Worth thinking about:
Scientists warn Oregon is lagging in disaster preparedness

Article from the NY Times re eliminating prohibition on new public buildings in tsunami inundation zones.  Oregon’s Tsunami Risk: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. Thanks to Chris Jones for this citation.

How Intelligence Can Map Wildfire Risk and Help Reduce Catastrophes

Managing wildfire risk requires actions at all phases of disaster management: prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. In addition, all phases of action have tactical, operational, strategic and financial/economic dimensions. As an example, hazard and risk data informs a range of decisions at all phases including evacuation decisions (choosing proper protective actions such as evacuation, in-place protection, or mixed strategies), resource allocation decisions and land use (zoning) decisions, in addition to tactical decisions regarding incident management. The lending investment and insurance markets respond to how hazards and risks are well or poorly anticipated and managed.

From Science Daily: Coping skills program helps social service workers reduce stress, trauma after disasters

FEMA Has Taken Steps toward Better Supporting Individuals Who Are Older or Have Disabilities

From HSToday: How States Are Changing the Face of Emergency Management

From the NY Times: As Storm Season Begins in the United States, FEMA Is Already Stretched Thin

• From the Climate Center, this handbook titled Heatwave Guide for Cities. It is 96 pages.
• See also this report (40 pp) by the Union of Concerned Scientists: Killer Heat in the United States; Climate Choices and the Future of Dangerously Hot Days. The analysis focuses on the effects of rising temperatures in the United States, and the potential dangers of staying on our current trends.

From HS Newswire: U.S. Coastal Communities Face More than $400 Billion in Seawall Costs by 2040

From the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, this article on Long Term Recovery Groups. An excerpt:

The structure of an LTRG will vary depending upon impact of disasters, size of community, number of VOADs in the community, pre-existing strengths of community organizations, etc.; ideally, staff should be hired to run an LTRG or there here should be an organization dedicated to providing backbone support to help call meetings, form agendas, take minutes and enable communications. A fiscal sponsor is also needed to support fund development activities; this could be a community agency or a philanthropic partner.

From the NY Times: ‘We Cannot Save Everything’: A Historic Neighborhood Confronts Rising Seas. Colonial-era homes line the streets of The Point in Newport, R.I. Climate change is forcing experts to reimagine the future of historic preservation here.