Overview of Disaster Contracting in 2017 – interesting facts re disaster events.
Direct link to the 27 page GAO report: 2017 Disaster Contracting: Observations on Federal Contracting for Response and Recovery Efforts. GAO-18-335, Published: Feb 28, 2018.
From the Wharton School: Federal Disaster Rebuilding Spending: A Look at the Numbers.
Last year set records for natural disaster damages in the United States. NOAA estimates total damages from the 2017 events were over $300 billion. The U.S. experienced not one, not two, but three land falling hurricanes. Hurricane Harvey set a record for rainfall. The wildfires in California were some of the costliest the state has ever seen.
In response to these events, Congress passed two supplemental spending bills in September and October appropriating $34.5 billion in post-disaster funds and forgiving $16 billion of debt for the National Flood Insurance Program. A couple weeks ago, Congress approved a two-year budget that included an additional $90 billion for disaster rebuilding. This puts the total spending in response to the 2017 events at over $130 billion—another record.
From the Texas Tribune this article about the Governor and FEMA: Abbott and FEMA are using Harvey to reinvent disaster response. “Some say that makes displaced Texans ‘guinea pigs.'”
In the six months since state and federal officials decided to use the biggest housing recovery in modern history to rewrite the nation’s disaster playbook, neighborly networks and organized charity have buoyed disheartened Texans on the coast.
Northeastern professor creates new way to help cities recover from disasters
Northeastern Professor Ozlem Ergun has a new tool to prioritize recovery efforts after a city is hit by an earthquake, hurricane or other disaster.
Here is the direct link to the report on Plos: Restoration of services in disrupted infrastructure systems: A network science approach
Seven years on: Seven challenges for post-quake Christchurch.
Thanks to Ian McLean for the citation.
See this article from the HSDL: Preparing for Public Health Threats.
NYC Community Emergency Planning in NYC; A Toolkit for Community Leaders. This 34 page document should be of interest to other communities too. A template is also available at the same URL.
From FEMA: Emergency Planning for First Responders and Their Families
From the New Republic: Dismantle the Department of Homeland Security. “The case for abolishing the wasteful, incompetent, and abusive mega-agency has become especially urgent under Trump.”
What I find interesting is that both liberal and conservative critics are cited in the article. [The Diva is amazed that no readers comments on this article. ]
Update: see this posting by fellow blogger Eric Holdeman:
In Puerto Rico, a skirmish over how much debt the bankrupt island can handle.
Will the money go to bondholders or to disaster victims?
Yet another unique problem that PR has and one that poses serious concerns for the recovery process.
New document issued by Island Press. See: Resilience Matters Transformative Thinking in a Year of Crisis. This 145 page report is a free download.
Thanks to Ed Thomas, Natural Hazards Mitigation Assoc., for the citation.
Recovery Diva 