NHC’s Final Hurricane Maria Report. The focus is on the meteorology aspects, but the finding are indeed scary.
Thanks to Ian McLean for the citation.
Surprising Facts about H. Maria
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Using the Search Function
This blog contains 7 years of postings, and most of them have key descriptors attached. The search box, in the right hand column of the home page, allows you to look for older content. For the major hurricanes in 2017, use the name of the disaster event (e.g., Hurricane Harvey) rather than the place impacted (Houston) for best results.
“FEMA Praises Houston’s New Floodplain Regulations”
It is not too often that both FEMA and Houston get some praise. See this article from the Houston Chronicle: FEMA praises Houston’s new floodplain regulations.
All new construction in the city’s floodplains will have to be built two feet above the projected water level in a 500-year storm throughout the 500-year floodplain, the area at risk of inundation in a storm with a 0.2 percent chance of happening in any given year. The rules will take effect Sept. 1.
“This is the type of proactive solution that will help Houston lead the way in preparing for potential crises,” said Kevin Hannes, federal coordinating officer for FEMA’s Texas recovery. “Keeping residents safe and creating resilient communities requires forward-thinking to lessen the impact of inevitable future weather events.”
Concerns in PR and FL re 2018 Hurricane Season
Concern is growing in those places still recovering from 2017 hurricanes about the coming of the 2018 hurricane season, as of the first of June. See:
Levees on MS River
Artificial levees on Mississippi River dramatically increased extreme floods
A new study has revealed for the first time the last 500-year flood history of the Mississippi River. It shows a dramatic rise in the size and frequency of extreme floods in the past century—mostly due to projects to straighten, channelize, and bound the river with artificial levees. The new research also uncovered a clear pattern over the centuries linking flooding on the Mississippi with natural fluctuations of Pacific and Atlantic Ocean water temperatures.
Journal Article of Interest
The Diva found this article of special interest and she invites your comments, as always. From the Journal of Homeland Security Education, see: Teaching Key Elements of Decision Making Online for Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
Abstract:
In order to design online teaching and learning activities that promote effective decision-making skills under conditions of uncertainty, we adopt key findings from the fields of cognitive psychology and public management and employ strategies from the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. The learning activities outlined in this article – readings, films, writing and research assignments, and interactive exercises – promote the ability to detect, recognize, and interpret risk while developing collaborative strategies for action to reduce that risk. Students develop those skills in three stages – first, developing individual skills, second integrating those skills, and finally by demonstrating all skills in the absence of an instructor’s guidance. We do not suggest that these learning activities replicate the precise conditions of stress and uncertainty experienced in the field. Rather, they lay a foundation for education and training that is rooted in both theory and practice, contributing a proof of concept for homeland security and emergency management curricula. We analyze two semesters of qualitative student evaluations and report that positive student response suggests the potential effectiveness of our strategy.
Better Prediction for East Coast Hurricane Flooding
From the HSNewswire: Predicting East Coast hurricane flooding risks. A model developed at Columbia’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory will soon make its debut in the real world, helping to characterize and predict the paths and impacts of hurricanes on the East Coast.
Budgets for FEMA and HUD Are Vital
From the Union of Concerned Scientists: FEMA and HUD Budgets are Vital for Disaster and Climate Preparedness
Last year’s record-breaking disasters—including hurricanes, wildfires and floods—were a reminder of how climate change and faulty development policies are colliding to create dangerous and costly outcomes for the American public. While much attention is focused on post-disaster recovery, we need to invest much more in preparing for disasters before they happen. The good news is that the omnibus budget deal recently passed by Congress appropriated significant funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to help foster community resilience, in many cases undoing steep cuts that had been proposed by the Trump administration.
Free ebook: “Reduction of Vulnerability to Disasters.”
Free ebook: Reduction of vulnerability to disasters: From knowledge to action
This 624 page book has chapters in 3 languages. You can download the whole book or individual chapters. I would guess at least some of the chapters would be of interest to readers.
Flood Mitigation in Houston TX
Comprehensive strategy required to tackle Houston flooding problems.
Major report on flood mitigation needed in Houston. The direct URL for the report described is at the end of the article.
Update: see the comment added to this posting for additional resources.
Recovery Diva 