New CRS Report: The Disaster Relief Fund, an Overview. It is 34 pages.
The Disaster Relief Fund, Overview by Congressional Research Service
Reply
Sea Level Rise
Seas may be rising faster than thought. A new Tulane University study questions the reliability of how sea-level rise in low-lying coastal areas such as southern Louisiana is measured and suggests that the current method underestimates the severity of the problem.
Updated Version of Ecological Effects of Wall
From Vox, this update on Trump Border Wall Animals.
Record Flooding in Australia
‘Unprecedented’ Floods in Australia Force Hundreds to Evacuate
Between Jan. 26 and the morning of Feb. 4, there was close to four feet of rain in Townsville, a coastal city in the state of Queensland, eclipsing records set in 1998 during a flood known as the “Night of Noah.”
“In seven days, we’ve received our annual total rainfall,” said Jenny Hill, the mayor of Townsville. “We’ve never seen weather like this.”
What Happens to the Mail During Natural Disasters?
USPS has sophisticated contingency plans for natural disasters. Across the country, 285 emergency-management teams are devoted to crisis control; * * * these teams are trained annually using a framework known as the three p’s: people, property, product. After a weather-necessitated service outage, the agency’s top priority is ensuring that employees are safe, after which it evaluates the health of infrastructure, such as the roads that mail carriers drive on. Finally, it decides when and how to reopen operations.
Recovery in Japan is Long and Painful
$16B in Federal Funding for Recovery is in Limbo
‘Just get moving.’ Trump admin sits on $16B for disasters
Texas is one of nearly a dozen states and territories waiting for the Department of Housing and Urban Development to unlock $16 billion in disaster mitigation funds that were allocated nearly a year ago by Congress to help vulnerable communities get ready for the next Hurricanes Harvey, Irma or Maria.
Two major hurricanes made landfall since the money was approved. Still, states and territories like Texas, Louisiana, Florida and Puerto Rico are unable to tap the largest well of disaster mitigation funds ever appropriated by Congress.
Nobody seems to know why.
HUD officials — back from a 35-day furlough — aren’t saying when the administrative logjam will clear. “We hope to publish the program rules shortly. Precisely when, I can’t say,” agency spokesman Brian Sullivan said in an email early this week. He provided no additional details.
Officials in coastal states, and Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, say that every day of delay is one day closer to the 2019 hurricane season, and the prospect of billions of dollars in additional property losses.
Catastrophic Power Outage Report
From the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, this report (92 pp.) titled Surviving a Catastrophic Power Outage; How to Strengthen the Capabilities of the Nation.
Note that Appendix G addresses Lessons Learned from 2017 disasters.
“Worldwide Threat Assessment”
U.S. Intelligence Officials Warn Climate Change Is a Worldwide Threat. Their annual assessment says climate hazards such as extreme weather, droughts, floods, wildfires and sea level rise threaten infrastructure, health and security.
The article includes a direct link to the 42 page report.
“Building Cultures of Preparedness”
New report released by FEMA’s Higher Ed Program: Building Cultures of Preparedness (40 pp.); Jan. 2019.
The Diva thinks this is an unusually well written and thoughtful report on a topic that may be new for many. She highly recommends it.
The first goal of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) 2018-2022 Strategic Plan is to Build a Culture of Preparedness. Preparedness strategies to date have increased first responder and government capabilities, but individual and community progress towards enhanced levels of preparedness have been limited. Achieving the 2018-2022 Strategic Plan’s vision of enhanced preparedness requires a bottom-up approach to close these gaps.
This report highlights the vast diversity of American communities and households, indicating that a one-size-fits-all strategy is not well-suited to the specific demands of variable and distinctive environments – our Culture of Preparedness will have to be built one community at a time. Preparedness is a local matter, requiring solutions tailored to different cultural contexts and embraced by communities. Supporting the vision of a resilient nation in the Strategic Plan requires us to think in the plural, in terms of building ‘Culture(s) of Preparedness’.
This report presents a culture-based approach to the preparedness goals laid out in the Strategic Plan. It lays out four Guiding Principles for building Cultures of Preparedness, followed by practical strategies and examples that demonstrate successful outcomes in real-world settings:
Trust – Develop trust by understanding the culture, context, and history of communities outside of disaster, as well as when an event occurs.
Inclusion – Bring the cultural perspectives of all stakeholders to the table
Cross-cultural communication – Design communication efforts as cross-cultural encounters.
Support local practices and successes – Learn about the ways people are already prepared and enhance these efforts using culturally-aware strategies.
Recovery Diva 