Increase in Disaster Deaths in 2015

Posted on December 18, 2015 by recoverydiva

From Bloomberg News: Deaths From Disasters Double This Year as Planet Heats Up

At least 26,000 people died in heat waves, earthquakes, floods and other disasters during a year that was probably the warmest on record, more than double the number of deaths in 2014, Swiss Re AG said in an annual report.

Natural catastrophes and man-made disasters cost the world economy $85 billion, falling from $113 billion in 2014, according to preliminary figures from the company’s research unit. Insured losses dropped to $32 billion from $35 billion in 2014.

The article mentioned Swiss Re as the source of these data, and the Diva thinks this is the report discussed.

NOT Learning from Experience

Posted on December 17, 2015 by recoverydiva

A dubious distinction for the NY City Public Housing Authority: not following up on lessons indicated, but not learned after H. Sandy. See: Post-Hurricane Sandy Chaos Could Happen Again at City Public Housing: Audit.

The Diva wonders if HUD bears some responsibility for not following up on its investments in public housing. Be glad to hear from someone at HUD on this matter.

Current El Nino Is Very Powerful

Posted on December 16, 2015 by recoverydiva

Why This El Niño May Be The Strongest Ever, And What That Means For You. The ongoing tropical weather event has already caused havoc around the globe.

Red Cross Director in the News

Posted on December 15, 2015 by recoverydiva

For much of 2015, ProPublica has been harshly critical of the Red Cross. Here is the latest in their reports. See: The Corporate Takeover of the Red Cross. “Red Cross CEO Gail McGovern, who was hired to revitalize the charity, has cut hundreds of chapters and thousands of employees.”

The Diva is not in a position to make a judgment on this matter, but offers up this news article for your consideration.

Indepth Look at Federal Government Failures

Posted on December 14, 2015 by recoverydiva

We all lament the state of affairs in Washington these days, but here is an interesting analysis of the problems. From the WashPost: Government ‘breakdowns’ thwart turning policy into action. And here is a direct link to the report. An excerpt from the 46-page report:

Mr. Volcker proclaimed that “a gap between vision and action undermines the government’s ability to execute.” Research by Professor Light released at the event by the Volcker Alliance demonstrates that the number of federal government agency breakdowns has steadily increased over the past 30 years. He predicts that, at the current rate, the federal government under President Obama will set a record for the number of breakdowns in a two-term presidency.

Food and Agricultural Outcomes from Climate Change

Posted on December 12, 2015 by recoverydiva

See this article on the new UN report dealing with Climate Change Related to Agricultural Disasters. Direct link to the 53-page report is here.

DHS, DOD, and FEMA

Posted on December 11, 2015 by recoverydiva

Update on earlier posting. The Diva mentioned this new RAND report two days ago, but had not yet read it. I want to call it to reader’s attention because it contains some significant findings.

From the Homeland Security Digital Library, this discussion of a new report from RAND. See: Disaster Response, FEMA, and the DoD; A Relationship in Progress. See this abstract from RAND.

Here is the direct link to the Rand Report: Improving DOD Support to FEMA’s All-Hazards Plans.(78 pages). The summary and the charts on pages 11-13 give you a quick idea of the inadequacies of FEMA’s efforts to date.

The Diva invites reader comments because she is out of her league on this topic. Two colleagues will address this report today – Bill Cumming on Homeland Security Watch and Eric Holdeman in Disaster-Zone.

Role of the Emergency Manager in a Terrorist Event

Posted on December 10, 2015 by recoverydiva

From the blog of former county emergency manager Eric Holdeman: Emergency Management’s Role in a Terrorist Attack. “You have a role to play in supporting field activities.”

FEMA and CA Plan for El Nino

Posted on December 10, 2015 by recoverydiva

Here is a good example of pre-event mitigation, something we do not do enough of in my opinion. See: FEMA, California Cities Prepare for El Niño With Dress Rehearsal

Anticipating a strong El Niño this winter, the regional Federal Emergency Management Agency in Oakland on Wednesday is conducting a dress rehearsal and releasing a disaster response plan for Northern California.

FEMA spokeswoman Mary Simms said a task force has been working on a plan to “prepare for, respond to, recover from and mitigate against” any El Niño-related disaster. And that on Wednesday, officials from many agencies will “rehearse” what would happen during an El Niño to make “intelligent decisions” when the storms hit. Other plans are similarly being developed in Arizona and Nevada, as well.

Here is another article with more details, from the Sacramento Bee.

New Ranking of the Federal Workforce

Posted on December 8, 2015 by recoverydiva

Since so much of emergency management depends on the actions and funding of the federal government, the Diva decided to post this information for readers.

From the Washington Post: Good news: Federal worker morale has finally bottomed out. Bad news: It’s still terrible.

Recovery Diva

Long-Term Recovery from Disasters

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