I just got a note from British researcher John Twigg, who writes a blog on Disaster Risk Reduction. Readers might want to check out his blog, in which he comments on matters related to recovery.
Another Blog May Be of Interest
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Category Archives: Resilience
NAS report on Issues re Resilience of the DHS Workforce
As I recall, there was an earlier report out from a workshop on the topic of the resilience of the workforce at DHS. Here is the latest report, titled A Ready and Resilient Workforce for the Department of Homeland Security: Protecting America’s Front Line (2013)
If you just want to see the Executive Summary (19 pp) and the six major recommendations,you can download, at no cost, all or parts of this book-length report (266 pp.).
“Climate Resilience Comes to the Pentagon”
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.”
Challenges to Supply Chain Performance in a Crisis
The full title of this recent article is Building Resilience in Community Recovery; Overcoming Supply Chain Performance Challenges in a Crisis; it is located here: TRN_287 The author is Charlotte Franklin, a Deputy Coordinator in the Arlington County, VA Office of Emergency Management. It is reprinted here from TR News 287, July/August 2013 with permission. Thanks to the author for calling this article to my attention.
This is one article from the special issue of TR News July-August 2013 that is titled Logistics of Disaster Response. Some additional information:
This issue of the TR News focuses on logistics of disaster response and business continuity by examining supply chain performance challenges in a crisis, the role of the private sector in maintaining supply chains for relief efforts, recent lessons learned for postdisaster relief logistics, and a state department of transportation’s emergency management program—plus reports on the effect of gasoline shortages after a disaster, the role of ferries in rescue efforts, applications of social media in disaster preparation and in response and recovery, contingency planning for airport irregular operations, and more.
“Rebuilding for resilience; fortifying infrastructure to withstand disaster”
This excellent report provides some useful guidance and weaves in case examples nicely. The report was written the by firm PWC, but the download location is Prevention web. Note that you have a choice of components to download when you request the report. From the introduction::
This report extends the focus of the UNISDR-PwC initiative, looking specifically at the long-term opportunity for public-private sector collaboration in building or rebuilding risk-resilient infrastructure. It describes why building disaster-resilient infrastructure is critical for a region’s competitiveness, both nationally and globally. It also illustrates how the private sector can offer innovative solutions to help communities build or rebuild disaster-resilient infrastructure.
The report explores in depth six key recommendations: (i) focus on preparedness, prevention, and mitigation now; (ii) foster collaboration across public and private sectors; (iii) motivate community-wide engagement; (iv) coordinate across regional boundaries; (v) encourage resilient recovery with optimal incentives; and (vi) build back stronger and smarter. The findings in this report are relevant for cities, regions, and businesses the world over as they prepare to face the growing risks of natural disaster, compounded by the mounting challenges of the 21st century—as well as for those currently rebuilding.
Practical note: be sure to print off in best quality setting to ensure readability.
Thanks to Ed Metz for calling this report to my attention.
New Report – on NAS-sponsored workshop on resilience
Launching a National Conversation on Disaster Resilience in America: Workshop Summary
Full report is 72 pages. Available as a free download from the NAS site.
Resilient Housing Design Solutions Sought Post Sandy
I am not sure why it has taken this long, but HUD is now sponsoring a competition for more disaster resilient housing designs. See HUD is Promoting Resilient Design Solutions in Wake of Sandy.
Resilience During Recovery – in the Wake of Superstorm Sandy
The Homeland Security Wire has an article on The contribution of social bonds to resilience in the Wake of Superstorm Sandy, published onJune 25th, that highlights the results of a recent major survey on the importance of social and community bonds in recovery from Superstorm Sandy. The survey data illustrate how important the help of friends, family, and neighbors can be in getting people back on their feet after natural disasters. These crucial social bonds are often overlooked as policy discussions tend to focus on the role that official institutions have in fostering resilience.
For the full text of this new report (17 pp), titled Resilience in the Wake of Superstorm Sandy, go to the Assoc. Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research site. There are some very interesting findings in the report – I especially like what I consider new information presented on pages 7-14. Among the findings was the relatively low level of appreciation for federal and state assistance. Local responders were much more appreciated.
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Update: This report and the account of a federal level conference on resilience, as reported by Eric Holdeman in his blog today, provide an interesting contrast in perspectives.
New Report on Making NYC Resilient – June 2013
The exact title is A Stronger, More Resilient New York; this is a 222 page report and no exec. summary seems to be available. On June 11, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced “A Stronger, More Resilient New York”, a comprehensive plan that contains actionable recommendations both for rebuilding the communities impacted by Sandy and increasing the resilience of infrastructure and buildings citywide.
Due to the size of this report, several options are available for those who wish to print the report, including both single pages and two-page spreads. Single pages print best on Letter-sized paper, while two-page spreads print best on Ledger-sized paper.
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From the Architectural Record a short article commenting on the two recent reports from NYC.
Related articles
- NYC Buildings Aren’t Ready For Next Sandy (paramuspost.com)
- Taking a Page From New Orleans, NYC Begins Rebuilding (theepochtimes.com)
Resilience – a collections of quotes and excerpts
From the Chronicle of Education, an article is titled After Catastrophe, though it really is about resilience.
A collection of quotes and excerpts from a variety of educators dealing with resilience.
Recovery Diva 