The Center for Disease Prevention and Control ( CDC) has just released its newest version of this manual, which has a public health orientation. Full download is here. At 478 pages, you had better be serious about this subject to print off a copy!
Hurricane experts have known for decades that NYC is a vulnerable place. In fact H. Irene gave people in NYC a good scare. New article from Homeland Security Newswires provides some new details about the risk and vulnerability of the Big Apple: New York unprepared for flooding, sea level rise; 24 September 2012. The article starts with:
New York City may be a fast paced city of bright lights, sleek attitudes, fashion trends, and some of the best sports teams in the country, but underneath the glitz and glamour is a city which is not prepared for an act of God and which is being threatened by rising sea levels and severe storm flooding; “It’s a million small changes that need to happen,” one expert says
The National Report Card on Protecting Children During a Disaster, the 2012 report from the Save the Children Foundation. A short report ( 12 pp) on protecting vulnerable children after a disaster.
Last week I wrote about the new FEMA Corps. It appears that the European Union is creating a new corps, somewhat like the FEMA Corps and also the Peace Corps, since it is intended to provide humanitarian assistance after a disaster to other countries. Some details provided by Reuters are here.
Another report report, this one from the Congressional Research Service, may be of interest. See Stafford Act Declarations 1953-2011:Trends and Analyses, and Implications for Congress. Aug. 2012. (R42702)
As is true of the recent GAO report, noted in the posting below, there is a great deal of useful data presented in this report.
Researchers take note: these two reports could be the basis of a useful analysis.
If you are interested in the threshhold that FEMA uses for its presidential declaration, a new GAO report questions the formula FEMA uses. Federal Disaster Assistance; improved criteria needed to assess a jurisdictions’ capability to respond and recovery on its own. GAO provides both an executive summary and the full text report (89 pp). The GAO is critical of the one criterion FEMA uses, namely the per capita damage indicator.
Drought of 2012 conjures up Dust Bowl memories, raises questions for tomorrow
From dry rivers to dead deer, drought’s impact felt everywhere. Nothing in U.S. history can compare to that calamity of eight decades ago, including the historic drought now gripping much of the country.
That doesn’t mean, though, there isn’t considerable suffering and devastation now in most of the United States. Or that dire conditions could well persist for several years, as they did during the 1930s — compounding negative impacts of drought, thus ruining even more livelihoods and lives despite technological and agricultural advancements of recent years.
“Mother Nature holds all the cards,” said Mark Svoboda, a climatologist with the National Drought Mitigation Center. “You roll the dice … every year. Nothing will make you quote-unquote drought-proof.”
This is the time to review your plans and preparedness supplies. The Diva is a member of both Citizen Corps and the Community Response Planning Team (CERT) in her county. Today we staffed a table at the Preparedness Fair at FBI headquarters in D.C. That was a receptive audience — they have no problem imagining emergencies and disasters!
URGE YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND COLLEAGUES TO TAKE STEPS TO BE PREPARED.
Arctic Ice Melt Could Mean More Extreme Winters For U.S. And Europe; from HuffPost, Sept. 12. The outcome seems counter-intuitive, but it is essential to understand the science behind this phenomenon. Some excerpts:
The record loss of Arctic sea ice this summer will echo throughout the weather patterns affecting the U.S. and Europe this winter, climate scientists said on Wednesday, since added heat in the Arctic influences the jet stream and may make extreme weather and climate events more likely.
The “astounding” loss of sea ice this year is adding a huge amount of heat to the Arctic Ocean and the atmosphere, said Jennifer Francis, an atmospheric scientist at Rutgers University in New Jersey. “It’s like having a new energy source for the atmosphere.”
The extent of Arctic sea ice on Aug. 26, 2012, the day the sea ice dipped to its smallest extent ever recorded in more than three decades of satellite measurements. The line on the image shows the average minimum extent from the period covering 1979-2010.
The loss of sea ice initiates a feedback loop known as Arctic amplification. As sea ice melts, it exposes darker ocean waters to incoming solar radiation. The ocean then absorbs far more energy than had been the case when the brightly colored sea ice was present, and this increases water and air temperatures, thereby melting even more sea ice.
See Storm Isaac tars Louisiana beaches with oil from BP spill, from Reuters, Sept. 12.
* Hurricane Isaac unearthed oil buried by previous storms
* BP claims “robust recovery” of Gulf ecosystems
* US govt, Louisiana point to lingering ecological damage
Two years after the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, mats of oily tar from BP Plc.’s ill-fated Macondo well have turned up on Louisiana’s shore after Hurricane Isaac stirred up submerged oil deposits, BP officials said on Tuesday.
BP said the oil that washed ashore after Hurricane Isaac made landfall in Louisiana on Aug. 28 was not unexpected, after Tropical Storm Bonnie in July 2010 buried oil under tons of sand. Isaac’s winds and tidal surge peeled back layers of sand and exposed tar balls and tar mats that were buried under up to five feet of sand, BP said.
One more take on the same topic appeared in the Huff Post today.
For the folks in LA and adjacent states, the 3 big disasters of the past 7 years must seem to be interconnected.
Recovery Diva 