Once in a while the Wash Post does a profile on an unsung hero or heroine in the federal service. See this profile of Gari Mayberry.
Personal Profile of Accomplished Gov’t Scientist
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CA Drought – one good outcome
I guess this story is the CA version of the old saying “When life serves you lemons, make lemonade.” See California Drought Produces Tastier Wine Grapes; Vintners Tout Harvest as Dry Spell Leads to More-Flavorful Grapes
Seniors and Disasters
Here are two recent reports on the topic:
- From the NY academy of Medicine. Resilient Communities: Empowering Older Adults in Disasters and Daily Life. 108 pages.
- Older people hit hardest by disasters – report. This news article is about a new UN report and some guidelines.
The report by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) and HelpAge International comes at a time when life expectancy continues to rise and the aging population continues to grow.
The report urged governments worldwide to include older people in all aspects of disaster management planning to reduce the death toll among those over 60.
Here are direct links to some of the UN resources:
DHS Morale Sinks Again – Oct. 13
From the WashPost today: DHS morale sinks further despite new leadership at the top, survey shows. Some key points:
While the survey shows that the vast majority of DHS employees are hard-working and dedicated to their mission to protect the homeland, many say the department discourages innovation, treats employees in an arbitrary fashion and fails to recruit skilled personnel. [emphasis added]
Over the past four years, employees have left DHS at a rate nearly twice as fast as for the federal government overall, according to a review of a federal database.
I find it really sad that the organizational home for emergency management at the national level is in a department that is so troubled. So many dedicated and hard-working people want to be part of the EM field but the work environment is not efficient, effective, or supportive.
I try, and urge others to do so to, not to blame FEMA personnel for the organizational and structural disfunction of their employer.
Retrofitting Buildings for Flood Risk – new report
New from the city of NY: Retrofitting Buildings for Flood Risk. The full report is 112 pages and can be downloaded here.
Thanks to Chris Jones for providing me with the link.
On Buying Access to a Governor
Not directly on topic for this blog, but this article highlights a big problem at the state level. It might in part account for delays or roadblocks at the state level with respect to needed EM legislation and policies. See: Secretly Buying Access to a Governor
I cannot help but wonder about state governments that push back on policy and regulatory changes needed post -disaster, such as requiring storm shelters and safe rooms in the state of OK and push back by real estate interests re dealing with sea level rise along the east coast.
Update: Be sure to check out the array of comments on this topic.
“Long-Term Recovery Is Not Just About How Much You Can Get from FEMA”
In the current issue of the IAEM Bulletin, there is an excellent article by Marko Bourne titled State and Local Governments: Long Term Disaster Recovery Is Not Just About How Much you Can Get from FEMA. Go to pages 15-18 in this issue: 201410bulletinonline.
Among other things he mentions one of my chief current concerns, which is the need to translate “… resiliency from a laudable but amorphous concept into measurable results….”
Steep Rise in Tidal Floods Expected Along the East Coast
From an article in Al Jazeera: Tidal floods: Coming soon to an East Coast city near you. Climate change causing higher sea levels that could soon inundate much of America’s waterfront real estate.
Many major American coastal cities will face a huge surge in the number of tidal floods they experience as sea levels rise due to climate change, a new report has warned.
The study, conducted by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), covered 52 American cities stretching from Portland, Maine, to Freeport, Texas, and predicted a dramatic increase in flood events linked to high tides over the next few decades.
According to the UCS report, over half of the cities surveyed in the study will see triple the amount of tidal floods in the next 15 years than they do at present. In three decades, when sea levels are expected to rise by at least one foot, nine of the locations are projected to see a ten-fold increase to about 240 floods yearly.
The original study is titled Encroaching Tides How Sea Level Rise and Tidal Flooding Threaten U.S.East and Gulf Coast Communities over the Next 30 Years. Both the full report (72 pages) and an executive summary are available from this site.
21 Numbers That Explain Why to Address Climate Change
From the Huffington Post, an article that has an interesting method of using numbers and text to address climate change; see: 21 Numbers That Explain Why We Need To Address Climate Change Right Now.
The 10 Worst Energy-Related Disasters of Modern Times
For those of you who like to track disaster history, see this article titled The 10 Worst Energy-Related Disasters Of Modern Times.
Note that the BP Oil Spill tops the list.
Recovery Diva 