I recently attended a local book fair and chatted with some of the staff of the Library of Congress. One interesting resource I discovered is their LOC service that provides copies of Historic American Newspapers.
I have not yet used it, but it would be a useful source for those doing research on historic disasters. As a disaster historian, I welcome this resource.
In the NYTimes this morning, I read this op ed piece: We need climate-change risk assessment; Americans need to know how to assess the risk posed by global warming.
I have been wondering what Mayor Bloomberg planned to do when he stepped down from his 3rd stint as mayor of NY. Now we know.
An interesting idea from the NYTimes: Next Time, Libraries Could Be Our Shelters From the Storm. Some excerpts:
To some extent, churches, libraries, schools and malls already serve as emergency centers, albeit not all churches responded or were equipped to be of help after Sandy. And as the novelist Zadie Smith lamented last year i… apropos the closing of neighborhood libraries in London, libraries are “the only thing left on the high street that doesn’t want either your soul or your wallet.”
Even schools are not quite like branch libraries. The branches have become our de facto community centers, serving the widest range of citizens — indispensable in countless, especially poorer, more vulnerable neighborhoods. They are much threatened by budget cuts, but never more in demand by toddlers and teenagers, working parents, the elderly and the unemployed, new immigrants and traditional readers.
With disaster in mind, they could be designed in the future with electrical systems out of harm’s way and set up with backup generators and solar panels, even kitchens and wireless mesh networks.
So far the federal shutdown has not been too noticeable, even to those of us who live in the National Capitol Region. Locally, the museums, parks, and the zoo are closed, which is a pain for the tourists. The good news is lighter rush hour traffic.
More important is the fact that federal websites are affected. I just checked the FEMA website and say this notice: NOTICE: Due to the lapse in federal funding, portions of this website may not be updated and some non-disaster assistance transactions submitted via the website may not be processed or responded to until after appropriations are enacted.
I have not tried to do any research online in the past day, so I have not yet experienced a lack of information. But this article from Forbes magazine highlights the data and research not presently available on federal websites.
My personal indicator of the effect of the shutdown: hit count from federal agency sources on this blog is about zero!
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
My favorite quote of the day:
The full title of this recent article is Building Resilience in Community Recovery; Overcoming Supply Chain Performance Challenges in a Crisis; it is located here: TRN_287 The author is Charlotte Franklin, a Deputy Coordinator in the Arlington County, VA Office of Emergency Management. It is reprinted here from TR News 287, July/August 2013 with permission. Thanks to the author for calling this article to my attention.
This is one article from the special issue of TR News July-August 2013 that is titled Logistics of Disaster Response. Some additional information:
This issue of the TR News focuses on logistics of disaster response and business continuity by examining supply chain performance challenges in a crisis, the role of the private sector in maintaining supply chains for relief efforts, recent lessons learned for postdisaster relief logistics, and a state department of transportation’s emergency management program—plus reports on the effect of gasoline shortages after a disaster, the role of ferries in rescue efforts, applications of social media in disaster preparation and in response and recovery, contingency planning for airport irregular operations, and more.
From the CSM today, a story about a great volunteer in Washington state. See Ginger Passarelli is a Good Samaritan with a Soup Ladle.
U.N. climate change report points blame at humans. The world’s getting hotter, the seas are rising and the U.N. climate change report says humans are the likely cause.
The full text of the report is here.
I know at least one reader will push back on this study, but here are some additional details:
A total of 209 Lead Authors and 50 Review Editors from 39 countries and more than 600 Contributing Authors from 32 countries contributed to the preparation of Working Group
This excellent report provides some useful guidance and weaves in case examples nicely. The report was written the by firm PWC, but the download location is Prevention web. Note that you have a choice of components to download when you request the report. From the introduction::
This report extends the focus of the UNISDR-PwC initiative, looking specifically at the long-term opportunity for public-private sector collaboration in building or rebuilding risk-resilient infrastructure. It describes why building disaster-resilient infrastructure is critical for a region’s competitiveness, both nationally and globally. It also illustrates how the private sector can offer innovative solutions to help communities build or rebuild disaster-resilient infrastructure.
The report explores in depth six key recommendations: (i) focus on preparedness, prevention, and mitigation now; (ii) foster collaboration across public and private sectors; (iii) motivate community-wide engagement; (iv) coordinate across regional boundaries; (v) encourage resilient recovery with optimal incentives; and (vi) build back stronger and smarter. The findings in this report are relevant for cities, regions, and businesses the world over as they prepare to face the growing risks of natural disaster, compounded by the mounting challenges of the 21st century—as well as for those currently rebuilding.
Practical note: be sure to print off in best quality setting to ensure readability.
Thanks to Ed Metz for calling this report to my attention.
CONTAMINATED DRINKING WATER – Lyons
TOTAL COST ESTIMATED AT MORE THAN $2B
POSITIVE COST-BENEFIT FROM MITIGATION EFFORTS– from Bill Hooke’s blog
CLIMATE CHANGE NOT THOUGHT TO BE A FACTOR; Sept. 25
BOULDER STORM SUMMIT – conference summary, Sept. 26
PROBLEMS WITH BROKEN ROADS, Sept. 28
Recovery Diva 