Why California and Florida Have Become Almost Uninsurable.

Climate change is an obvious factor, but the states’ governments share a large part of the blame.

From the WashPost: The best tech to have in a natural disaster. From the right backup battery to a radio when the internet is gone, here are tech tips for your emergency kit.

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From Axios: FEMA set to run out of money before peak hurricane season
“The federal government’s disaster relief fund is on pace to run out of money at the height of both the hurricane and wildfire seasons, a top official warned this week.

Why it matters: Government funding emergencies aren’t new, but the climate crisis has sent the number of costly natural disasters soaring, stretching the Federal Emergency Management Agency thin at the worst time of year.

What they’re saying: “We can no longer speak of a ‘disaster season’ — we now face intensified natural disasters throughout the year, often in places that are not used to experiencing them,” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told a House subcommittee Thursday.

Criswell said that in 2010, FEMA had 108 declared disasters to support. A decade later, the number jumped to 315.
“Our mission has not changed, but our operating environment has,” she said. “And with that, comes the challenge of ensuring that everyone who qualifies for FEMA assistance is able to access that help.”

From the Wash Post: Why a $90 million push could help U.S. buildings withstand climate disasters. Funding from the infrastructure law comes as climate disasters batter the nation, and gives Biden another chance to use climate carrots instead of sticks

From Bloomberglaw, an article that provides an historic account of FEMA.
See: FEMA Stretched Beyond Climate Response as Disasters Balloon

Here is some advice for those with major illnesses to help anticipate and enhance their ability to cope with a major disaster. The source of this information is the Mesothelioma Center.

Those who have been diagnosed or have a family member diagnosed with cancer can have a particularly hard time when natural disasters occur. This can range from not having the ability to refill a prescription to roadways being blocked so they can’t make it to the hospital to continue their treatment. That’s why we created this page https://www.asbestos.com/support/natural-disaster-emergency-plan/ to help give advice on what you should do before disaster strikes.

Alternatively, after a damaging natural disaster, the recovery process can be quite dangerous. Many old buildings may have been destroyed and asbestos may be unknowingly present. We also created these pages: https://www.asbestos.com/asbestos/natural-disasters/ . Also, https://www.asbestos.com/mesothelioma/causes/risk-factors/ to give tips on how to prevent yourself from being exposed to asbestos while cleaning up.

From Smart Cities Diva, this article on the outcome of a recent Wash Post live event last week: As billion-dollar disasters increase, FEMA evolves to keep up.The agency is reevaluating when to scale up staffing and eyeing building codes as a strategy to save on recovery costs.

New Congressional Research Service Report ( 73 pp) on FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program (IHP)—Implementation and Considerations for Congress

Priority Open Recommendations: Department of Homeland Security.  
Full report is 34 pp.

“Each year, we make more than 1,000 recommendations to help the federal government save money, address issues on our High Risk List, and significantly improve government operations.

This letter to DHS outlines 42 open recommendations that it should prioritize. The recommendations relate to emergency preparedness, border and transportation security, infrastructure, cybersecurity and IT, chemical security, countering violent extremism, and domestic intelligence and information sharing.

DHS implemented 14 recommendations we identified as a priority last year.”