 page report, Lessons in Community Recovery; Seven Years of Emergency Support Function #14, Long Term Recovery from 2004-2011. The report is dated December 2011.

The report is somewhat interesting and informative.  In my view there is too much emphasis on process and not enough on outcome, results, problems. Some years ago, the famous Gilbert White ( Director of the Hazards Center at the Univ. of CO/Boulder) said “Don’t tell me what you did, tell me what you accomplished.”  That remains good advice for all of us.

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(1) A Review of the year in photos  — some of the results are good, some are bad.  See these pictures provided by the Christian Science Monitor, Jan. 4, 2012.

(2) Some scientific results re bacteria that ate the oil:  Spill Study Explains How Bacteria Cleansed Gulf; Wall St. Journal, Jan. 9, 2012.

(3) From the LicartaRisk co. a report on what BP did wrong re risk management. Jan. 10, 2012

(4) In a NY Times opinion piece, writer Joe Nocera has some kind words for BP and thinks it has been a “responsible party.”

Related articles

• BP Going After Halliburton For Gulf Spill Costs (forbes.com)

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