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RI’s new emergency manager makes disaster communication key priority
One of the top priorities for Theresa C. Murray, Rhode Island’s new executive director of emergency management, is communication particularly among government employees during a major attack or a disaster
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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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Earthquake-prone regions are underinsured
New study finds that much of the world is still underinsured against earthquake risk; underinsurance is often due to low risk awareness in earthquake-prone areas; earthquake models should consider secondary-loss factors more comprehensively
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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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DHS IG: Cook County communications program botched
On Monday the DHS Inspector General blasted officials in Cook County, Illinois for mishandling a $45 million federally funded project to upgrade communications equipment for first responders; the Inspector General said the Cook County program, dubbed Project Shield, was fraught with trouble from the start, resulted in equipment that did not work, and potentially wasted millions of taxpayers’ dollars
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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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FEMA aims to increase emergency preparedness with New Year’s resolution
As the New Year begins the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is ramping up its Ready Campaign, a nationwide effort aimed at increasing emergency preparedness
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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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The long view
Trump Aims to Shut Down State Climate Policies
President Donald Trump has launched an all-out legal attack on states’ authority to set climate change policy. Climate-focused state leaders say his administration has no legal basis to unravel their efforts.