Historic Princeville, N.C. Survived Hurricane; What About FEMA?
I have written about this case recently. I do not have answers for the many questions raised, but this situation would be an excellent case study for the restore or move the town decision.
The Diva got a note from a reader, Terry Hastings, and a citation to a recent article he co-authored. She welcomes the chance to share the citation.
Terry wrote “I am a big fan of your blog and thought your readers may be interested in an article recently published by the Domestic Preparedness Journal. It is based on research my project team conducted as part of the EMI Emergency Management Executive Academy.” See: The Ongoing Quest to Assess & Measure Preparedness.
New (2023) location: https://www.domesticpreparedness.com/articles/the-ongoing-quest-to-assess-measure-preparedness
An excerpt follows:
Despite the advent of the national preparedness system and associated assessment efforts, the emergency management community is still challenged to measure and articulate local, state, and national preparedness. One of the biggest challenges to measuring preparedness stems from the fact that preparedness means different things to different people. Additionally, how communities and organizations prepare greatly depends on what they are preparing for. Following is an examination of the ongoing quest to assess and measure preparedness with the goal of identifying good practices, ideas, and recommendations for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other whole community stakeholders – including public sector, private sector, and nonprofit organizations – to consider.
From the Rockefeller Foundation a new global website on resilience. Go to https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/blog/introducing-zilient-global-resilience-network/.
The Diva recommends EM magazine and the latest issue in particular. There are several interesting articles in the new issue, including a feature on Investing In Recovery. (TheDiva is quoted in that article, having chatted with the author about the topic.)
Other articles of interest include How to Reform FEMA and Evolution of the Emergency Manager.
The magazine is available, at no cost, in hard copy or online.
This is an unusual posting in that it’s essentially a “white paper” that was prepared by a notable group of academics who work in the field of hazards, disasters, and emergency management. They prepared this paper for the incoming FEMA appointees. Since those appointees are not yet known, at the moment the paper is out for review and comment.
Here is the 9-page document titled Urban Challenges and Opportunities for FEMA During the Trump Administration.
Please send comments to Ben Wisner and/or Aaron Clarke-Ginsberg. Bear in mind I did not participate in this effort but am supportive.
Preparing for Potential Disasters; How to increase the resiliency of biotechnology organizations in the face of emergency risks
From the new UN Secretary-General, Mr. António Guterres, this piece highlighting the importance of disaster risk reduction for promoting peace and stability. See: Tackling Disaster Reduces the Risk of Conflict
In his address to the UN General Assembly this week, he spoke about the classic drivers of disaster risk in the 21st century. “The effects of climate change, population growth, rapid urbanization, and environmental degradation are contributing to greater competition for resources, adding to tensions and instability,” he said.
In a world where inequality also fuels instability and disasters accentuate the exposure of the weakest and most vulnerable in our societies, the Secretary-General sees prevention of conflict and disasters triggered by man-made and natural hazards as an urgent priority.
Centuries-old natural disasters could tell us more about climate change
What could an Indonesian volcanic eruption, a 200-year-old climate disaster and a surge in the consumption of mackerel tell us about today’s era of global warming?
Quite a bit, researchers say. A group of scientists and academics with the University of Massachusetts and other institutions made that assessment while conducting research about a long-ago calamity in New England that was caused by the eruption of Mount Tambora half a world away in 1815.A cooled climate led to deaths of livestock and changed fish patterns in New England, leaving many people dependent on the mackerel, an edible fish that was less affected than many animals. The researchers assert that bit of history gives clues about what food security could be like in the modern era of climate change.
See new NOAA Technical Report #83, Jan. 2017. Global and Regional Sea Level Rise Scenarios for the U.S. ; 75 pp. [Thanks to Chris Jones for the citation.]
See also this related article from HS Newswire: Sea levels in U.S. Northeast to rise faster than global average
Recovery Diva 