New GAO Report: Disaster Recovery: HUD Should Take Additional Action to Assess Community Development Block Grant Fraud Risks

From the NHMA, Disaster Recovery Reform Act publications issued by the Congressional Research Service.

Will someone at CRS please respond to the comment on this posting.

New CRS Report ( 3 pp.): Biden Administration Proposes New Civilian Climate Corps

From the Union of Concerned Scientists: Deanne Criswell as the new FEMA Administrator: Here’s What she Brings to the Agency and the Challenges she’ll Face.

Article features interview with Craig Fugate re new FEMA Administrator. New emphasis on climate change provided.

Homes in Floodplains Are Overvalued by Nearly $44 Billion.

Analysis of sales data and flood risk data over two decades indicates that housing markets fail to fully account for information about flood risk. The findings suggest that policies to improve risk communication could influence market outcomes.

From the WashPost: ‘ASSISTANCE NOT APPROVED’
“Her home still wrecked months after a freak storm, an Iowa woman’s FEMA ordeal presages the turmoil ahead as climate disasters worsen.”

[Be sure to read the comments from some folks who have practical experience.]

From HSNW: Pandemic Response Lessons from Past Emergencies Could Improve the Pandemic Response.

“The lack of accountability, poor communication and insufficient planning plaguing the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic — especially in its early months — have roots in how the nation responded to 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and the H1N1 swine flu, a new study finds.”

From GovExec: With Hurricane Season Looming, FEMA Aims to Stave Off Burnout After ‘Tiresome’ Year. Some offices are at 10% capacity due to widespread deployments, leaving few employees behind to prepare for upcoming storms.

A new effort by Prof. Scott Miles et al: Undesign Disasters – a new publication that is available at no cost.

From the WashPost: As Covid relief money floods in, pandemic-battered cities see a chance to transform..
“Researchers who study American cities say leaders are right to think big and creatively, once they’ve filled the gaps created by the pandemic. The influx of money as part of Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan is unlike any that cities have seen in decades, with relatively few restrictions attached to its use.”