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A small, invitational workshop on the need for a coherent, systematic knowledge base about disaster recovery theory took place in mid November in Chapel Hill, N.C. Close to 30 specialists in the field of disaster recovery were invited. The workshop was organized by the Public Entity Risk Institute ( PERI) and was funded by the National Science Foundation.
According to the LA Times, Sept. 24, Planned Distribution of BP research funds worries some scientists. The article goes on to not that BP is about to dispense $500 million for scientific research to an alliance of research organizations overseen by Gulf state governors and that critics feat that ocean science expertise in other than Gulf state locations will be overlooked. Some details from the article follow:
With its well finally shut down, BP is close to agreement on funneling a promised $500 million in research funds through an organization overseen by Gulf Coast governors, not the nation’s scientific community. The pending decision has stirred concern among some scientists who fear most of the money will be doled out to institutions in the governors’ home states — in effect making the distribution of research grants more like pork-barrel projects, rather than pure scientific pursuits.
Critics worry the expertise of distinguished oceanographic organizations such as the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California could be excluded from the complex task of determining the full effects of the massive spill.
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Some call it pre-event planning and others call it advance planning for recovery. Whichever term you use, the process is worth highlighting again. Recently Eric Holdeman’s blog captured some advice from a seminar at Harvard on the topic of advance recovery planning. Although that info is not yet available online, some of the recent work by Harvard University professors can be found below:
Herman B. “Dutch” Leonard and Arnold M. Howitt. 2010. Advance Recovery and the Development of Resilient Organisations and Societies. In Simon Woodward (Ed.), Integrative Risk Management: Advanced Disaster Recovery (pp. 45-58). Zurich: Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd.
The advantage of writing a blog is that I have great literary license. Here goes a review of three different pieces on recovery in LA from Hurricane Katrina: two items are recently- issued research articles and one is a movie review.
(1) Recovery or Resilience Along the Gulf Coast. Public Manager magazine, Sept. 2010. See pages 24-49 for a set of articles about H. Katrina Recovery, mostly written by well-known public administration academics. The most unusual article — very bold and direct – is the article (p.38) titled The Ethinomics of Leaking Louisiana. It describes aspects of the local culture and the endemic corruption that have interfered with an efficient and effective recovery.
(2) In the current issue of Public Administration Review ( Sept./Oct 2010) is an article titled Retrospectives and Prospectives on Hurricane Katrina: Five Years and Counting, and the authors are Louise Comfort, Thomas Birkland, Beverly Cigler, and Earthea Nance. I am in agreement with some and disagreement with other parts of this article, but it is worth reading. It is only available to subscribers, so I cannot provide a copy here without violating the copyright. (Contact me offline if you have trouble obtaining it.)
(3) A recent New Yorker magazine, August 30, has a review of Spike Lee’s new movie about New Orleans five years after Katrine: the article is “Unnatural Disasters” and the title of the movie is “If God is Willing and da Creek Don’t Rise.” The reviewer concludes:
Over all, you’re left thinking that New Orleans is a city that goes in circles, with its own rules and mysteries and unyielding contradictions, none of them plumbable by outsiders. You finish watching “If God Is Willing” not knowing where New Orleans, for better or worse, will never be the same or will be the same as it always was.
My take from all of this is we must learn to do a better job on recovery in this country and soon – we need to do it smarter, faster, and cheaper than we did in NOLA. Otherwise, the future looks bleak.
Image by The Latest Slub: via Flickr
Some good news is always welcome. Gulf Spill May Defy Darkest Predictions, NY Times, Sept. 13.
Nevertheless, not everyone is optimistic. Some additional scientific work indicates significant amounts of oil have settled to the floor of the seabed. Scientists Find Thick Layer Of Oil On Seafloor.
A core sample from the seafloor of the Gulf of Mexico shows a 2-inch layer of oily material. Researchers are finding oil on the seafloor miles away from the blown-out BP well. Though researchers have yet to chemically link the oil deposits to the BP well, “the sheer coverage here is leading us all to come to the conclusion that it has to be sedimented oil from the oil spill because it’s all over the place,” says one scientist.
It is not surprising that BP’s credibility regarding its own analysis of the causes of the disastrous oil spill has been criticized. Soon the independent panel, created by President Obama, should be issuing their report, which hopefully will be more highly regarded. Credibility of BP Oil Spill Study is Challenged, Wash. Post, Sept. 12.
The BP report spreads much of the responsibility for the catastrophic blowout to other companies involved in the well operation, and it concludes that some of BP’s most widely criticized decisions in the construction of the well probably did not contribute to the disaster.
Other companies involved in the operation have challenged the report’s credibility, saying it is flawed and self-serving.
Since this is the week of the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and her sisters Rita and Wilma, several news sources have produced special articles. A useful listing of some of the most significant ones can be found on the website of the Homeland Security Digital Library, see Hurricane Katrina, 5 Years Later.
The first-mentioned report, by Chris Kromm and Sue Sturgis, September 2010, Institute for Southern Studies, provides a useful description of the recovery process. See LEARNING FROM KATRINA, Lessons from Five Years of Recovery and Renewal in the Gulf Coast.I would liked to have seen more recommendations to the federal government regarding needed changes in their approach to and framework for long-term recovery.
New scientific research findings are causing great concern in CA. See Study shakes up scientists’ view of San Andreas earthquake risk, L.A. Times, August 21.
Researchers find major quakes on the southern section, on average, every 88 years — three times as often as previously thought. It’s the strongest evidence yet that we’re overdue for a massive quake.
The full article was published in Geology, but only the abstract can be viewed at no charge.
For those of us not familiar with CA geography, some useful description information about the 810 mile fault can be found on Wikipedia.
Since the 5th anniversary will occur at the end of this month, several organizations have been reviewing the events and accomplishments. The Brookings Institution has issued a series of reports on what has been learned since Sept. of 2005; the listing of all reports is on the page titled The New Orleans Index at Five.
Their overview paper (20 pp) is subtitled From Recovery to Transformation, is a very thoughtful report that provides a excellent discussion of the key elements of recovery.
NOAA issued a major report on August 4, titled Federal Science Report Details Fate of Oil from BP Spill. Nevertheless, other scientists are questioning the methodology and results of the NOAA study. See Scientists question government team’s report of shrinking gulf oil spill, Wash Post, Aug. 5. Some quotes from that article:
* * * in interviews, scientists who worked on the report said the figures were based in large part on assumptions and estimates with a significant margin of error.
Some outside scientists went further: In a situation in which many facts remain murky, they said, the government seemed to have used interpretations that made the gulf — and the federal efforts to save it — look as good as possible.
Regarding some of the human impacts of the spill, see Oil Spill Has Far-Reaching Effects on Children and Families, a new report by Dr. Irwin Redlener, Columbia University. His study found significant impacts on health, economic stability, and daily routines. August, 2010. From the report:
More than one-quarter (26.6%) of coastal residents said they thought they might have to move away from the Gulf Coast. Among those earning less then $25,000, the figure was 36.3%. Children whose parents think they may move are almost three times more likely to have mental health distress than are children whose parents do not expect to move.
Recovery Diva 