NOAA officials are experimenting with the traditional Saffir-Simspon Hurricane scale—used since 1975 to label hurricane impacts—by removing its storm surge ranges and flooding. NOAA hopes removing the surge information could make categories less confusing for the public. Storm surge information is “scientifically inaccurate,” according to NOAA officials, and values assigned to storm surge within each […]
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Disaster Preparedness for Your Community Records
Posted on July 1, 2009
How safe are your community’s critical records from wind and floodwaters? Major (and sometimes even minor) disasters take their toll on the files your community needs to keep itself running, adding more challenges to the already overwhelming task of recovering from an event. Two articles (below) explain why it’s so critical to protect your records […]
Role Play Helps Communities Find Consensus
Posted on June 23, 2009
In Annapolis (MD) earlier this spring, more than 170 mayors, county commissions, environmentalists, business leaders and Maryland state officials came together for an interactive summit about community-level responses to climate risks such as sea-level rise and storm surge that threaten the state’s coast. You can watch a video introduction to the project here. The event […]
Evacuating with Your Pets
Posted on June 23, 2009
FEMA has a new press release with evacuation tips for you and your furry, feathered, or scaly friends. Specifically: A secure pet carrier, cage or crate, plus leash and collar or harness for each pet Muzzle (anxiety and stress can cause any pet to bite. A muzzle serves to protect both the pet and other […]
Study Finds Florida Home Retrofitting Program Cost Effective
Posted on June 23, 2009
A new assessment of the “My Safe Flordia Home” program found that while there was room for improvement, the program saved more than it cost. More precisely, it found that each dollar spent in the program reduced risk by $1.50. Perhaps most relevant for those working in coastal communities in a time of limited resources, […]
FEMA Releases 2010 Hazard Mitigation Unified Guidance
Posted on June 23, 2009
Need to know how to apply to the Hazard Mitigation Grants Program (HGMP)? Or for Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM), Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA), Repetitive Flood Claims (RFC), or Severe Repetitive Loss Pilot (SRL) grants? If so, you’re in luck: FEMA’s just released the extensive (188-page) Hazard Mitigation Assistance Unified Guidance handbook applicable to HMGP funds available […]
Poll Reveals Coastal Residents Grossly Unprepared for 2009 Hurricane Season
Posted on June 18, 2009
A new poll suggests that even after an active 2008 hurricane season, residents from Texas to Maine have taken no steps to prepare for major storms. The Mason-Dixon poll was conducted as part of the 2009 National Hurricane Survival Initiative, which was launched at a news conference at the International Hurricane Research Center in Miami […]
Whitehouse Releases New Climate Change Report
Posted on June 18, 2009
Calling it “the most comprehensive and authoritative report of its kind,” on Tuesday the White House released Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States. In its 190-pages, the nonpartisan report confirms what many have long argued: climate change due to heat-trapping pollution is already occurring and is visible throughout the United States, and the […]
Mid-Atlantic to See Greatest Sea Level Rise?
Posted on June 9, 2009
The Washington Post yesterday reported that the East Coast may face the greatest relative sea level rise in the states. The reason: projected changes in ocean currents, which are currently keeping sea levels on the mid-Atlantic coastline well below what they might otherwise be. If those currents change, sea levels in the region may rise […]
Radio Show: "'Hurricane Highway' Islands: Rebuild Or Retreat?"
Posted on June 4, 2009
National Public Radio aired a piece earlier this week exploring the parallels and differences between Alabama’s Dauphin Island and Isle Derniere (a Louisiana island that was a resort town in the 1800s, but was slowly abandoned in the wake of an 1856 hurricane). The story raises that age-old question: is retreat sometimes the only answer? […]