One does not usually think of the Census agency for data about personal preparedness, but this chart is interesting.
Update: I chatted with our local CERT coordinator, and we both find these numbers surprisingly high. Our experience working to train local citizens about disaster preparedness suggest the respondents are not acurately accessing their true state of readiness.
See the details in this NYT article re Global Refugee Crisis.
Secretive donors gave US climate denial groups $125m over three years
Funds allocated to organisations lobbying against Obama’s climate bill and working to undermine rules to reduce carbon pollution, tax records show
For those curious about how other countries manage emergencies and disasters, here is some news about a new national plan in NZ. See the descriptive article titled How NZ Will Cope in an Emergency.
The full text of the new plan is here: National Civil Defence Emergency Management Plan Order 2015
Thanks to Ian McLean for the citations.
Ongoing problems and delays in relief and assistance post-Sandy:
From the NYT: The Deadly Combination of Heat and Humidity. Some details:
The most deadly weather-related disasters aren’t necessarily caused by floods, droughts or hurricanes. They can be caused by heat waves, like the sweltering blanket that’s taken over 2,500 lives in India in recent weeks.
Temperatures broke 118 degrees in parts of the country. The death toll is still being tallied, and many heat-related deaths will be recognized only after the fact. Yet it’s already the deadliest heat wave to hit India since at least 1998 and, by some accounts, the fourth- or fifth-deadliest worldwide since 1900.
These heat waves will only become more common as the planet continues to warm.
Something to ponder over the weekend — this commencement speech on Mind, Hand, and Heart, delivered by Megan Smith, Chief Technology Office of the U.S. at MIT this past week.
After Texas Floods, A New Test for FEMA’s Beleaguered National Flood Insurance Program.
It looks like Brad Keiserman is leaving FEMA and the mess with the NFIP and will be joining the Red Cross.
Recovery Diva 