New Flood Maps in NJ May Be Highly Significant to the Recovery

Posted on December 16, 2012 by recoverydiva

Jersey Shore revolution begins, as FEMA releases new flood maps. Dec. 17, 2012. As noted in the article:

A revolution is likely coming to the New Jersey Shore, and the federal government just fired the first shot.The Federal Emergency Management Agency released advisory flood maps yesterday, which they hope will serve as a guideline for how nearly 200 communities should rebuild stronger after Hurricane Sandy’s devastation. The maps (see below) are the first change to New Jersey’s federal flood maps in more than two decades, and show a coastline far more vulnerable to flooding than previously thought — as Sandy proved in the worst way.FEMA’s message is clear: If you’re going to rebuild, build higher and stronger.

More info from another source: FEMA Flood Maps Include Elevation Increase of One to Five Feet on Average

The Advisory Base Flood Elevations published Saturday morning. FEMA hosted a teleconference Friday to explain the motivation behind the reports.

NJ – development history and issues

Posted on December 11, 2012 by recoverydiva

More of the “I Told You So” or “We Warned You” dept.: Jersey Shore Development Failures Exposed By Hurricane Sandy

When you are dealing with recovery issues in the northeast, most of the community development has occured over many decades and in some cases settlement patterns began centuries ago. It is not a simple matter to make major changes or to
begin to pay attention to resilience and sustainable development.

On Dec. 13th, the HS Newswire featured this story on the aging instrastructure whose weakness were uncovered after the super storm: One more example of the weaknesses of our aging infrastructure and they the problems are uncovered by a disaster. Sandy exposes weaknesses of antiquated sewage systems in N.Y., N.J.
Published 13 December 2012

Hurricane Sandy destroyed homes, apartments, and entire communities, and it also exposed the outdated sewage systems in New York and New Jersey; since Hurricane Sandy, millions of gallons of raw sewage have infiltrated waterways in both states, and it could take several years and billions of dollars to fix the systems; New York governor Andrew Cuomo estimated that it will cost about $1.1 billion to repair treatment plants; officials in the field say that much more will have to be done. Raw sewage overflow flooded much of New York and New Jersey coastal areas //

Federal Funding for Disasters – the Case for a Disaster Superfund

Posted on December 10, 2012 by recoverydiva

In an article titled The Dance for Disaster Dough, the author makes an interesting case for creating a Disaster Superfund. The author, Steven Cohen, is Executive Dir. of the Earth Institute at Columbia University.

See readers’ comments below.

Staten Island – the ultimate in recovery problems

Posted on December 8, 2012 by recoverydiva

A compelling article from the HuffPost on Dec. 6th.: Staten Island’s Hurricane Sandy Damage Sheds Light on Complicated Political Battle. For those who are not familiar with the many factors that affect recovery, be sure to read this article. It is 9 pages long, but a must read.

Staten Island after H.Sandy bears more resemblance to the 9th Ward of New Orleans after H. Katrina than you might have imagined.

Recovery – NY Style

Posted on December 6, 2012 by recoverydiva

Here are some useful examples of what “snap back” and resilient recovery plans look like. It remains to be seen how the conflicts and tradeoffs between the two will be addressed.

Short-Term Recovery:

Winter looming, New York rushes to repair homes hit by superstorm Sandy: Hiring private contractors to repair homes quickly, New York responds to disaster relief in its own entrepreneurial way. Will the city be able to get people back in their homes before year’s end? [This article is based in part on the testimony that NY Congressman Nadler gave at a House Committee Hearing on Dec. 4th, part of which was the basis for my posting yesterday.]

This article covers the inherent conflicts in the recovery process: how to get rapid action on repairs and recovery for homeowners — in this case in the winter time, in a location where the usual types of temporary housing are not an option. What remains to be determined are ways to mitigate the likely future storm damage.

Long-Term Recovery Plans:

Bravo to Mayor Bloomberg for his understanding of and commitment to a recovery process that results in a more resilient NYC in the future. On Dec. 6th the Mayor spoke out about long-term recovery intentions:

Sandy ; NY Leads Climate Change Battle; Yahoo., Dec. 6

Resilience After a Disaster – Rhetoric and Reality

Posted on December 5, 2012 by recoverydiva

THE RHETORIC: Earlier this week, I posted some information about the lengthy study process and new book from the National Academy of Sciences re Resilience. See earlier posting here, including details about their Nov. 30th workshop.

From an intellectual standpoint, the study and the presentations at the NAS this past week are commendable and credible. But my concerns have been practical ones — how will local officials and others responsible for the front lines of emergency management actually adopt the philosophy and apply it in their communities?

Also, of concern is how the federal emergency management agencies (not just FEMA, but EPA, NOAA, HHS, USGS and others) will champion the cause of resilience and include resilience actions and measures into their work. Note: FEMA is one of the 9 federal agencies that support the work of the NAS on resilience.

THE REALITY: This week the FEMA Administrator testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure e Committee on Dec. 4th. At the hearing, when pressed about some of the longer-term considerations for the eastern states recovery from H. Sandy, Fugate took the short/narrow view. Some excerpts:

… when legislators asked FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate about these kinds of infrastructure issues, such as developing a long-term strategy for safer housing on the shorelines, he insisted that such issues, while important, were beyond the scope of his agency.

“Again, this goes far beyond what FEMA does, it goes far beyond the Stafford Act,” said Fugate, referring to the law that created the federal disaster relief system that is in place today.

Speaking about long-term housing solutions in New York and New Jersey, Fugate said, “The Stafford Act is a key part of this initial fix … but it does not get to pre-existing conditions, (and) it doesn’t get to some of the regional challenges that we have in that dense population area.”

Fred Tombar, a senior adviser to the HUD secretary for disaster recovery, noted that his agency is developing plans to provide rebuilding assistance – to be made available to communities that qualify for the Community Development Block Grant Program. The rebuilding assistance would help communities “build back in a way that is smarter and safer than what has been done before,” he said.

The source for these quotes is the coverage of the questions and answers from the House Committee Hearing in this article: House Committte Grills FEMA chief on Long-Term-Fixes in Wake of Sandy.

Scientific Lessons Learned from the Deepwater Horizon Spill

Posted on December 4, 2012 by recoverydiva

In an article titled Responding to Future Oil Spills: Lessons Learned from Deepwater Horizon, the HSWire (Dec.3) mentioned an article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The NAS issue includes a 10 page article titled Science in Support of the Deepwater Horizon Response. A copy is available here: Deepwater Horizon Paper-Dec 2012

Research, response for future oil spills: Lessons learned from Deepwater Horizon (phys.org)

Evacuation of Nursing Homes – a very difficult call

Posted on December 3, 2012 by recoverydiva

Here is a story that will give you nightmares: Behind a Call That Kept Nursing Home Patients in Storm’s Path; NYT, Dec. 2, 2012. During Hurricane Sandy, the Mayor of NYC decided not to order an evacuation of nursing homes. Here are some details about the outcome of that decision:

The recommendation that thousands of elderly, disabled and mentally ill residents remain in more than 40 nursing homes and adult homes in flood-prone areas of New York City had calamitous consequences.At least 29 facilities in Queens and Brooklyn were severely flooded. Generators failed or were absent. Buildings were plunged into a cold, wet darkness, with no access to power, water, heat and food.

While no immediate deaths were reported, it took at least three days for the Fire Department, the National Guard and ambulance crews from around the country to rescue over 4,000 nursing home and 1,500 adult home residents. Without working elevators, many had to be carried down slippery stairwells.

What the U.S. Can Learn from the Christchurch, NZ Earthquake

Posted on December 2, 2012 by recoverydiva

See my recent article with this title in Emergency Management Magazine, Nov./Dec. 2012 issue..
See also other related reports and resources on the “NZ” page of this blog.

Disaster Preparedness for Yuppies

Posted on December 1, 2012 by recoverydiva

The WSJ has this fascinating article titled Kitting Up for Disaster. (Nov. 24). It is quite fascinating to see what some New Yorkers consider essential for a disasters.

The part I like best is that apparently you can make a living advising people on preparedness. Count me in as a consultant if if you need help and are willing to pay for advice!! I have been doing that for no pay for a couple of years now.

Recovery Diva

Long-Term Recovery from Disasters

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