Please see these two documents from the Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Portal.
In an earlier post I noted the National Disaster Resilience Competition Overview. Newly available are the the Eligibility Guidelines. [Neither document is dated.]
Many thanks to Elaine M. Sudanowicz for providing me with these URLs.
Update on August 22. From the New York Times: A Project Built on Sand
The take-away from the National Research Council was alarming: There is no national plan to manage the coast. No plan for storm-damage reduction. No plan for how best to allocate federal funds. And no plan for how to respond to coastal hazards and rising sea levels over the long run.
Original Article in the HuffPost: Scientists Urge For Funds To Prevent Coastal Disasters, Not Just Recover From Them.
A group of top scientists has called for a fundamental change to how the United States deals with risks to its Atlantic and Gulf coasts from storms and climate change in a National Research Council report released Wednesday.
Urging a “national vision” toward addressing coastal risks, the report comes on the heels of a Reuters analysis published earlier this month showing that coastal flooding along the densely populated Eastern Seaboard of the United States has surged in recent years, with steep financial consequences.
The great majority of money — most of it federal dollars — spent on coastal risks goes toward recovery after a disaster rather than on planning for and mitigating against storms, climate change and sea-level rise, the report said.
The direct link to the NAS for a free download of the full, 130 page report that is titled Reducing Coastal Risk on the East and Gulf Coasts is here.
Here is another account, from the National Geographic.
From the National Geographic: Storms Get Headlines, but Drought Is a Sneaky, Devastating Game-Changer. As California and the American West dry up, a way of life is threatened.
A friend and I were recently discussing how difficult drought is. He asked how do you do mitigation for a drought. And I asked what does recovery from a drought entail? We welcome some input to this discussion.
Update: Be sure to read the thoughtful comments from readers too.
This is not exactly on topic, but I could not resist sharing it. First of all, full credit to the Annenberg Foundation for the whole story.
Given the complex relationship of Congressional committees to DHS, it is a wonder the staff at the agency can get anything done other than testify to the many committees !! Congress has resisted streamlining its oversight ever since DHS was formed.
In the Wash Post today, there is a profile of the woman who coordinated the HUD recovery efforts for H. Sandy. I have to say, she surely has been low profile to date; I tracked the Sandy Task Force effort closely and never heard her name mentioned.
See: HUD Official Coordinated Hurricane Sandy Recovery Aid. Some excerpts:
While the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) oversaw the initial response to the storm, the White House created the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force several months later to provide government-wide coordination of the numerous federal agencies assisting the affected states and localities and dispensing the nearly $50 billion appropriated by Congress for disaster recovery.
Marion Mollegen McFadden, the chief operating officer and later acting executive director of the recovery task force, led the ambitious interagency effort, harnessing the power of the federal government during an intense 10-month period to provide unified support to the hard-hit communities as they were making decisions about their rebuilding efforts.
In my view, what remains is a full and current accounting of how the 69 recommendations of the Task Force are being implemented!
HUD does maintain this site for info re the recovery process, but it is not very current.
Just a reminder that I am posting all news items about the immigration crisis and “migrant minors” on a separate blog: http://disastersandfaith.wordpress.com/
From reader James Fossett:
Your readers may be interested in—or dismayed by– this story about Miami, which is possibly the most at-risk city in the country to the effects of sea level rise, yet continues to build and grow as if nothing were going on. Large areas already flood during seasonal high tides, and the city would be toast if hit by even a moderate sized hurricane. Local and state politicians oppose any effort to do anything because it would wreck the economy and won’t even talk in public about the city’s problem. It’s not a question of if, but when.
From the Guardian: Miami, the great world city, is drowning while the powers that be look away
Low-lying south Florida, at the front line of climate change in the US, will be swallowed as sea levels rise. Astonishingly, the population is growing, house prices are rising and building goes on. The problem is the city is run by climate change deniers. * * *
What makes Miami exceptionally vulnerable to climate change is its unique geology. The city – and its satellite towns and resorts – is built on a dome of porous limestone which is soaking up the rising seawater, slowly filling up the city’s foundations and then bubbling up through drains and pipes. Sewage is being forced upwards and fresh water polluted. Miami’s low topography only adds to these problems. There is little land out here that rises more than six feet above sea level. Many condos and apartment blocks open straight on the edge of the sea. Of the total of 4.2 million US citizens who live at an elevation of four feet or less, 2.4 million of them live in south Florida.
Community Resilience Center of Excellence Webinar
NIST will hold a webinar on the Community Resilience Center of Excellence on Aug. 5, 2014 from 1:00-2:30pm ET. The webinar will offer general guidance on preparing proposals and provide an opportunity to answer questions from the public about the program. Participation in the webinar is not required to apply. There is no cost for the webinar, but participants must register in advance.
Update: See comment from Rob Dale re the grants available from NIST. Details are here.
Earthquake map: 42 states stand ‘reasonable chance’ of temblors
US Geological Survey has updated its earthquake risk map, which shows a heightened the risk for one-third of the US and lower risk for about one-tenth. The surprise is how pervasive relative risk is throughout the United States.
From the LA Times: 80% of CA now in extreme drought. Some details from the article:
The NWS’ Drought Monitor Update for July 15 shows 81% of California in the category of extreme drought or worse, up from 78%. Three months ago, it was 68%. *** drought conditions worsened in parts of Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties. The new data comes as officials are getting tough on water wasters.
Here is the direct link for the National Weather Service’s Drought Monitor site. The map is very helpful in understanding the extent of the problem.
Recovery Diva 