From The Conversation: Extreme heat is particularly hard on older adults – an aging population and climate change are putting ever more people at risk
Personal Recovery Hardships After Hurricane Ian in FL
From the WashPost: For Florida’s Hurricane Ian survivors, extreme heat is a ‘second disaster. ” The state’s record-breaking weather shows how compound climate events hurt the most vulnerable.
“Why CA and FL Have Become Almost Uninsurable”- NYTimes
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.
Personal Technology for a Natural Disaster
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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FEMA is Running Out of Money
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.”
Funding Exists for Mitigation of Future Climate Disasters
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
A Look Back at FEMA
From Bloomberglaw, an article that provides an historic account of FEMA.
See: FEMA Stretched Beyond Climate Response as Disasters Balloon
Some Personal Preparedness for Persons with Major Illnesses
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.
Discussion with FEMA Adminstrator on Building Codes
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.