From Bloomberg News: FEMA Faces Hurricane Michael With Many Senior Roles Unfilled.
More news from down under, this time an article about post-earthquake resilience in Christ Church, NZ. See: Engineering expert scoops top South Island property award.
Thanks to Ian McLean of NZ for the citation.
New document (40 pp) from the Australian Red Cross: Best Practice Guidelines: Supporting Communities Before, During and After Collective Trauma Events
The Diva is not clear on who is to blame for the many examples of lost funding after a disaster. This is the first time she has seen this discussion: Missed deadlines cost millions in potential disaster aid.
Note that Joplan
From the NY Times, this analysis of disaster recovery in U.S.: As Storms Keep Coming, FEMA Spends Billions in ‘Cycle’ of Damage and Repair. Here is an excerpt:
FEMA’s public assistance program has provided at least $81 billion in this manner to state, territorial and local governments in response to disasters declared since 1992, according to a New York Times analysis of federal data. But an examination of projects across the country’s ever-expanding flood zones reveals that decisions to rebuild in place, often made seemingly in defiance of climate change, have at times left structures just as defenseless against the next storm.
From the ASCE, here are some details about the new Disaster Recovery Reform Act. It does seem to address many known problems.
If FEMA, CRS. GAO or anyone else has done an analysis of the recovery legislation, please let me know.
Update: Here is one commentary from Government Executive.
From The American Prospect: Hurricane Sandy and the Inequalities of Resilience in NY. An excerpt: ” *** the post-Sandy experiences of one section of NY provided important clues about how low-income residents and people of color fare after natural disasters.”
Note: In case you have as much trouble as I did downloading the file, let me know. I now have a saved copy.
From Scientific American: Indonesian Tsunami Was Powered by a Deadly Combo of Tectonics and Geography. The magnitude 7.5 earthquake that touched off the tsunami occurred amid a complex puzzle of tectonic plates.
Thanks to Ian McLean of New Zealand for this citation. He says that NZ also has similar tectonic conditions. Here are some of his observations about the seismic conditions and risk in New Zealand.
What I found particularly interesting was the fact that the earthquake occurred in a transition zone. To the west of this zone one plate subducts, and to the east of the zone the plates abut pushing up mountain ranges.
The configuration is similar to the zone in New Zealand where the Kaikoura sequence of earthquakes occurred.. To the north the Pacific plate subducts the Indo-Australian plate; and to the south the plates abut, pushing up the Southern Alps.
In the transition zone is a complex jumble of faults. Several of these ruptured sequentially during the Kaikoura sequence. The damage was unexpectedly severe, especially in Wellington.
But NZ still awaits with apprehension earthquakes along the plate boundaries to the south and north of the transition zone. To the south , the Alpine fault has reached its mean return period. In the north, knowledge about the HIkurangi subduction zone was sparse, but substantial research is now being done.
From the Center for Naval Analysis (CNA): Supply Chain Resilience and the 2017 Hurricane Season. Direct link to 140 page report.
Thanks to Delilah Barton for the link.
Link has been fixed.
From Wharton School, Risk Management and Decision Processes Center, this report out of a Digital Dialogue: Simplifying and Speeding the Recovery Process. Ten experts answer two questions re improving recovery. Well worth reading.
Thanks to Dana Bres of HUD HQ for sharing this citation with me.
Recovery Diva 