New Model Predicts Landslides Caused by Earthquakes.
Landslides are the third-largest contributor to earthquake deaths, after building collapse and tsunamis. From 2004 to 2010, earthquake-induced landslides caused an estimated 47,000 deaths. Researchers have developed a model which can help experts address such risks by estimating the likelihood of landslides that will be caused by earthquakes anywhere in the world.
The Pew Charitable Trusts will stream its event What Do States Spend on Natural Disasters? on July 25, 2018, 9:00-10:30 a.m. EDT. Government spending on natural disasters is on the rise, with FEMA’s public assistance program recording eight of its most expensive years from 2007 to 2016. While federal policymakers are considering ways to control rising costs, they are doing so without comprehensive data on the contributions made by state governments. To help inform federal efforts, Pew is hosting this discussion about how comprehensive tracking of state expenditures could help all levels of government more effectively manage the growth in natural disaster spending. Register for the webcast here.
Update: The Diva tuned into the webcast on July 25th. The webcast is available here.
As of August 30th, some additional details re the webinar.
Huge wildfires are spreading in California, Oregon, and Colorado. They’re poised to get worse. The fire season now runs almost year-round, and 2018 is already worse than usual.
From Wired: How Artificial Intelligence Could Prevent Natural Disasters.
Note that the Wall St Journal on 7/20 also had a story on this topic, but it requires a subscription in order to read the full article.
The topic is one worth calling to your attention. See: Credit Downgrade Threat as a Non-regulatory Driver for Flood Risk Mitigation and Sea Level Rise Adaptation .
Thanks to Peg Blechman for the citation.
From the New Republic: The Troubling Failure of FEMA’s Disaster Relief
The agency wasn’t ready for last year’s record-breaking hurricane season, and it wants the public to know that it’s not ready for another one.
From Governing.com: It’s Natural Disaster Season. Can Your Government Afford It? Most states don’t know how much they spend on extreme weather events.
Note that the report on state spending was cited in a posting here on June 19 .
Here is some useful information that provides more details about the changes in recovery that FEMA is making. If is from the STATEMENT OF MICHAEL BYRNE, ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR, FIELD OPERATIONS DIRECTORATE, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, USDHS BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT & GOVERNMENT REFORM SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. See: Bureaucratic Challenges to Response and Recovery in Puerto Rico; March 2018.
Thanks to Eric Letvin for the citation.
Recovery Diva 