Author Archives: recoverydiva

“Climate Resilience Comes to the Pentagon”

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Hagel

From the blog called Living On the Real World: Climate resilience comes to the Pentagon. An excerpt:

The “challenge of global climate change, while not new to history, is new to the modern world,” Hagel told the Halifax International Security Forum. “Climate change does not directly cause conflict, but it can significantly add to the challenges of global instability, hunger, poverty, and conflict. Food and water shortages, pandemic disease, disputes over refugees and resources, more severe natural disasters – all place additional burdens on economies, societies, and institutions around the world.”

Need for Building Design and Construction Standards -updated

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As report by Homeland Security Wire, this new report from the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST): Joplin tornado highlights need for building design, construction standards. The lead paragraph:

Nationally accepted standards for building design and construction, public shelters, and emergency communications can significantly reduce deaths and the steep economic costs of property damage caused by tornadoes. That is the key conclusion of a two-year technical NIST investigation into the impacts of the 22 May 2011 tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri. Report and recommendations released for public comment.

UPDATE: The full report and additional details about the content of this 482 page study are on this NIST website.

Related articles

Once again, a failure of imagination … and planning

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From the Wall St. Journal, Typhoon Haiyan: How a Catastrophe Unfolded. Some of the key points are:

But many of their efforts, it turned out, were woefully inadequate. Some officials miscalculated the biggest threat that Typhoon Haiyan posed to the city and its surroundings. They used a term for the storm that wasn’t widely understood. They grossly underestimated the havoc the storm would wreak, stocking far too few supplies for a city to survive on in an emergency. And they failed, despite vigorous efforts, to move many of the most vulnerable people out of harm’s way. For almost 24 hours, local and national officials in Tacloban had no way even to call for help. They had simply failed to imagine a storm so large.

Post-Disaster Property Tax Losses

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One area of serious concern is the loss of taxable properties from local taxable property lists.  Just when the localities need money the most for the many extra tasks and needs, the bases of their revenues are reduced. Here are two articles re the Post-Sandy effects in NJ:

League of Municipalities seminar tackles loss of ratables from economy, Hurricane Sandy . Some excerpts:

Municipalities across the state watched as a sour economy coupled with a foreclosure crisis ate away at real estate values during the past several years, undermining the most significant source of revenue for towns: property taxes.
Then Hurricane Sandy hit, striking another blow to the housing market.

“There is some grim news here,” said Thomas Reilly, the assistant director of property administration for the state Division of Taxation, before starting a presentation to local officials today. “People aren’t building homes. Builders aren’t building. People don’t have jobs. That’s what’s largely affecting us.”

Hurricane Sandy deals big blow to N.J. towns’ property tax rolls

Hurricane Sandy has dealt a vicious blow to tax bases in Ocean and Monmouth counties, reducing overall property values by more than $5 billion and robbing local governments and schools of about $77 million in potential revenue, preliminary figures show.

Are You New to Recovery Research?

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Here is a way to start your search for recovery resources on the Internet, thanks to guest blogger Sasha Azar, who is a Master’s Candidate at Georgetown University and a Research Assistant on this blog.

When looking for news about long-term disaster recovery (LTDR) beyond what is included in textbooks and other similar materials, the first place I go to (assuming other students do this as well) is to my dearest friend, Google. This approach may not be the most academically sound, however, it helps orient me in the right direction and allows me to explore the various forms of supplemental information that are available on the web. In this field, one of the best ways to establish effective LTDR for future disasters is to study the LTDR efforts of past disasters.

My first Google find, Lessons in Community Recovery, is a report produced by FEMA that provides 11 detailed case studies of community recovery efforts in the United States. Case studies are fantastic resources for understanding the complexities of LTDR, especially when provided through an official report such as this one compiled by an agency like FEMA.

Blogs are also useful supplemental web resources for studying LTDR. The Recovery Diva herself called my attention to the Homeland Security Digital Library, an excellent resource that boasts an extensive collection of materials related to homeland security, emergency management, and disaster recovery, as well as an exhaustive list of 85 recommended blogs. Below are three of the best blogs found that relate to LTDR and why:

The official FEMA blog – with FEMA regarded as the lead U.S. federal agency in disaster response and recovery, it is important utilize its blog as an additional tool in exploring and understanding LTDR. The “search” function of the blog is incredibly useful in narrowing down blog posts to a particular topic of interest, (a search for “long term recovery” yielded over 50 results!) Posts include information about FEMA’s role in LTDR, the role of voluntary agencies, and international LTDR.

· Long Term Community Recovery From Disasters – a blog hosted on BlogSpot. Although the information is a bit dated and the author is anonymous, the content of this blog really delves into the details of how specific communities are taking steps towards long-term recovery. Recent posts examine post-Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts, advancements in flood recovery in Schuylkill County, PA and West Pittston, PA, and the creation of a long-term recovery committee in Wilmington, NC.

The American Planning Association (APA) blog – the APA blog on recovery news covers a wide array of cities, states, and countries, and includes information on technological advancements that are aimed at improving recovery efforts. Recent posts include information about Google’s relief areas map for The Philippines, risk-based planning out of New Zealand, and reducing long-term risk in New York after Hurricane Sandy by utilizing creative designs.

In addition to blogs, online journals and magazines also serve as excellent auxiliary resources. Though some require subscriptions, many provide valuable information and news posts directly on the websites. Emergency Management Magazine is teeming with information about current international disaster events, improvements in disaster technology and policy, and the future of disaster recovery. In addition to this wealth of information, the magazine hosts 12 emergency management-related blogs on its website. The subject matters of these blogs can range from disaster communication to homeland security, with each blog containing posts that explore LTDR in each respective context.

Many organizations involved in disaster management and recovery also provide helpful complementary resources for academic study. In particular, the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (National VOAD) has an extensive online resource center that includes access to its document library, news and media information, and recovery toolkits. One of the texts found in the document library is National VOAD’s Long Term Recovery Guide, a comprehensive overview of the multifaceted issues that must be addressed during LTDR, such as volunteer management and donations management. This guide serves as a resource for those in the field as well as those endeavoring to be a part of it, and includes useful appendices such as sample documents counties and states can replicate, the different types of federal aid available for recovery, and the most common acronyms used by people in the field.

Whether it be online reports, blogs, magazines, or guides, the helpfulness and growth of disaster recovery information on the web is remarkable and seemingly endless.

Disasters and Politics; More Accountablility for Aid

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Continuting with the theme of deeper and harder analyses, see these two interesting articles from the Washington Post Sunday edition:

One more – from NPR a discussion of aid and relief in the Philippines. See
In the Philippines, relief effort struggles to meet the need

Deeper and Harder Analyses of the the Philippine Disaster

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Granted that the humanitarian concerns are very great in the Philippines, but there are many other deep-seated problems that warrant attention. Here are two accounts provide a closer look a the tough problems in the Philippines:

  • Philippines Typhoon Response Highlights Weak Infrastructure. Some excerpts:

    Under a reforming president, the Philippines emerged as a rising economic star in Asia but the trail of death and destruction left by Typhoon Haiyan has highlighted a key weakness: fragile and patchy infrastructure after decades of neglect and corruption.

Haiyan’s devastation, however, underlines the pressing need to spend more money to build hard assets such as more roads, ports and power lines — not only to improve living standards but also to better withstand the storms, earthquakes and other natural disasters that strike the country with numbing regularity.

 In the Philippines, natural disasters are common; ways to reduce they’re impact aren’t.  Geography and poverty are part of the problem.  Some other concerns:

Over the past decades, Filipinos have flocked to risky, low-lying areas, havens for cheap and crammed housing. Officials here say the Philippines must also improve emergency training for distant local governments, enforce building codes and make sure that money earmarked for infrastructure ends up helping those whose homes are the most vulnerable.

What the World Should Learn From Disasters Past.

“... that relief and reconstruction are two different things..”