U.N. Climate Panel Warns Speedier Action Is Needed to Avert Disaster. Intro begins:
The countries of the world have dragged their feet so long on global warming that the situation is now critical, experts appointed by the United Nations reported Sunday, and only an intensive worldwide push over the next 15 years can stave off potentially disastrous climatic changes later in the century.
I just found a new item to add to my What Keeps Me Up at Night list. It is this account in the Wall St. Journal of the new technology bug and the handful of people (literally) who are responsible for Internet security. See: Heartbleed Bug’s ‘Voluntary’ Origins; Internet Security Relies on a Small Team of Coders, Most of Them Volunteers; Flaw Was a Fluke. From the intro:
The encryption flaw that punctured the heart of the Internet this week underscores a weakness in Internet security: A good chunk of it is managed by four European coders and a former military consultant in Maryland.
On the practical side, here is some advice for actions that individuals can take to minimize or avoid the consequences of Heartbleed. From the HuffPost: The Heartbleed Bug Goes Even Deeper Than We Realized — Here’s What You Should Do
From Emergency Management magazine, some details about a new Disaster Assessment and Assistance Dashboard, under development by a contractor for FEMA, is coming. It is to be piloted in San Francisco and the date of its public release is not given.
I keep hearing accounts of dashboards under development. If any readers know of any systems that are operational, I would like to hear about them.
A NJ state senator discusses the true costs of relief and recovery from Hurricane Sandy and suggests a better national system to assist those affected by a major disaster. See NJ Needs a New Way to Pay for Disaster Relief.
Recently my posts have featured a retrospective on several topics, earthquake science, the condition of our infrastructure, and the like. Here is a short, interesting history of flood insurance and moral hazards. From The Hill, this article titled Natural floods, unnatural disasters
The source I often go to for flood and flood insurance analyses is the Association of State Flood Plain Managers.
See this NYT feature on the Alaska Earthquake and the Chile earthquakes. Those two places have the distinction of the largest magnitude earthquakes ever to affect the U.S. and the world.
See also the blog posting by Eric Holdeman who discusses the Cascadia Fault in Washington state.
Slow-onset disasters usually do not get much attention, and the CA drought is no exception. But for those of you who are concerned with such matters and are in for the long term, here is a website that the State of CA set up that provides ongoing information about the drought.
Thanks to Martin Kalis for the link.
Latest report card for America’s Infrastructure –a hint: the grades are really bad!
A service of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
See the website for the Canadian Risk and Hazards Network for their latest newsletter.
Thanks to Larry Pearce for this citation and news.
Also on that homepage, see the online textbook in progress re emergency management in Canada, in the lower left column. I like that idea and would like to see some U.S. authors use that format for a book.
This article in the weekend edition of the Wall St. Journal highlights some of the unforeseen consequences of the recent landslide in Oso. Actually, these consequences are not unique to that location. See: Mudslide Victims in Washington State Grapple With Debt Burden; Some Residents’ Lack of Insurance Leaves Potentially Millions in Unpaid Mortgages, Auto Loans. The lead in paragraphs follow:
Washington state officials estimate nearly $10 million of property damage from the blanket of earth and rock triggered by last month’s Snohomish County mudslide. Still up in the air is what will be done with potentially millions in unpaid mortgages, auto loans and other outstanding debt owed by residents of the slide area.
Those with standard property insurance against fire or theft wouldn’t have been covered against damages from the mudslide, which has caused 30 known deaths. For some, that could mean losses of hundreds…
Recovery Diva 