What Keeps Me Up at Night?

Posted on November 15, 2012 by recoverydiva

In the newly-released issue of the Hazards Observer, published by Univ. of CO, the Diva is the co-author of “What Keeps Me Up at Night?, pages 6-10. The article provides a summary of the excellent session on that topic, held last July at the Broomfield, CO conference, sponsored by the Hazards Center at the Univ. of CO/Boulder. And the cartoons are terrific!

The article lists 8 nightmare-producing issues identified and discussed at the conference. As readers of this blog will notice, one of the issues — the composition of the FEMA workforce — has been the topic of several blog postings. In fact, the topic has received a record no. of hits (over 2,200) and comments ( more than 40) here.

The authors of the article intend to do additional research on the nightmare themes noted in the article, so please use the comment feature at the bottom of this posting and add your thoughts and suggestions. If your prefer to send them offline, please send them to <cbrubinatcomcast dot net >.

P.S. Subscriptions to the Hazards Observer are free. We suggest you sign up if you do not yet subscribe.

“How Gov’t Can Help the Economy Recovery from Sandy”

Posted on November 6, 2012 by recoverydiva

This article, How Government Can Help the Economy Recover From Sandy, raises some good points. Even before FEMA was created (1979), some people have argued for a greater role for the Commerce Dept. and economic developement, but it never has happened. Here is a new try, from Bloomberg News, Nov. 5.

If natural disasters such as Hurricane Sandy are becoming more frequent, and their aftermaths more expensive, then the federal response needs to become more dynamic. Especially in fostering economic recovery, there’s more the U.S. government can do.

Some steps are small and obvious, yet still valuable. Barack Obama’s administration, to its credit, has made progress in cutting disaster-relief red tape, for example. Still, the patchwork of application requirements and eligibility criteria businesses must sort through to receive aid can be further streamlined and made more consistent across agencies.

It may also make sense to designate one federal agency as responsible for economic disaster relief. Whatever agency takes the lead (a report from the International Economic Development Council recommends the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration) should have a consistent, dedicated level of money on hand to respond to disasters. The IEDC suggests $100 million. This would free up cash quickly and help insulate economic disaster relief from political manipulation.

VERY USEFUL REPORT: The direct line to the IEDC report is here; it’s titled ” An Improved Federal Resonse to Post-Disaster Economic Recovery” ,(Jan. 2010)

Lessons from the Japan Earthquake Recovery – Heritage Foundation Report

Posted on May 11, 2012 by recoverydiva

New Report from the Heritage Foundation: One Year later; Lessons from Recovery After the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake. Special Report, No. 108. April 26, 2012.

An interesting and thoughtful report. I do not agree with all of their recommendations, but the report does highlight some usually understated needs — like transportation infrastructure recovery, particularly maritime infrastructure.

As always, reader comments are invited.

Japan: One Year Later (heritage.org)

Deficiencies in Recovery Capabilities Noted in New National Report

Posted on May 8, 2012 by recoverydiva

The recently issued National Preparedness Report found that of the 31 core capabilities identified, the lowest rating went to cybersecurity. (This topic received most of the media attention n the past week or so.) But the next three lowest rankings up from the bottom are all recovery-focused core capabilities. On page ii, it noted that these are “national areas for improvement.

“ The next to lowest capabilities are: (1) economic recovery, (2) natural and cultural resources, and (3) housing.

The report also that says state response capabilities are strong, based in part on the self-assessment done by the states. Too bad we cannot find a better means of measuring that important element of recovery capability, because that assessment is questionable.

I have been studying recovery for almost thirty years, and I remain baffled and chagrined about the very limited progress that has been made. Apparently, the political will to deal with recovery is missing.

House politicians cast about for DHS ‘cybersecurity’ fix (news.cnet.com)
After six years, Homeland Security still without ‘cybercrisis’ plan (news.cnet.com)

Man-made Earthquakes in U.S.

Posted on April 12, 2012 by recoverydiva

$Against fracking 02$

Against fracking 02 (Photo credit: Bosc d'Anjou)

Fracking Tied to Unusual Rise in Earthquakes in U.S., according to Bloomberg News, April 12.

A spate of earthquakes across the middle of the U.S. is “almost certainly” man-made, and may be caused by wastewater from oil or gas drilling injected into the ground, U.S. government scientists said in a study.Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey said that for the three decades until 2000, seismic events in the nation’s midsection averaged 21 a year. They jumped to 50 in 2009, 87 in 2010 and 134 in 2011.

Those statistics, included in the abstract of a research paper to be discussed at the Seismological Society of America conference next week in San Diego, will add pressure on an energy industry already confronting more regulation of the process of hydraulic fracturing.

New Manual on Recovery Focuses on Psychological Aspects

Posted on November 25, 2010 by recoverydiva

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A new, free manual on disaster recovery, titled How to Help Your Community Recover from Disaster: A Manual for Planning and Action, is available for download. (104 pp.) Some information about its development follow:

According to the authors, development of the manual began after Hurricane Katrina. It was part of a large-scale, multi-year, and 25-member collaboration by the Task Force for Disaster, Community Readiness, and recovery within the Society for Community Research and Action of the American Psychological Association. A distinctive feature of the manual is its grounding in psychological knowledge and in psychological principles closely linked to successful disaster recovery.

… the Manual is designed to guide both lay and professional readers through the steps required to understand the potential effects of disaster, organize the community, assess its needs, make an action plan, choose a strategy or strategies for intervention, reach out to various constituencies, track results, and share lessons learned.

We believe this Manual provides practical guidance to natural and potential community leaders about how to help their communities recover from disaster. We think it will be a useful resource in efforts to strengthen the capacity of communities to make informed choices, marshal resources, and facilitate post-disaster recovery.

The Diva has not yet had a chance to read the full text. She welcomes comments and reviews by readers.

Analysis of BP Oil Spill by NAS expert panel

Posted on November 18, 2010 by recoverydiva

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‘Lack of operating discipline’ contributed to BP spill, engineers’ report says; Wash. Post, Nov. 18

A panel of scientific experts studying the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has concluded that “an insufficient consideration of risk and a lack of operating discipline” contributed to the disaster, adding that key “decisions also raise questions about the adequacy of operating knowledge on the part of key personnel” on the ill-fated drilling rig.

The full report, titled Interim Report on Causes of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig Blowout and Ways to Prevent Such Events , is available from the National Academy of Sciences, both online and in hardcopy.

What did we learn from the BP Oil Spill?

Posted on October 19, 2010 by recoverydiva

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Six months later, what did we learn from the oil disaster in the Gulf? CNN, Oct. 19. The reporter notes some improvements in emergency response and some other advances:

Much of the focus has been on preventing another oil spill.

The Obama administration has issued a number of rules that aim to prevent offshore drillers from chasing petrol profits at the expense of safety.

The Department of the Interior, for example, now requires oil companies to get independent audits of their blowout prevention systems, those hulking metal contraptions that are supposed to snap oil risers in the case of an underwater explosion, and which failed on the Deepwater Horizon rig. Oil rigs also will be subjected to surprise inspections by federal regulators, according to Reuters.

The administration also restructured the Minerals Management Service, the federal regulatory agency charged with making offshore drilling safe.

Building Community Disaster Resilience – new report

Posted on October 16, 2010 by recoverydiva

Timely new report from the National Academy of Sciences. It’s full title is Application of Social Network Analysis for Building Community Disaster Resilience. Note that the full report is 131 pages, but the you can browse it or just download parts of it at no cost. Hard copies also can be ordered.

The report was done for the Dept. of Homeland Security with the intention of providing an agenda for future research needs. It is not an easy read. I recommend Chapter 4, titled From Theory to Practice, for those wanting some essential points. More later when I get to read the entire document and think about it!.