This report is a departure from the usual fare on this site, but the Diva thought it was timely and worthwhile. From the GAO: Artificial Intelligence: Generative AI Technologies and Their Commercial Applications (12 pp)

New report from the Congressional Research Service: SBA Disaster Loan Limits: Policy Options and Considerations. (21pp.)

From the WashPost: How hot? A city-by-city forecast for the prolonged heat wave this week.  Extreme heat conditions are forecast for Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, New York, Boston and other locations.

From the NYTimes: Dozens of Groups Push FEMA to Recognize Extreme Heat as a Major Disaster  The labor and environmental groups are pushing the change so relief funds can be used in more situations.

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From the WashPost: Billion-dollar weather disasters are soaring again this year. Here’s why. Eleven disasters — mostly severe thunderstorm outbreaks — have produced a price tag over $25 billion in the United States, second most on record to date.

“The onslaught of costly disasters so far in 2024 is concerning ahead of what meteorologists expect to be an extremely active hurricane season. Tropical storms and hurricanes tend to have enormous geographical footprints, leading to lofty price tags that can wreak havoc on regional economies. The summer can also produce wildfires, droughts and heat waves, floods and additional severe storms outbreaks that carry billion-dollar price tags.

There were 28 billion-dollar weather disasters last year, the most on record.”

From the WashPost.com: Scientists map one of Earth’s top hazards in the Pacific Northwest . A catastrophic earthquake and tsunami will one day hit the Pacific Northwest as tectonic plates slip at the Cascadia subduction zone.

“Scientists have mapped one of the most hazardous spots on the globe in unprecedented detail: a 600-mile geologic boundary just off the Pacific Northwest coast.

Along this fraught stretch, called the Cascadia subduction zone, two pieces of the Earth’s crust slide against each other, building up stresses capable of unleashing a catastrophic 9.0-magnitude earthquake and generating a tsunami, with waves as high as 40 feet.”

From Inside Climate News: Ohio and Pennsylvania Residents Affected by the East Palestine Train Derailment Say Their ‘Basic Needs’ Are Still Not Being Met. Impacted residents say two new settlements with Norfolk Southern, the company involved in the accident, won’t provide their communities with the resources they need most.

“Residents of East Palestine, Ohio, and nearby areas in Pennsylvania harmed by the Norfolk Southern train disaster say a new $310 million settlement announced by the Biden administration on May 23 will not meet their communities’ most urgent needs, like access to health care for chronic conditions that emerged after the derailment. “

From the Texas Tribune: The government wants to buy their flood-prone homes. But these Texans aren’t moving. In Harris County, the flood control district wants to buy properties along the San Jacinto River that have flooded repeatedly. Some residents aren’t leaving.

“Nearly all of the district’s buyouts are voluntary. If an owner doesn’t want to sell, the district can’t force them out. Buyouts make sense for some people who can’t be protected from floods, said Alessandra Jerolleman, director of research for the Center on Environment, Land and Law at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law.

But buyouts might not provide lower-income people enough money to get somewhere safer, she said, and they could lose important support like child care from nearby family or neighbors. “It’s not as though it’s a guarantee of reducing risks to that family,” Jerolleman said.”

From CNN: Here’s why the US has more tornadoes than any other country. This article explains why the U.S. leads every other country for tornadoes

From the Congressional Research Service, this new, 5 page report: Climate Change, Slow-Onset Disasters, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency

The United States is already experiencing certain effects of climate change, including high temperature extremes and heavy precipitation events. The U.S. Global Change Research Program, among other bodies, expects these trends to continue and intensify, likely resulting in more severe and frequent “slow-onset” events (e.g., drought; sea level rise), compound disasters (e.g., extreme rainfall combined with coastal flooding), and cascading events (e.g., mudslides caused by flooding after wildfires). Such events may not have clearly defined start or end dates, and cumulative damage may not be immediately apparent