David Campbell and his dedicated crew at All Hands deserves some praise. He and his volunteers have been working internationally to help with disaster recovery. See their website for details about recent work in Ecuador and other good works in Gatlinburg, Louisiana, Ecuador, and Nepal.
Think about volunteering or supporting this and other worthwhile non-profits. We are going to need their help more than ever in the coming years.
Here is the direct link to the new report on Enterprise Risk Management. A one page summary and the full 56 page report are available at that link.
2017-2022 Health Care Preparedness and Response Capabilities
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has released the 2017-2022 Health Care Preparedness and Response Capabilities. According to the document, it “outlines the high-level objectives that the nation’s health care delivery system, including HCCs [health care coalitions] and individual health care organizations, should undertake to prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies.” In detail, the document breaks down four capabilities that, if followed, will allow the health care delivery system to be at full readiness for any emergency or disaster. Each capability is divided into Objectives, which in turn contain activities to complete the given objective.
Capability 1: Foundation for Health Care and Medical Readiness
Capability 2: Health Care and Medical Response Coordination
Capability 3: Continuity of Health Care Service Delivery
Capability 4: Medical Surge
This is a follow on to the posting I did on Nov. 25th. Cities and States Lead on Climate Change.
Since it seems the federal government is likely to be a less reliable partner on many fronts, it is essential that other sectors of society assume responsibility for more activities.
At forum, MIT community tackles tough ethical questions of climate change.
An MIT panel discussed The ethical challenges presented by climate change and the question of what individuals — and academic institutions like MIT — can do to affect change. “Science has performed its role adequately,” said Vice President for Research Maria Zuber, “[but] it cannot tell us what our obligations are to future generations. Determining how to respond to climate change is a question for all of us.”
A Wrenching Choice for Alaska Towns in the Path of Climate Change.
With its proximity to the Arctic, Alaska is warming about twice as fast as the rest of the United States and the state is heading for the warmest year on record. The government has identified at least 31 Alaskan towns and cities at imminent risk of destruction, with Shaktoolik ranking among the top four. Some villages, climate change experts predict, will be uninhabitable by 2050, their residents joining a flow of climate refugees around the globe, in Bolivia, China, Niger and other countries.
These endangered Alaskan communities face a choice. They could move to higher ground, a wrenching prospect that for a small village could cost as much as $200 million. Or they could stand their ground and hope to find money to fortify their buildings and shore up their coastline.
Washington Won’t Have Last Word on Climate Change. according to Michael Bloomberg.
Last June in Beijing, during the U.S.-China Cities Summit on Climate Change, we announced a partnership between the Compact of Mayors and China’s Alliance of Peaking Pioneer Cities. Since then, the Compact of Mayors has joined forces with the European Union’s Covenant of Mayors, making the new Global Covenant of Mayors the single largest and most ambitious coalition of mayors on climate change.
In fact, if the Trump administration does withdraw from the Paris accord, I will recommend that the 128 U.S. mayors who are part of the Global Covenant of Mayors seek to join in its place.
Washington will not have the last word on the fate of the Paris agreement in the U.S. — mayors will, together with business leaders and citizens.
And here is a related article: With waning US leadership on climate, nonstate actors to play outsize role . Civil society and other groups, such as academics and businesses, stand to play a bigger role in how the countries of the world address climate change.
Earthquake Experts Urge Californians to Prepare for Future Disasters.
In the wake of a series of small Southern California seismic events that prompted a state agency to issue a major earthquake alert, a panel of disaster management leaders urged residents to insure their property and take other steps to get prepared.
The appeal was made by representatives of the American Red Cross, the Los Angeles Emergency Management Department, the California Institute of Technology and the California Earthquake Authority (CEA) – the state-sanctioned not-for-profit insurer – at a November 17 earthquake preparedness forum organized by New America Media.
Southern Californians should prepare for an earthquake comparable to the magnitude 6.7 Northridge temblor in 1994, the last major seismic disaster in the region, according to panelists.
The Diva is always happy to be able to provide a “lessons learned” posting. Here are two articles about the most recent Japanese earthquake and tsunami.
Bitter lessons of Japan’s 2011 tsunami put to use with latest quake.
Massive tsunami waves slammed into Japan’s northeastern coast more than five years ago, killing about 18,000 people and prompting authorities to revise warning systems and evacuation plans to try to save more lives.
On Tuesday, when a magnitude 7.4 quake hit the same area, the country swung into action, using lessons learned in the March 11, 2011, disaster to ensure coastal residents evacuated well before the much smaller waves hit.
Japan’s latest tsunami reaction shows lessons learned from previous disasters
Intensified by Climate Change, ‘King Tides’ Change Ways of Life in Florida
King tides, which frequently flood South Florida even when the
sun shines, are the most blatant example of the interplay between
rising seas and the alignment of the moon, sun and Earth.
Recovery Diva 