The town of Hull, Massachusetts has just passed an innovative incentive program to encourage builders to elevate new and renovated structures above predicted floodwaters. The program offers applicants a $500 credit to be used towards building department permit fees if the builder elevates the structure at least two feet above the highest federal or state […]
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Alabama and Texas are now StormSmart!
Posted on October 2, 2009
It’s with great pleasure that we welcome two more states into the StormSmart Coasts Network family: Texas and Alabama. Getting the state sites up and running takes some work at the state level, so we’re incredibly thankful for our state partners, including our friends in the Texas General Land Office, and in the Alabama Geological […]
The Costs of Not Preparing for Climate Change
Posted on September 30, 2009
Even the most conservative project puts sea level rise at 0.5 meter (1.6 feet) higher than current levels. The HRI Socio-Economics Group was asked by the Environmental Defense Fund, with support from the British Consulate General in Houston, to assess what the socio-economic impact might be for the Galveston Bay region of Texas. HRI Endowed […]
Improved Hazard Mitigation Assistance Guidance Released
Posted on September 29, 2009
FEMA has released a re-formatted version of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) Guidance with internal links throughout the document. It is now possible to jump between sections in the document based on the internal links. The substance of the guidance remains the same, only the format has been changed. Kudos to […]
Incredible Photos: One Year After Ike
Posted on September 15, 2009
If you have a moment, take a look at this amazing series of photos published in the Boston Globe. The images are split into pairs, with one taken during or immediately after Ike, the other a year later, with the second being revealed after clicking on the first. Hopeful and sobering at the same time. […]
What if Historic Storm Hit Today? New Site Shows
Posted on September 15, 2009
It’s time to take a break and play with one of the latest hurricane damage prediction tools to ascend from a darkened computer lab to your desktop: the iCAT Damage Estimator. iCAT (a company providing catastrophe insurance) built this web-application to provide easy access to historical hurricane damage information. If you’d like a 10-minute introduction, […]
Five Things We Should Learn from Ike [EDITORIAL]
Posted on September 15, 2009
The Houston Chronicle published an editorial on Sunday sharing the five lessons they think we can learn from Texas’s experience with Hurricane Ike. The article is short and well worth a quick read. We particularly liked number four: Better and smarter building makes sense Hurricanes may not discriminate, but the damage they inflict on buildings […]
Smart Growth Guide for Coastal and Waterfront Communities Released
Posted on September 9, 2009
Today the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the International City/County Management Association, and Rhode Island Sea Grant released Smart Growth for Coastal and Waterfront Communities. Developed in consultation with the national Smart Growth Network, the interagency guide builds on the network’s ten smart growth principles to create coastal and waterfront-specific strategies […]
Training Opportunity: FEMA 550 – Residential Construction for Gulf Coast Design Professionals
Posted on September 3, 2009
FEMA will be offering its “Recommended Residential Construction for the Gulf Coast Design Professionals” course on September 15, 8:00am – 4:15pm at the Army National Guard Emergency Operations Training Auditorium in Gulfport. Details from the flier: This 1-day course on FEMA 550, Recommended Residential Construction for the Gulf Coast, developed by FEMA is geared to […]
North Carolina Amends Innovative Beach Plan
Posted on September 3, 2009
The latest newsletter from the Institute for Business and Home Safety reports on some of the more forward-thinking innovations in the recently passed amendments North Carolina Beach Plan, including some interesting building code and insurance revisions: Legislation that amends North Carolina’s state-funded coastal insurance plan, known as the Beach Plan, was recently signed by Gov. […]