From the WashPost: What made Hurricane Katrina a catastrophe, and why its horrors linger 20 years later.
“Twenty years after one of the nation’s most costly and transformative disasters, visuals from Katrina are seared into collective memories — of a major American city drowning.”
“About 180 current and former FEMA staffers sent a letter on Monday to members of Congress and other officials protesting the agency’s leadership and direction.
By Tuesday evening, FEMA’s office of the administrator had sent several people letters informing them that, effective immediately, they were on an administrative leave, operating “in a non-duty status while continuing to receive pay and benefits.”
From the NY Times: Are You Prepared for a Climate Disaster?
Test your knowledge of how to handle hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires and more.
(1) From the WashPost: FEMA staff warn Trump officials’ actions risk a Katrina-level disaster
“About 180 FEMA employees, many of them anonymous, signed a letter to Congress arguing that current agency leadership has hindered the ability to effectively manage emergencies.”
(2) From the NYTimes: FEMA Employees Warn That Trump Is Gutting Disaster Response
After Hurricane Katrina, Congress passed a law to strengthen the nation’s disaster response. FEMA employees say the Trump administration has reversed that progress.
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From The Conversation: One of Hurricane Katrina’s most important lessons isn’t about storm preparations – it’s about injustice.
Twenty years after Hurricane Katrina swept through New Orleans, the images still haunt us: entire neighborhoods underwater, families stranded on rooftops and a city brought to its knees.
We study disaster planning at Texas A&M University and look for ways communities can improve storm safety for everyone, particularly low-income and minority neighborhoods.
Katrina made clear what many disaster researchers have long found: Hazards such as hurricanes may be natural, but the death and destruction is largely human-made.
Global Health Emergency Corps
Scott F Dowell et al; https://gh.bmj.com/content/10/8/e019424
As a reminder, the GHEC was launched in 2023. Check out how things are going.
“The Global Health Emergency Corps (GHEC) offers a novel, structured approach to international crisis response by integrating national, regional and global experts through coordinated networks. It is defined as the body of experts in ministries and agencies in every country who work on health emergencies and the global ecosystem through which they coordinate. By prioritising sovereignty, equity and solidarity, GHEC seeks to overcome historical barriers to global health collaboration while respecting national autonomy in crisis response…..”
From the Bulwark: It’s Hurricane Season. Do You know where your FEMA Director is?
Dark days at the disaster agency under Trump, with senior leaders gone, staffing down, and money not going out the door as expected.
From CNN on 8/18 – An update on the current hurricane in the Atlantic
From Truthout Trump’s FEMA Guts Disaster Mitigation While Funding Migrant Jails
As climate disasters increase, the hamstrung agency’s response efforts will be impeded when they’re needed most.
Recovery Diva 