From Bloomberg News: Getting a Jump on the Next Big Earthquake. The $38 Million Earthquake Alert System Can Buy the West Coast Precious Seconds.
New Shake Alert System Coming
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Pictures of Destruction in Indonesia
Tragic photos from Indonesian Quake and Tsunami: https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/29/asia/gallery/indonesia-earthquake-tsunami-intl/index.html
CRS Report on Federal Assistance Programs for Floods
Recent Congressional Research Service report (50 pp.): Flood Resilience and Risk Reduction; Federal Assistance and Programs
The Rising Costs of Hurricanes in the U.S.
From the WSJ: The Rising Costs of Hurricanes. Storms are getting deadlier and causing more damage as more Americans live on the coasts.
The graphics in this article are quite compelling.
Once Again – Inaction and Denial over Climate Change Science
From the Wash Post: Trump administration sees a 7-degree rise in global temperatures by 2100. Here is one quoted opinion about the new report:
With this administration, it’s almost as if this science is happening in another galaxy,” said Rachel Cleetus, policy director and lead economist for the Union of Concerned Scientists’ climate and energy program. “That feedback isn’t informing the policy.”
Cost of Natural Disasters in the U.S.
The Cost of Natural Disasters in the U.S. Shows the cost of disasters by category. Note that the data used is from NOAA, so disasters are weather-related. It would be interesting to see the cost share of earthquakes, landslides, and other natural disasters.
Thanks to Eric Holdeman for the link.
FEMA Director Is in Trouble Over Travel Violations
From the WashPost, details of the report from the DHS Office of Inspector General; see; Brock Long’s Improper Use of FEMA Staff and SUVs.
Record Rains of H. Florence Explained
Hurricane Florence’s “1,000-year” rainfall, explained. Massive downpours like these are no longer as rare as the name suggests.
When State Government is the Impediment to Recovery
Evacuation Decision Making
Evacuation decision-making: How people make choices in disasters. An excerpt:
Based on preliminary analysis of post-hurricane responses, almost 50 percent of those who evacuated did not live in areas that received mandatory evacuation orders. In addition, fewer than one-third of individuals who were in a mandatory evacuation zone appeared to have evaluated this information accurately. Our analysis suggests that individuals’ perceptions were based on the amount of media they consumed before the hurricane, past experiences of loss from a hurricane, and other personal factors not tied to the recommendations of emergency response agencies.
Recovery Diva 