From the WashPost: Google will provide AI to the military for disaster response.
The National Guard will soon use the tech giant’s image-recognition AI to scan images of disaster zones and help prioritize its response..
“Spokespeople for both the DIU and Google X said that the AI would only be used domestically within the Unite”d States and its territories, and for disaster response, not military action.”
From Grist: FEMA is making an example of this Florida boomtown. Locals call it ‘revenge politics.’The Biden administration is trying to punish Lee County for rebuilding flood-prone homes. The state’s Republican politicians are fighting back.
An Excerpt:
“The crackdown in Lee County represents an attempt by FEMA to shift the cost burden of climate risk away from the federal government (and the public that funds it) and onto local homeowners. This will test the strength of the area’s white-hot real estate market, potentially forcing many homeowners to walk away from their waterfront properties. As the federal government and private insurers both try to reduce their exposure to climate change, Lee County and its cities could be canaries in the coal mine for a housing market disfigured by mounting flood risk.”
From Forbes: 6 Lessons From FEMA’s Response To Thousands Of Crisis Situations
Some practical advice, much of it provided by a former FEMA executive Cliff Oliver.
From HSToday: Drought, Heat Raise the Risk of a Repeat of Canada’s Record-breaking Wildfires Last Year.
The impact of the fires last year was severe for many U.S. states.
From the WashPost: An ‘extremely active’ hurricane season is headed our way, experts warn. A key preseason hurricane forecast predicts nearly two dozen tropical storms, including 11 hurricanes, posing heightened threats to U.S. coastline
Article from The Hill, written by a former FEMA employee: FEMA’s turning 45. It needs to change to keep meeting its mission.
FEMA’s turning 45. It needs to change to keep meeting its mission.
From Newsweek: Florida’s Insurance Crisis Just Got Worse
Florida’s insurance saga is deepening as more than 115,000 homeowners in the southwest portion of the state, still reeling from the destruction wrought by Hurricane Ian in 2022, are facing new challenges with a 25 percent increase in flood insurance rates.
The rate hike, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is attributed to local officials reportedly allowing substandard rebuilding efforts, failing to meet the stringent federal standards required for flood-damaged homes.
The latest development is part of a broader, intensifying crisis within the state’s insurance sector, highlighted by escalating premiums, an exodus of insurers, and widespread dissatisfaction among policyholders over claim settlements. With FEMA penalizing Lee County for its laxity in enforcing rebuilding codes, residents are caught in a tug-of-war between striving for recovery and navigating the “punitive” measures of federal oversight.
From the Congressional Research Service: Emergency Relief Program for Disaster-
Damaged Highways and Bridges (25 pp)
Recovery Diva 