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FEMA urges greater public-private cooperation in disaster response
Speaking at the International Disaster Conference and Exposition, Craig Fugate, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), urged emergency planners to take a broader view of disaster response and include the private sector
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2012 business worries
Businesses list the threats they are most concerned about in 2012; leading the list: unplanned IT and telecom outages, data breaches, and adverse weather
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2011: costliest ever year for earthquakes, weather-related disasters
A sequence of devastating earthquakes and a large number of weather-related catastrophes made 2011 the costliest year ever in terms of natural catastrophe losses; at about $380 billion, global economic losses were nearly two-thirds higher than in 2005, the previous record year with losses of $ 220 billion
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Tax breaks for disaster victims
This year victims of natural disasters may be eligible for a generous break on their taxes
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New Jersey enacts new disaster preparedness law
On Tuesday New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed new legislation into law designed to bolster state emergency preparedness
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Fukushima decontamination efforts proves to be daunting task
For the past several months Japan has been steadily recovering from the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that ravaged the country on 11 March, but now cleanup crews have begun to tackle one of their most difficult jobs yet – decontaminating areas hit by radioactive fallout
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Fracking did not cause East Coast quake, doubts linger
Scientists have ruled out the possibility that the controversial mining technique known as hydrofracking played any part in the quake that shook the East Coast last August
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Some earthquakes expected along Rio Grande Rift
The Rio Grande Rift, a thinning and stretching of Earth’s surface that extends from Colorado’s central Rocky Mountains to Mexico, is not dead but geologically alive and active
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New fault lines discovered in western Washington
Geologists have discovered a series of fault lines that criss cross several mountain ranges in western Washington
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New Orleans flood defense system nears completion
The Army Corps of Engineers is rapidly nearing the completion of its upgrades to the massive levee and flood defense system designed to protect the greater New Orleans area from another Hurricane Katrina
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Japanese government, Tokyo Electric blasted for handling of Fukushima
A recent report revealed that Japan’s response to the nuclear crises at the Fukushima Daiichi atomic energy plant following the devastating 11 March earthquake and tsunami was riddled with false assumptions, miscommunication, and poor planning
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Smartphones to save lives in natural disasters
Smartphones could help save hundreds of thousands of lives in the aftermath of a disaster or humanitarian crisis; software developed by computer scientists could help quickly and accurately to locate missing people, rapidly identify those suffering from malnutrition and effectively point people towards safe zones simply by checking their phones
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Ohio injection well drilling causes tremors
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has suspended operations at a drilling Youngstown Township fluid injection well after studies showed that the a series of tremors occurred approximately two miles below and within a mile of the injection site
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Connecticut examines ways to bolster electrical grid during disasters –
Following Tropical Storm Irene and the29 October nor’easter that left thousands of homes without power across the northeast, Connecticut is considering new regulations that could bolster the power grid and improve resiliency during natural disasters
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California’s flood-protection system crumbling
California has a patchwork of aging flood-protection system; it was built over the last 150 years by individuals, localities, and the state government; experts say this system, now protecting an estimated $69 billion in assets, is woefully inadequate
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The long view
U.S. Flood Strategy Shifts to ‘Unavoidable’ Relocation of Entire Neighborhoods
For years, even as seas rose and flooding worsened nationwide, policymakers stuck to the belief that relocating entire communities away from vulnerable areas was simply too extreme to consider — an attack on Americans’ love of home and private property as well as a costly use of taxpayer dollars. Christopher Flavelle writes that now, however, that is rapidly changing amid acceptance that rebuilding over and over after successive floods makes little sense. Using tax dollars to move whole communities out of flood zones is swiftly becoming policy, marking a new and more disruptive phase of climate change.
50,000 Benghazis, 109 Katrinas: U.S. COVID-19 Death in Perspective
The United States now counts over 200,000 dead in direct connection with the novel coronavirus. Elizabeth Hunt Brockway writes that to grasp the enormity of this figure, we need to see how this massive number stacks up to Pearl Harbor, 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and other iconic events of mass death, suffering, and pain seared into the American collective conscience.