The US Senate agreed today to a one-year extension of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The House (which has already approved a five-year extension) is expected to adopt the Senate extension. This is obviously a short-term fix, but given that the program has expired four times this year alone, it’s still welcome news.
Author Archive | Wesley Shaw
An Argument for Not Returning to Normal [Editorial]
Posted on September 20, 2010
An interesting editorial by Global Ethics professor Tom Sorell on why our natural post-disaster instinct to return things to normal is so often exactly the wrong response, and why we instead ought to work to “usher in discontinuity.” The problem with returning to “normal” is obvious: we’re often returning to the same conditions that put […]
Facebook vs Twitter: Which to Use for What in Emergency Management
Posted on September 9, 2010
Another good post from John Solomon over at In Case of Emergency, Read Blog. Here, he’s looking at how emergency management professionals use the two most popular social networking tools, Facebook and Twitter. In his interviews, he discovers that the two are NOT interchangeable. It turns out that in most cases the two services are […]
Webinar Series Includes Presentation on "Sea Level Rise and Property Rights"
Posted on September 8, 2010
The International Submerged Lands Management has announced its new conference dates. Unlike most conferences, this one takes place on your computer, so those of us with limited travel budgets can still participate. You can find a schedule of all the conference’s events on their website (and we’ll add the lot to the StormSmart Coasts Calendar), […]
Five Years After Katrina: The Changing Landscape of the Lower Ninth Ward
Posted on August 27, 2010
The New York Times has created a mesmerizing and troubling (and clever) webpage that allows you to virtually drive down two streets in New Orleans’s Lower Ninth Ward in 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010. The animation stops at various properties along the way, so you can see how certain buildings have fared (some gone, some […]
Ideas on How to Engage Your Businesses in Emergency Preparedness
Posted on August 20, 2010
John Solomon, author of “In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog” has written an interesting and compelling editorial arguing that governments at all levels need to work harder to engage the business community in disaster preparedness. He says: Government citizen preparedness campaigns over the past few years have raised awareness but not significantly enough to change […]
New Funding & Technical Assistance Opportunity for Local Planning
Posted on August 17, 2010
The Model Forest Policy Program is offering an interesting-sounding new funding and technical assistance opportunity for rural communities looking for help with their land-use planning. Here’s how they’re describing the program on their website: The Model Forest Policy Program (MFPP) is now accepting applications for 2011 Climate Solutions University: Forest and Water Strategies (CSU). This […]
New Study to Predict Economic and Ecological Impact of Oil Spill & Sea Level Rise on Alabama Coast
Posted on August 13, 2010
A new University of Central Florida study will examine how rising sea level could harm estuaries and coastal communities along the Florida Panhandle and Alabama and Mississippi coasts. The study may also help project impacts of the BP Deepwater Horizon spill. The team, led by Scott C. Hagen, (associate professor of Civil Engineering), also includes […]
Are You Using Social Media for Emergency Management? Your Citizens Are!
Posted on August 10, 2010
The Red Cross has released the results of a survey of just over 1,000 respondents on how people use and expect to use social media during a disaster. The results are pretty striking. A couple of highlights: Nearly 3-in-4 respondents use at least one online community or social network. Facebook was by far the most […]
Webinar: Climate Resilient Coastal Communities (Wednesday July 28)
Posted on July 27, 2010
Webinar announcement for tomorrow, courtesy of EMForum.org: Building the Foundation for Hazard and Climate Resilient Coastal Communities July 28, 2010, 12:00 Noon EasternEMForum.org is pleased to host a one hour presentation and interactive discussion Wednesday, July 28, 2010, beginning at 12:00 Noon Eastern time (please convert to your local time). Our topic will be the […]