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See the document at this location:
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO-OILCOMMISSION/content-detail.html
Here is one summary of the results from the WSJ. Sept. 15.
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Japan’s Way Back; Six months after the nightmare of 3/11, a resilient nation is rebuilding—and taking stock of a new era. Wall St. Journal, Sept. 10
A Japanese magazine recently declared that, after six decades, sengo Japan had been replaced by saigo Japan—that is, the postwar era had given way to the post-disaster era. Just as the country’s politics, economy and society had been transformed by the trauma and destruction of World War II, so now are its foundations being remade by the calamity of March 11, whose six-month anniversary falls this Sunday, just as Americans mark their own unhappy anniversary.
The comparison to World War II is an exaggeration. As colossal as the quake, tsunami and nuclear accident were, they don’t begin to match the scale of what the country faced in 1945. But a half year after the combined disasters—which have left, at last count, 15,780 confirmed dead and another 4,122 missing—Japan is still wrestling with the disruption and dislocation unleashed that day.
“Seven times down, eight times up,” is a popular Japanese expression for resilience after adversity. It is often symbolized by the round Daruma good-luck doll that bobs up after getting knocked down. On July 8—chosen for the date of 7/8—the Fukushima prefecture city of Koriyama held a Daruma festival to inspire the refugees from the surrounding area.
One more article re “civic paralysis” may be of interest. Recovery is very hard, if not impossible, for some small towns that are devastated. Sept. 12, 2011.
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If you share my feeling that 2011 is a year full of disasters and calamaties, here are some statistics to back up that impression. From the Swiss Re insurance co., Catastrophes cost the insurance industry USD 70 billion in the first half year of 2011; Sept. 9, 2011.
Based on first half 2011 events:
- 2011 will be the year with the highest insured earthquake losses in history
- 2011 ranks already as the second costliest year for insured catastrophic losses
According to preliminary sigma estimates, total insured losses for the global insurance industry from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters reached an estimated USD 70 billion in the first half of 2011. This is more than double the figure of USD 29 billion for the first six months of 2010. Claims from natural catastrophes alone reached USD 67 billion in the first half of 2011, compared to USD 27 billion in the same period of last year.
Total economic losses to the society (insured and uninsured) for the first half year’s disasters were almost USD 278 billion. Approximately 26 000 people lost their lives in catastrophes in the first six months of 2011, most of them in Japan.
With more than USD 70 billion in insured catastrophe losses in the first half year alone, 2011 already ranks as the second most expensive year according to sigma records. This figure was only surpassed in 2005 when total catastrophe claims amounted to USD 120 billion, with hurricanes Katrina, Wilma and Rita causing claims of over USD 90 billion.
Amazing pictures of the massive debris that collected in Japan post disasters. Too bad the article did not say more about how they did it and where they put it. The sheer volume of the debris is mindboggling. Sept. 8,2011.
This posting is a bit off topic, but I thought this massive new GAO report was worth highlighting. I have not yet read it, but here are the long and short versions:
The title of the GAO report is Dept. of Homeland Security: Progress Made and Work Remaining in Implementing Homeland Security Missions 10 years after 911. A 30 page version, in the form of testimony given to Congress is provided here. The full report, which is 226 pages, is provided here.
One of the reasons I often report on the NZ earthquake efforts is that they provide a useful frame of reference for U.S. and other recovery planners. It reminds us of what enormous efforts are needed to manage tens of thousands of housing units and other structures after a major earthquake. See this article in the Sidney (Australia) Morning Herald, Sept. 5. NZ quake plan will save 10,000 homes.
Almost 10,000 earthquake-hit Christchurch homes have been saved from demolition in a draft recovery plan for the southern New Zealand city.
The long term strategy, which was released on Monday following a four-hour cabinet meeting in Christchurch, covers all aspects of the city’s $NZ25 billion ($A20.07 billion) rebuild.
Its release marks the anniversary of the first of a series of earthquakes that devastated parts of the city, beginning on September 4 last year.
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Many professionals have “rules of thumb” that they use as a rough measure. Here are a couple I know about and I welcome your additions:
(1) This news clip provides some anecdotal information about an indicator the Craig Fugate uses to determine how severe the impact of a disaster is in an affected neighborhood; it is termed the Waffle House index.
(2) Another one is the White Shirt Day index. I think it was famed researcher Henry Quarantelli who coined this one. As I understand it, when the key local public officials show up in the office wearing a white dress shirt, rather than whatever shirt they can find in a damaged home or shelter, it is an indication that the recovery period has begun and that things are getting back to normal.
(3) Here is one for the ladies, provided by my Mother’s doctor many years ago. At the sight of her when she came for her first office visit after being hospitalized, he noted: “Oh, she is wearing earrings. That’s a good sign that she feels better.”
I am sure there are plenty more out there. Please let me know your favorites.
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This is one of many articles on the topic, since Republican lawmakers are trying to cut back the federal budget after 9 major disasters costing over $1B. each so far this calendar year.
This topic is damn serious, folks. Three takes on the problem:
Washington Post article titled: How will FEMA pay for Hurricane Irene?
With less than $1 billion currently available for federal disaster assistance, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is temporarily suspending payments to rebuild roads, schools and other structures destroyed during spring tornadoes in Joplin, Mo. and southern states in order to pay for damage caused by Hurricane Irene.
FEMA is placing restrictions on paying for longer-term repair, rebuilding and mitigation projects from previous natural disasters in order to ensure the solvency of the federal disaster relief fund, which pays for emergency management costs and public rebuilding projects, the agency said. The decision will impact the spring tornadoes and disasters dating back several years.
The move “prioritizes the immediate, urgent needs of survivors and states when preparing for or responding to a disaster,” said FEMA spokeswoman Rachel Racusen.
The White House is expected to declare similar disasters in other states as soon as today, further sapping money from the relief fund, which currently has about $900 million, below the $1 billion officials prefer to keep on hand.
The shortfall means the Obama administration will soon request supplemental funding from Congress, likely causing another fight over federal spending as a new “supercommittee” prepares to identify trillions of dollars in government spending cuts.
Already House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) has said that any new money for FEMA will be offset by spending cuts elsewhere.
This issue is not new. About two weeks ago I posted an article about the need to find an alternative means of funding disasters, other than via supplemental appropriations. See my posting on August 10 re the need for an alternative. Once again that topic comes to the fore, now that Hurricane Irene is tearing up the east coast. See this article titled Disaster Budget Becomes Political Issue, Aug. 28.
As Hurricane Irene slams into the East Coast, the federal disaster relief agency is dangerously low on cash. And politicians are already bickering about where to get new money. It’s been a busy year for America’s disaster agency, and that may soon spell disaster for its budget.
So far in 2011, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has responded to “major disasters” 65 times, among the highest in the agency’s history. The unprecedented demand has stretched the agency and its budget increasingly thin. Craig Fugate, FEMA’s administrator, told White House reporters in May that the agency’s disaster relief fund was running low, then just above $1 billion. Without an infusion from Congress, he said, relief workers would only address immediate needs, like delivering food and water, instead of less immediate concerns like clearing felled trees and cleaning streets.
But just weeks before the worst of Hurricane Irene began to pelt Washington, D.C. and New York with heavy rain and wind, the agency’s disaster relief fund dropped below $1billion—to $792 million—nearly the lowest the fund has ever been only eight months into the year. As a result, FEMA officials on Saturday implemented what’s known as “immediate needs funding guidance,” which allows the agency to divert funds from long-term repair and rebuilding projects so it can focus on response and recovery efforts from the hurricane.
FEMA spokesperson … said that the agency had the funds to meet the immediate needs of disaster survivors. But, she said, “This strategy prioritizes the immediate, urgent needs of survivors and states when preparing for or responding to a disaster.”
From Forbes magazine on August 30th, this article.
When Will We Ever Learn the Lessons of Hurricanes, by Orin Pilkey, CNN, August 25. Here is a short snippet from the article:
When the storm has passed there will be a wave of sympathy for the many families and businesses that will be affected. In the beach communities, patriotism will prevail, American flags will be unfurled on makeshift flag poles and the dominant attitude will be: “we’re tough and were coming back.” I’ve witnessed this a dozen times. A better attitude is “we’ve learned a lesson, let’s build elsewhere.”
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The National Hurricane Service, the National Weather Service and others are all issuing dire warnings for the eastern seaboard this week. Here is a chilling article about the vulnerability of the NJ and NY shorelines.
Updates re likely path of Hurricane Irene, on the FEMA website.
In case you have any doubt about how serious this storm may be for the Atlantic region, CNN is now talking about it being a 100 year flooding event.
Recovery Diva 