Disaster Management

A boat moved by Hurricane Michael rests near a canal in May in Mexico Beach, Fla. Seven months after the hurricane made landfall, the town is still littered with heavily damaged or destroyed homes and businesses.  Scott Olson/Getty Images

npr.org - by Greg Allen - June 7, 2019

As another hurricane season begins, emergency managers and other officials throughout the Southeast and along the Gulf Coast are applying lessons they learned last year during Hurricane Michael. Those lessons include how they conduct evacuations . . .

 . . . we're going to start seeing a lot of things change . . . 

 . . . Among those likely changes: how people prepare for storms, how many evacuate and how strong new construction on Florida's Panhandle will need to be to survive hurricanes like Michael.

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A damaged home in Puerto Rico in September, a year after Hurricane Maria hit.  Credit Carlos Barria/Reuters

nytimes.com - by Emily Cochrane - April 1, 2019

The Senate on Monday blocked billions of dollars in disaster aid for states across the country as Republicans and Democrats clashed over President Trump’s opposition to sending more food and infrastructure help to Puerto Rico.

Opposition came from both parties for different reasons . . .

. . . It was unclear late Monday how lawmakers would overcome that impasse and end the delay in disbursing the disaster aid.

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ALSO SEE RELATED ARTICLES WITHIN THE LINK BELOW . . .

CLICK HERE - Billions Of Dollars In Disaster Aid Stuck In Congress, As Both Parties Balk At Relief Legislation

Hurricane Harvey was only the latest storm to flood many residents in the Memorial City area, and numerous other Houston-area neighborhoods, such as these homes near Interstate 10 East. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )  Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff / Houston Chronicle

houstonchronicle.com - by Mike Morris - January 19, 2019

In Texas’ first legislative session post Hurricane Harvey, lawmakers have filed bills aimed at better alerting homeowners to their flood risk, lessening the damage of future storms and lowering disaster victims’ tax bills.

Whether these or similar proposals pass, a key question confronting lawmakers is whether to allocate cash for disaster recovery and prevention from Texas’ so-called rainy day fund, which is projected to reach $15 billion at the end of the coming biennium if not touched.

A routine Senate bill providing supplemental funding for the 2018-2019 biennium proposes to draw $1.2 billion from the Economic Stabilization Fund to cover various state agencies’ Harvey expenses. The bill also includes seven placeholder allocations to several agencies, with appropriations for Harvey costs to be filled in later.

psr-la.org - November 9, 2018

THE SANTA SUSANA FIELD LABORATORY (ROCKETDYNE) BURNED IN THE WOOLSEY FIRE, THREATENING TOXIC EXPOSURES FROM CONTAMINATED DUST, SMOKE, ASH AND SOIL. THE DEPARTMENT OF TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL DENIES RISK THAT IT CREATED BY DELAYING THE LONG PROMISED CLEANUP.

Last night, the Woolsey fire burned the contaminated Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL), a former nuclear and rocket engine testing site. Footage from local television showed flames surrounding rocket test stands, and the fire’s progress through to Oak Park indicates that much of the toxic site burned.

A statement released by the California Dept. of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) said that its staff, “do not believe the fire has caused any releases of hazardous materials that would pose a risk to people exposed to the smoke.” The statement failed to assuage community concerns given DTSC’s longtime pattern of misinformation about SSFL’s contamination and its repeated broken promises to clean it up.

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