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GRID SECURITYProtecting the Grid from Wildfires
As devastating wildfires continue to burn across the western U.S. and Canada this summer, they’re taking a serious toll on the electrical grid. Every year, wildfires, some sparked by birds or even high winds, cause significant damage to grid infrastructure.
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WILDFIRESAmerica Is Losing Its War Against Wildfire
Over the past decade, so-called megafires — characterized not only by their size, often bigger than 100,000 acres, but by their severity, speed, and impact — have become more common. Wildland firefighting is increasingly facing an intractable reality: We’re stuck in a vicious cycle. A doom loop.
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COASTAL CHALLENGESManhattan’s Flood Walls Are Almost Done. What Sill Mamdani Do Next?
New York City has more than 500 miles of coastline. The new mayor wants to invest in coastal resilience, but he will have to decide which areas of the city to protect.
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EXTREME EVENTSGenerating Scenarios for Extreme Events, without Extreme Data
A new algorithm learns to anticipate the unprecedented scenarios that critical infrastructure and global supply chains are least prepared for.
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DISASTERSDealing with Disasters Increasingly Requires a Smartphone – Losing Access Can Be a Nightmare, but There Are Ways to Prepare
Smartphones have become part of just about everyone’s emergency infrastructure. We use them to receive warnings, follow evacuation routes and road closures, locate shelters, contact family and track rapidly changing conditions. But when disasters hit, cellphones can be easily lost or forgotten, their batteries can run down with no way to recharge them, and cell service can become unreliable.
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DISASTERSNatural Disasters a Threat to Georgia's No. 1 Industry
Agriculture is the state’s No. 1 industry, adding $70 billion annually to Georgia’s economy, according to the Agriculture Department. But natural disasters are a real threat to the economic output and survival of Georgia’s farms.
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HURRUCANESResearch Uncovers Hidden Patterns in Hurricane Storm Surge
When a hurricane roars toward land, forecasters try to predict how high sea levels will rise to help coastal communities prepare for the worst impacts. But storm surge peak isn’t always the biggest problem
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DISASTER WARNINGWhat Another Texas Flood Revealed About the State’s Warning System
Texas revamped its early warning system after a Hill Country flood killed 139 people last year. July’s historic flood revealed what it accomplished — and what’s left to do.
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POLITICIZATIONIs Withholding Federal Counterterrorism Funds from States – as FEMA Has Threatened – Legal?
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has issued new grant guidelines that threaten to withhold counterterrorism funds from states that do not comply with President Donald Trump’s election security directives.
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POLITICIZATIONStates Challenge Trump’s Move to Tie Disaster Aid to Election, Immigration Policies
Twenty-six states accuse the Trump administration in a new lawsuit of illegally threatening to withhold billions in counterterrorism and emergency preparedness funds from states that don’t adopt sweeping election changes or cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
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DISASTER ATTRIBUTIONThe Science of Extreme Event Attribution — Which Analyzes Climate Change’s Influence on Specific Weather Events — Has Advanced, But Challenges Remain
A new report provides a comprehensive assessment of the current capabilities of extreme event attribution (EEA) — a scientific field that analyzes whether and to what extent human-caused climate change influenced an individual extreme weather event, such as a specific heat wave or hurricane
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NATURAL DISASTERSFeds Increasingly Leave Local Governments Hanging When Climate Disasters Hit: Report
Communities that ask for federal assistance when climate disasters hit can’t count on that help to arrive.
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DISASTER RECOVERYWhen Disaster Recovery Becomes a Way of Life: Community Disaster Fatigue Is on the Rise with More Frequent Floods
Flash flooding has been tearing up communities across the U.S., with heavy downpours sending creeks and rivers rushing over their banks. If this feels like déjà vu after two summers of flash flooding across America, imagine being a community that has had to live through flooding like this again and again.
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DISATER RECOVERYCongress Set to Overhaul Disaster Recovery, Speeding Up New Home Builds
There are a lot of ways for disaster victims to get help in the immediate aftermath of a flood or fire, and now there is a new way: A little-noticed section in a bipartisan housing bill could accelerate new construction after major disasters.
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FOOD SECURITYU.S. Needs New Drought Assessment Framework as Droughts Become More Severe and Unpredictable
Droughts in the United States are becoming more intense and unpredictable, and the nation needs to develop a new drought assessment framework to better understand and address them. A new framework should be developed which distinguishes between short-term operational needs, such as drought monitoring and emergency response, and long-term planning for water management, infrastructure, and climate adaptation.
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The long view
COASTAL CHALLENGESSea-Level Rise Has Increased Frequency of Extreme Coastal Flooding Worldwide: Study
Human-caused sea-level rise has significantly increased the frequency of extreme coastal flooding worldwide. New research found that coastal flooding events expected only once every 100 years are now, on average, about 12 times more likely to occur.
FOOD SECURITYU.S. Needs New Drought Assessment Framework as Droughts Become More Severe and Unpredictable
Droughts in the United States are becoming more intense and unpredictable, and the nation needs to develop a new drought assessment framework to better understand and address them. A new framework should be developed which distinguishes between short-term operational needs, such as drought monitoring and emergency response, and long-term planning for water management, infrastructure, and climate adaptation.
NATURAL DISASTERSFeds Increasingly Leave Local Governments Hanging When Climate Disasters Hit: Report
Communities that ask for federal assistance when climate disasters hit can’t count on that help to arrive.