Emergency Management - US

URI professor of oceanography Isaac Ginis. (Tim Faulkner/ecoRI News)

submitted by Sarah Slaughter

ecori.org - by Tim Faulkner - July 26, 2014

NARRAGANSETT — Hurricanes bound for New England will get about 10 percent more powerful by 2100, but the state lacks the tools to access their impacts, according to University of Rhode Island professor Isaac Ginis.

Hurricanes are powered by warm water, and the predicted increase in ocean temperatures caused by climate change is expected to make hurricane season longer and the storms stronger in the years ahead. .

. . . Numerous studies and models suggest the frequency of category 4 and 5 hurricanes are expected to increase by 81 percent, while the volume of rainfall is expected to increase 20 percent by 2100, Ginis said.

However, a key current modeling method used to measure the impacts of hurricanes and set flood insurance maps is outdated, he said.

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submitted by Samuel Bendett

Emergency managers need to train, encourage and empower public partners to become their own heroes. 
Flickr/Joe Loong

emergencymgmt.com - by Charisma Williams - July 15, 2014

“Be your own hero.” The words hit me like a bolt of lightning (I’ll explain why later). . .

. . . Too often the public has to be “humbled” by a tragic or devastating event before many people start to see the validity in the safety and preparedness measures that those of us in the emergency management/preparedness community work so hard to promote both in our professional and personal lives. However, once they do, it is our job to use these events to help foster the safety culture we strive for daily.

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submitted by Albert Gomez        

homeland.house.gov - July 8, 2014

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed H.R. 4007, H.R. 4263, H.R. 4289 and H.R. 3488 - bipartisan legislation to enhance the security of chemical facilities and ports of entry and improve emergency communications.

Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX): “The ability of our first responders to communicate with each other and with the public during a terrorist attack or natural disaster is imperative. I am pleased the House passed H.R. 4263 and H.R. 4289 to ensure that our first responders are able to communicate with each other via interoperable communications systems and with the public via social media during times of crisis.

submitted by Samuel Bendett

Washington Air National Guardsmen methodically make their way through the mud and wreckage left behind by the March 22 mudslide in Oso, Wash. (Photo by Spc. Matthew Sissel/122D PAOC)

By letting citizens live in vulnerable places even after disaster strikes, governments plant the seeds for future disasters.

emergencymgmt.com - by Donald F. Kettl - May 28, 2014

It didn’t take long after the tragedy of the Oso, Wash., March mudslide for everyone to wonder: Should local officials have done more to prevent people from building in harm’s way? . . .

. . . The feds often know a great deal about the risks but don’t have the authority to act. Local governments have the authority to act, especially through zoning requirements, but often don’t have the capacity to collect all the technical information or the will to interfere in local development.

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