From the NYTimes: Maui Knew Dangerous Wildfires Had Become Inevitable. It Still Wasn’t Ready. As President Biden arrives to survey the damage with state and local officials, shock and grief are giving way to anger and questions about the government’s preparation. August 22, 2023. VERY IMPORTANT ARTICLE! Continue reading
From Homeland Security News Wire:Hurricanes Have Become Deadlier, Especially for Socially Vulnerable.
“In our study, excess death counts after tropical cyclones were higher more recently and for the most socially vulnerable,” said Robbie M. Parks, PhD, assistant professor of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia Public Health, and first author. “This was likely in part due to lack of access to adequate short-term transportation, as well as inequitable access to financial resources, education, employment opportunities and timely warnings on tropical cyclone proximity, all of which are results of long-term institutional neglect.”
From CBSNews: FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell says emergency funds could be depleted within weeks.
This is of major concern because Congress is out until after Labor Day! And the hurricane season still has months to go.
From Forbes: How FEMA And California Have Prepared For Hurricane Hilary. August 21.
From Politico: President Joe Biden hasn’t launched a Maui fire investigation. Here’s why. While the White House defers to Hawaii on a formal probe, Congress holds the key to forcing scrutiny from the feds.
“The Biden administration has promised billions of dollars to help Hawaii recover from its deadly wildfires this month — but not a federal investigation into what went wrong.
Even if the administration wanted an independent inquiry, there is no national disaster investigator to dig into unanswered questions about the response to the Lahaina blaze. Among those questions: Why the island’s siren system wasn’t used to cue evacuations, how water lines ran dry in fighting the fire and whether the White House was quick enough in deploying federal help.”
From CNN: In a record year of catastrophes,
My old friend Eric Holdeman, who hosts the website www.disaster-zone.com, does a weekly interview via Podcast . This week he interviewed me about my past work and current volunteer activities, most notably hosting this site. The title of the podcast is Retired from a Paycheck.
You can tune into the podcast at the website noted above. Both giving the interview and listening to a podcast were a first for me.
New Report from Brookings: The U.S. Needs a New System for Declaring Natural Disasters and Distributing Federal Aid. (July 2023). Report is 20 pages.
{Note this report was issued in July, well before the Maui disaster.}
Comments are invited.
From Grist: Wildfires just Destroyed a Maui town; Next Year Could Be Worse.
From The Conversation: Maui wildfires: Extra logistical challenges
hinder government’s initial response when disasters strike islands
From the WashPost: Maui fires not just due to climate change but a ‘compound disaster’ The fires were a textbook case of many different agents acting together
From the WashPost: Maui fires not just due to climate change but a ‘compound disaster’ The fires were a textbook case of many different agents acting together
From the WashPost: How the Maui wildfires devastated Lahaina, hour by hour
In a visual timeline, survivors recount how they were overwhelmed by the fire’s speed, smothering smoke and lack of escape routes
From The Conversation: After Maui fires, human health risks linger in the air, water and even surviving buildings.
August 14, 2023
From CNBC: ‘Nothing can prepare you’ for devastation of Hawaii wildfire, FEMA administrator says. August 15,2023.
From The Guardian: Charred debris, toxic water, remote towns: Lahaina’s recovery will be a ‘slow process’
August 16. 2023
From the Guardian: Maui wildfires expose rift over island’s tourism: ‘We’re more vulnerable than anyone admits’ August 17, 2023
From the Wash Post: The toxic aftermath of the Maui fires could last for years
Lahaina is plagued by hazardous debris, chemicals and undrinkable water. A big storm could worsen and spread the wildfire contamination. August 17, 2023
From the Wash Post: Sleeping in cars and tents, Maui fire survivors are unsure what to do next. Many who lost homes and businesses in the blazes are camping on the beach. They are living, hour by hour, unsure of what the future holds. August 18, 2023
From Grist: Locals have been sounding the alarm for years about Lahaina wildfire risk
August 19, 2023
From the Wash Post: A terrifying fire struck Maui in 2018. Officials were warned of a repeat. Maui officials promised to improve fire safety following the near-deadly blaze, but didn’t broadly act, according to an investigation by The Post. Sept. 22, 2023
From the NYTimes: Maui Knew Dangerous Wildfires Had Become Inevitable. It Still Wasn’t Ready. As President Biden arrives to survey the damage with state and local officials, shock and grief are giving way to anger and questions about the government’s preparation. August 22, 2023. VERY IMPORTANT ARTICLE!
Recovery Diva 