A new study is reporting that that precipitation in the northeastern portion of the United States has seen an increase in heavy rain events over the past 50 years. The report, authored by the Clean Air-Cool Planet and the University of New Hampshire’s Carbon Solutions New England group, is based on an examination of National […]
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Get Flood-Related Disaster Assistance Fast
Posted on April 5, 2010
The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) just released a press release on how folks can get their assistance as quickly as possible: DISASTER OFFICIALS OFFER TIPS TO SPEED ASSISTANCE BOSTON – Disaster recovery officials urge residents and businesses dealing with severe storm damage and loss to adopt a take-charge action plan to help speed the […]
When Are My New Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) Going to be Ready?
Posted on April 2, 2010
FEMA has released a list of all communities scheduled to have new Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) go active during 2010. WARNING: the list isn’t particularly reader-friendly. I’d recommend downloading it, then doing a search for the name of your community in the document. If it appears, look at the top of the table on […]
National Flood Insurance Program Expires (Again)
Posted on April 1, 2010
At the same time that parts of New England are threatening to float away from record-breaking floods, Congress allowed the National Flood Insurance Program to expire for the second time this year. As legislators won’t be reconvening until April 12th, the program looks likely to sit in limbo for a couple of weeks (at least). […]
Feds Declare Disaster from mid-March Floods
Posted on March 30, 2010
Press release from MEMA: BOSTON, MA – Governor Deval Patrick announced this evening that federal aid will become available to Massachusetts individuals and businesses hardest hit by the most recent flooding events. The assistance was authorized under a Major Federal Disaster Declaration issued by President Barack Obama after a review of the Federal Emergency Management […]
How Does Coastal Massachusetts's Risk Compare to Our Neighbors?
Posted on March 29, 2010
Great interactive map from the NOAA Coastal Services Center quickly tells you for any state: Population growth of the Coastal Flood Hazard Area (CFA) Percentage of people living in the CFA who are: Living below the poverty line Over 65 years old What percentage of the state’s total land area is within the Coastal Flood […]
What Flooding Really Looks Like [VIDEO]
Posted on March 22, 2010
The Patriot Ledger shares the unglamorous side of flooding. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyjEk7EQ61w
New FIRMs Tested in Massachusetts
Posted on March 22, 2010
The Boston Globe has an interesting article on how the updated National Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) did in last week’s floods there. In a word: well. This wasn’t good news to many who were sure the the updates, which had designated their properties as high flood risk, were wrong. Some were even fighting to […]
Florida is now StormSmart!
Posted on March 15, 2010
Thanks to loads of help from folks in the Florida Departments of Environmental Protection, Community Affairs, Emergency Management, and others, late last week we unveiled the brand-new Florida StormSmart Coasts site. Welcome, Florida! You can access the new Florida StormSmart Coasts at http://fl.stormsmart.org/
Region Forms Group & Plan to Address Threats to Critical Infrastructure
Posted on March 15, 2010
Emergency Management has written a case study on one region’s efforts to assess and identify its critical infrastructure and how to address the risks posed to it. Not surprisingly, the article reports that the project was not easy: along with the standard challenges of who should be involved and who should be in charge, they […]