Disasters

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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LAPD abandons plans to move to Google cloud server
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) recently announced that it had scrapped its plans to move its email servers to a Google-based cloud system citing the technology’s inability to meet certain FBI security requirements
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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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2011 natural disasters cost U.S. insurers more than $32 billion
2011 saw U.S. government set record for disaster declarations; the severity of the disasters set a record as well, with twelve separate billion-dollar weather/climate disasters in 2011, with an aggregate damage total of approximately $52 billion (this number reflects both insured and uninsured losses)
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Buffalo – second best prepared city in U.S. for disasters
Buffalo, New York was recently declared the second best prepared city in the United States for a major terrorist attack or disaster in terms of public health
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NY counties receive money to prepare for emergencies
The magnitude of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee posed serious communications challenges to the response and recovery efforts among many New York counties; these counties are now receiving $20 million in funding to help localities better respond to emergency situations
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