Here is a form of post-disaster housing that I do not recall seeing before.  From the UK’s Daily Mail, see: From poverty to the penthouse: Homeless who are living like kings in mansions and hotels abandoned since Christchurch earthquake

• Homeless have taken up residency in Christchurch’s abandoned buildings
• The buildings were severely damaged during the 2011 earthquake
  Men previously slept on the street but say they became ‘rich overnight’
• Living arrangements were filmed for Loading Docs film Living Like Kings

Quite a story — price is right for the new occupants!

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Thanks to Ian McLean for sending me the link.

The Weather Channel site posted an article about an international conference on disasters: Cost of Natural Disasters Has Quadrupled in Recent Decades, Official Says

It’s getting a lot more expensive to recover from natural disasters today than ever, according to a senior European official who urged world leaders Thursday to spend more on preparing cities and coastal regions for the impact of storms and other disasters to ensure a stable future.

Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis response, told a conference on disaster risk reduction and management of the Asia-Europe Meeting that costs related to natural disasters have increased from $50 billion a year in the 1980s to $200 billion in the last decade, an era when the U.S. has weathered the impact of storms like 2005’s Hurricane Katrina and 2012’s Superstorm Sandy. In three of the last four years, disaster-related costs exceeded $200 billion.  * * *

She said only 4 percent of spending for natural disasters today goes to prevention and preparedness, with 96 percent spent on response. But, she said, evidence shows every dollar spent on prevention brings at least $4 in savings on damage.

Here is the direct link to the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management.
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The Diva also was at a conference this past week, one on Higher Education in Emergency Management, sponsored by FEMA at its training institute. While there she and a long-time friend and colleague, Dr. Dan Barbee, also lamented the fact that after decades of effort, we in the U.S. remain very heavily focused on the response phase of disasters.

Last month the Diva attended part of the conference celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Disaster Research Center at the Univ.of DE.

If you missed it and wondered what went on, the Center now has posted some of the talks, papers, and pictures from that conference at this website: http://sites.udel.edu/drc50thanniversary

There is no question the wheels of government move slowly; and in this case they are barely rolling if you read down to the end of this article. From Bloomberg News: U.S. Agency Will Assess Dangers of Tar Sands Oil Spills.

The federal government said …it will study a critical question in the battle over oil pipelines carrying Canadian diluted bitumen: Are spills involving dilbit more dangerous to people and the environment than leaks of lighter traditional oil?

In recent years, dilbit spills in Michigan, Arkansas and elsewhere have provided convincing evidence on the subject, but researchers are still working on definitive scientific studies that would translate those examples into broader conclusions about the risks of dilbit.

The disastrous effects of those spills—and fear that future spills could foul aquifers and vital waterways—have inflamed opposition to dilbit pipelines across the country.  * * * The controversial project still lacks the required presidential permit for the segment stretching from the U.S.-Canada border through Nebraska.

News of the study came during questioning at a Congressional hearing held Tuesday to review the progress by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) toward fulfilling mandates included in the 2011 pipeline safety act.

“As a part of our 2014 budget, there was a requirement that we do a further study to evaluate whether dilbit spills are more risky than spills of other crudes,” said PHMSA Administrator Cynthia Quarterman. “We are in the process of finalizing a contract with the National Academy of Sciences to do that study.”

Photographer Captures Tar Sands ‘Destruction’ From Above

Photographer and pilot Alex MacLean wanted to learn more about the Keystone XL pipeline, which if approved will carry oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, so he decided to take pictures from above of the tar sands that will supply oil to the project. What he found shocked him.

“The scale of the operation is staggering,” MacLean told The Huffington Post. It’s “mind-boggling,” he said, how expansive it is, and how much money is being poured into drilling and strip mining for the viscous petroleum product that will give the Keystone XL pipeline its oil.