Social media used to assess damage caused by natural disasters
Use of Social Media for Damage Assessment
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New GAO Report on Emergency Communications in NCR
Both a one-page abstract and the full report (28 pp.) are available at the above URL.
Five Year Review of Japanese Earthquake and Related Disasters
From the Japan Times, this retrospective article: The 3/11 disasters, five years on.
Demographic trends in the affected areas — already gloomy before the disasters — paint an even grimmer picture of their future today. Reconstruction from the March 11, 2011, disasters must remain a national priority for years to come.
Apparently, we in the U.S. are not very quick to pick up on “lessons that needed to be learned!” See: Five Years After Fukushima, U.S. Nuclear Safety Upgrades Lagging
From the NYTimes, additional commentary about the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster outcome.
From Reuters: Fukushima’s ground zero: No place for man or robot
From Homeland Security Newswire: Fukushima: Five years onNews coverage of Fukushima disaster inadequate
Five years after the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan, the disaster no longer dominates U.S. news headlines, although experts say it is a continuing disaster with broad implications. A new analysis finds that U.S. news media coverage following the disaster minimized health risks to the general population.
Is Drought a Contributor to War?
Loss of agricultural and food supplies may contribute to national instability.
From the Homeland Security News Wire: Syria’s 1998-2012 drought likely its most severe in more than 900 years.
Summary of Recovery Conference
Summary of recent workshop on Recovery at Harvard University: Preparing for the Next Disaster HKS Hosts Conference on Disaster Recovery.
The Diva was invited to that event in January, but thanks to the big blizzard that week she never did make it to Boston.
Resources re Disabilities and Disasters
The Emergency Preparedness and Response Initiative at the Shriver Center works to improve self-preparedness and equal access to emergency services for individuals with disabilities…” See this site: http://shriver.umassmed.edu/community-resources/emergency-preparedness-and-response
Note: it includes a variety of information but also some specific tools provided including an assessment tool.
Small Businesses and Disasters
34% of U.S. Small Businesses Have Been Hit by Disasters – It Pays to Be Prepared
Last year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency made 78 major disaster and wildfire declarations. The Small Business Majority reported one-third or 34 percent of American small businesses have personally seen extreme weather impact their business. Likewise, a survey from Allstate, “What Keeps Small Business Owners Up at Night,” uncovered at least 25 percent of businesses that close due to a disaster, never reopen.
“Our survey found the fifth biggest risk small business owners fear is the inability to do business because of physical damage to a building or structure,” said Mark McGillivray, senior vice president, Allstate Claims. “No one expects the unthinkable to happen. But the severe weather hitting most parts of our county is real. It can happen anytime and anywhere. Business owners must be prepared for a disaster so they can rebuild, repair and reopen their doors as quickly as possible.”
“Voters Want a Revolution …”
From the Wash. Post, an article that discusses the governance issues and structural changes needed, rather than a political solution.
See: Voters want a revolution. Here’s what that would take. We need to change the system, not just who’s in charge
CRS Report re Flint, MI
Two-page paper from CRS on the Regulatory Issues re Flint Michigan water crisis: Lead in Flint, Michigan’s Drinking Water: Federal Regulatory Role.
Thanks to Bill Cumming for the citation.
The Costs of Disasters, Direct and Indirect
From the Guardian, this article about Australia: Natural disasters costing Australia 50% more than estimated. Reports find increases in family violence and mental health problems due to stress of natural disasters outweighs cost of rebuilding infrastructure. Some excerpts:
The cost of natural disasters in Australia is 50% more than previously estimated– $9bn in 2015 – and is set to increase to $33bn by 2050 even ignoring the effect of climate change, according to two reports commissioned by the Australian Business Roundtable for Disaster Resilience and Safer Communities.
The reports included the first analysis of the economic costs of social impacts of natural disasters, and concluded they cost the economy more than tangible impacts like damage to property.
Among the tangible costs, the biggest occurred when critical infrastructure was damaged. Despite this, there was no formal requirement to consider resilience when making decisions about building infrastructure.
The reports said more investment was needed at times other than in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, with funding also required for community and infrastructure resilience, as well as longer-term social care.
Recovery Diva 