First Katrina, Now Sandy: Three Mistakes We Keep Making After Natural Disasters
Need to Address Legal Rights and Justice During Recovery
Reply
Hurricane Season Start June 1 – get your supplies now
Each year, many states encourage citizen preparedness by declaring a sales tax holiday for many essential items. Here is one example: VA Hurricane Preparedness Week – sales taxes on some essential items are waived. See details on the State Emergency Agency’s website.
If you are not a Virginian, check with your local office of emergency management to see if your state has a version of this effort. A Google search turned up a similar program in LA.
_______________________________
FEMA offers extensive guidance re hurricanes on this website.
Using an Electric Bike for Response Assistance
On the weekend, I like to post news of a lighter vein.
From the Denver Post, an article about using an electric bike to assist with disaster response. See the details here.
Impacts of Climate Change on National Landmarks
From the Homeland Security Digital Library, see The impacts of climate change can be devastating to U.S. infrastructure
The natural disasters it induces (rising seas, floods, droughts, wildfires, etc.) can damage buildings, sever power lines, contaminate water, and destroy agriculture. Most of these assets are easily repaired or replaced, but what about damage done to infrastructure that holds sentimental value to the nation? Can the values and ideals they represent be as easily recovered? This “sentimental infrastructure” refers to the nation’s “iconic landmarks and heritage sites,” which the Union of Concerned Scientists argues are now being seriously threatened by the impacts of climate change.
Direct link to the report: National Landmarks At Risk Report. (84 pp.)
Wildfire Incident Info
In connection with the drought affecting many of the southwestern states, you can track details of the major wildfire incidents via this website: inciweb.nwcg.gov
It’s very up-to-date and has the latest briefings, fire spread, evacuations, etc.
Thanks to Barbara Word for the citation.
Planning for Vulnerable Populations Webinar
“Improving Emergency Planning for Vulnerable Populations”
June 5, 2014
This webinar was a part of NACCHO’s 2014 Summer Preparedness Webinar Series.
This webinar will explore how local health departments from St Paul- Ramsey County, MN, and Oakland County, MI, utilize closed Points of Dispensing (PODs) to improve emergency planning for vulnerable populations including people with disabilities. These PODs allow for effective dispensation of medical countermeasures to populations who may not be able to easily access public PODs.
Participants will also have the opportunity to hear about new resources and tools being developed by NACCHO’s Health and Disability team, including: (1) A Health and Disability Toolkit; (2)a guide to including people with disabilities in public health practice; and (3)a directory of community-based organizations that serve people with disabilities.
NACCHO will also briefly present on findings from their current assessment of local health department activities that are inclusive of people with disabilities.
Build It Back – just not happening in NY post-Sandy
As was noted in the Lament posting last week, the housing recovery in NY and NJ is going far slower than anyone likes. From the Huff Post, this article titled Doubt Lingers for New Yorkers Devastated by Hurricane Sandy. The article is a bit windy to start with, but here are a few essential quotes:
In 2013 New York City received a total of $3.22 billion in federal grants for Sandy disaster relief and rebuilding. About $650 million of that money was designated for a program called NYC Build it Back, which former Mayor Mike Bloomberg announced in June 2013. The program is intended to help all residents who owned property at the time of the storm. Build it Back prioritizes low- and middle-income New Yorkers — meaning individuals who earn less than $48,100, or a four-person household that pulls in $68,700 annually.
But Build it Back has been a phantom presence, so far, in all damaged Sandy areas. It is drawing the ire of residents and of politicians alike, including New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, who announced in April that his office is launching an official audit of the city program.
U.S. Drought Portal
Some months ago, I posted an information source for drought information for CA. Recently I ran across this national source of drought information, sponsored by the federal government. Here is the link: http://www.drought.gov
The State of Texas and Disaster Recovery
From the Texas Public Radio website, this article titled Emergency Management Chief Says State Is Missing Out On Billions Because Of Poor Planning.
Although the title would lead one to believe that the state should improve its disaster recovery capability, my take on this article is that the quoted comments focus more on how to capture more federal money and to do so more efficiently.
In my view, Texas, which is a wealthy and populous state, has shown time and time again that it does not want to mount a significant effort to mitigate threats/hazards or use state money to pay the costs of the many disasters it experiences. One example is chemical plant explosion in the city of West in 2013. See the posting in this blog on that topic, from April 2013.
If any readers know more about this matter, I would like to hear from them.
New CRS Report on the Disaster Relief Fund
New report from the Congressional Research Service is titled Disaster Relief Fund; Overview and Selected Issues. May 2014.
This report not only provides basic information about federal payment for disasters but also makes some proposals for better management of the disaster declaration process (see pp. 15-23). A good basic document to add to your personal library.
Thanks to Bill Cumming for the citation.
Recovery Diva 