Monthly Archives: November 2011

Private Sector Contributions to Recovery

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A typical Lowe's storefront in Santa Clara, Ca...

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What Big-Box Retailers Can Teach Government About Disaster Recovery ; from Govtech.com, November 28.  There’s not a lot of new information in here, but the article does serve as a good reminder that some of the major national corporations are well organized and practiced when it comes to working with the public sector to assist with response and recovery functions.  If you do have some of these well-prepared private enterprises in your community, start early to work on public/private partnerships, including agreements regarding assets and even the ability to borrow executives, if needed locally.

With hundreds of locations nationally and globally, big-box companies like Lowe’s and Target have become masters of disaster recovery and business continuity. With their geographic vastness, these companies must be ready for natural and man-made disasters and have an action plan for everything from rebuilding a store to supporting affected employees.

These companies excel at disaster recovery because they’ve endured it before. They’ve learned lessons along the way (think Hurricane Katrina) and adapted plans. While there are many distinctions between public and private sectors, they’re more alike than different when it comes to business continuity and disaster recovery.

More Natural Disasters Expected – emergency managers should take note

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Cover of "Climate Change: The Ipcc Respon...

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Report: Climate change means more frequent droughts, floods to come is the title of an article that appeared in the Wash. Post on 11/18.

Climate change will make the drought and flooding events that have battered the United States and other countries in 2011 more frequent in years to come, forcing nations to rethink the way they cope with disasters. according to a new report the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued Friday.

The report — the culmination of a two-year process involving 100 scientists and policy experts — suggests that researchers are far more confident about the prospect of more intense heat waves and heavy downpours than they are about how global warming is affecting hurricanes and tornadoes. But the new analysis also speaks to a broader trend: The world is facing a new reality of more extreme weather, and policymakers and business alike are beginning to adjust.

For those of you who are educators or students of emergency management, it would appear that this will be a growing field in the future.

One more take on a related subject, future climate change and the prospect of future dust bowl disasters; added on 11.22.

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Historical Account of EM in the U.S. Needs Correction

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Remember: All Disasters Are Local, says the FEMA Deputy Administrator; an article in Emergency Management Magazine, Nov. 14, based on Mr. Serino’s talk to IAEM Annual Conference.  I take issue with a couple of points made here:

“FEMA started in 1979. Did we have disasters before 1979?” Serino asked. “It was locals taking care of each other, then the states helping and eventually the federal government.”

The emphasis has gone back to neighbors taking care of one another, and local and state governments utilizing mutual-aid agreements and Emergency Management Assistance Compacts instead of waiting for the federal government.

This brief account of the history of emergency management before FEMA was formed is not accurate.  There were other federal agencies that dealt with disasters before FEMA was created, and the states and military had significant roles.

For a full and accurate account of emergency management development in the U.S.  I can recommend a good book:  Emergency Management; The American Experience, 1900-2005.  And the first 3 people from Mr. Serino’s office to contact me will get a free copy!

FEMA’s New Think Tank — not the way to go [Corrected]

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FEMA has just released details of a new endeavor.  The good news is that FEMA thinks it needs a Think Tank, and the Deputy Director has set one up online.  It relies in part on Twitter, which in my view is useless for most serious conversations though it might be useful for emergency alerts. In my view,   this type of online exchange is not a Think Tank; I  would have called it a forum or an information exchange. In depth thinking needs to be orchestrated differently .

Why am I so negative on this topic? In recent weeks I have been editing some very thoughtful work by noted academics in the field of EM in the U.S., and the number of complicated and intractable problems that FEMA faces is considerable.  The new Think Tank is not likely to get to the fundamental issues, conflicts, and problems.  I am waiting for FEMA to make a try to solve or minimize some of them. I will be glad to provide a list of fundamental issues we have identified.

Crowdsourcing Science – new technique used for radiation measurement in Japan

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While watching Public TV last night, there was a feature about a program called Safecast. According to the Safecast blog site, the effort is “a global sensor network for collecting and sharing radiation measurements to empower people with data about their environments.”

While we have seen other examples of crowdsourcing to gather information, this is the first example of gathering and applying scientific information.  I hope people create some other examples.  See comments from readers who have supplied some examples.#Safecast Probe 0001 Japan Ishinomaki

Related to this article is another one re a new capability for smart phones. From Government Security News, Nov.11: Disaster Preparedness 2011: smart phones enhanced with nanotube hazmat detectors bring a new dimension to preparedness:

What if your cell phone could detect toxic airborne substances like carbon monoxide, chlorine or even chemical warfare agents?

The public would have a new level of personal protection against a range of fairly common airborne chemical-based toxins, as well as against terrorist attacks involving WMDs. And when sensor data is harnessed in an environmental sensing network for first responders and other organizations, it will be the dawn of a new era for disaster preparedness.
this article is another one that I just read:

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Japan Pictures – photos of extraordinary debris, in March and in Nov.

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Some spectacular photos of Japan immediately after the tsunami and recently.

Thanks to Bill Cumming for providing the link.

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Be Prepared — Have a Spare City Ready as a Recovery Site!

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From top left: Shinjuku, Tokyo Tower, Rainbow ...

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This is quite an imaginative idea proposed by Japanese officials who are thinking ahead about recovery after a major earthquake in Tokyo.  The UK Daily mail provided this article: Plan B: Japanese government unveils proposal for backup city in case earthquake cripples Tokyo.  A short summary follows:

Concerned about the impact a crippling earthquake could have on Tokyo, the Japanese government has unveiled plans to develop an entire backup city in case.

Snappily called the IRTBBC – or Integrated Resort Tourism, Business and Backup City – the spare city will be built on a 1,236-acre site 300 miles west of the capital Tokyo.

It could be home to 50,000 residents and 200,000 workers and will also feature offices, resorts, casinos and parks – as well as essential government facilities in case of disaster.

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Critical Assessment of Japan’s Recovery Plans

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This NY Times article lays out the conflicts in recovery plans for Japan. November3, 2011.  The title, Japan Revives a Sea Barrier That Failed to Hold, is rather understated in that the lengthy article covers a wide range of reconstructions plans and aspects. Yet another example of the failure to adhere to scientific and objective risk assessments, I am sad to say.

Some quotes from the article:

After the tsunami and the nuclear meltdowns at Fukushima, some Japanese leaders vowed that the disasters would give birth to a new Japan, the way the end of World War II had done. A creative reconstruction of the northeast, where Japan would showcase its leadership in dealing with a rapidly aging and shrinking society, was supposed to lead the way.

But as details of the government’s reconstruction spending emerge, signs are growing that Japan has yet to move beyond a postwar model that enriched the country but ultimately left it stagnant for the past two decades. As the story of Kamaishi’s breakwater suggests, the kind of cozy ties between government and industry that contributed to the Fukushima nuclear disaster are driving much of the reconstruction and the fight for a share of the $120 billion budget expected to be approved in a few weeks.

Tsunami wall at Tsu-shi, Japan

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The insistence on rebuilding breakwaters and sea walls reflects a recovery plan out of step with the times, critics say, a waste of money that aims to protect an area of rapidly declining population with technology that is a proven failure.

 

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