The American Planning Association has released a short interview with Ed Thomas and Alessandra Jerolleman (both from the Natural Hazard Mitigation Association) on the best way for communities to recover quickly and safely from a major storm, flood, etc. Their work is the foundation of our (largely in development) After the Storm section. You can […]
Author Archive | Wesley Shaw
How Easy Can Freeboard for an Existing Structure Be?
Posted on October 28, 2011
Pretty easy. A freeboard success story from FEMA: Gail Cunningham Coen of Westport wishes that people would realize how easy it is to elevate your flood-prone house, especially when the Long Island Sound is just feet from your front door. “We didn’t even take the pictures off the wall,” Coen said, referring to the elevation […]
City Folds Climate Change Adaptation into Hazard Mitigation Plan
Posted on October 27, 2011
“Hazard mitigation is very important and there’s a lot of value in looking at past events, but we know with climate change that we can’t use the past to project what the future will be like. For example, the flood that a community used to experience every 100 years may now be the 20-year flood.” […]
Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve Awarded $1.3M for Climate Change Research
Posted on October 25, 2011
From a press release (PDF) shared by Janet Freedman: The Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (WBNERR) has been awarded a $1.3 million grant by the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) Science Collaborative to examine the role that salt marshes play in taking up carbon dioxide and offsetting climate change and the effect that […]
Video from Last Week’s Wind Retrofit Webinar
Posted on October 18, 2011
The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety has released a video of their webinar last week, “IBHS Fortified for Existing Homes and FEMA’s Wind Retrofit Guide.” The webinar covered the joint engineering guidance provided by the IBHS FORTIFIED for Existing Homes program and FEMA’s Wind Retrofit Guide, both of which were introduced in 2010 […]
San Francisco Bay Adopts Climate Change Regulations
Posted on October 11, 2011
The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission has voted unanimously to pass a development plan for land within 100 feet of the bay’s coastline. The plan—which requires that decisions about land use in the area consider factors including the latest climate science and the importance of wetland restoration—gives the agency a tool to deny […]
FEMA Releases Updated Coastal Construction Manual
Posted on October 7, 2011
FEMA has updated their bible on construction in coastal areas, the Coastal Construction Manual. Like the bible, it’s no pamphlet: this version comes in at 253 pages and a hefty 33MB. But if you’re involved in any sort of construction in coastal areas (including deciding where it should happen), you already know that you need […]
What’s the Relationship Between Climate Change and Extreme Weather?
Posted on October 6, 2011
Some scientists give us the rundown: (From Climate Communication)
What Do People Know About Flood Risk and How Do They Want to Learn More?
Posted on October 5, 2011
Most of the general public (69%) doesn’t believe that they are at risk of flooding, though most (68%) local official know many are wrong to feel so safe. The public wants to hear about flood risk from municipal/county officials (47% want the mayor, 32% the floodplain manager)—unfortunately, nearly half (45%) report that they “never” do. […]
FEMA Releases First Edition of the National Preparedness Goal
Posted on October 4, 2011
From a FEMA press-release: We are pleased to announce the release of the first edition of the National Preparedness Goal, which is available for download at http://www.fema.gov/PPD8. The National Preparedness Goal is the first deliverable called for by Presidential Policy Directive (PPD) 8 and was signed by the Secretary of Homeland Security on September 23, […]