A friend just passed this announcement our way: The DHS Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives would like to connect you to some of our colleagues in FEMA and share information on specific grant programs to strengthen your resilience against hazards. The call will provide an overview of four programs: Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) […]
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Do you live behind a levee? ASCE provides homeowners with real scoop on their risk.
Posted on December 4, 2009
Living near a lake or a river means you very well may live near a levee and if you do, you may or may not be adequately protected. This new public education booklet from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) provides homeowners and local officials with key information on levees. It addresses the risks […]
New Course: Adapting to Climate Change, a Consensus Approach
Posted on September 28, 2009
On October 29-30, a hands-on professional development course for leaders interested in learning how to manage the risks posed by climate change will take place in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The course will focus on how local, regional and state governments are already feeling the effects of climate change and face greater risks down the road – […]
Incredible Photos: One Year After Ike
Posted on September 15, 2009
If you have a moment, take a look at this amazing series of photos published in the Boston Globe. The images are split into pairs, with one taken during or immediately after Ike, the other a year later, with the second being revealed after clicking on the first. Hopeful and sobering at the same time. […]
Five Things We Should Learn from Ike [EDITORIAL]
Posted on September 15, 2009
The Houston Chronicle published an editorial on Sunday sharing the five lessons they think we can learn from Texas’s experience with Hurricane Ike. The article is short and well worth a quick read. We particularly liked number four: Better and smarter building makes sense Hurricanes may not discriminate, but the damage they inflict on buildings […]
New Report Shows How Urban Governments are Adapting to Climate Change
Posted on July 27, 2009
The Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP) released a report highlighting the innovative measures local governments are beginning to implement to adapt to the inevitable impacts of climate change. Developed by CCAP’s Urban Leaders Adaption Initiative, the report, Ask the Climate Question: Adapting to Climate Change Impacts in Urban Regions, (PDF, 1.8MB) offers best practices […]
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, […]
Funding Available! FEMA's Unified Hazard Mitigation Grant Period Begins
Posted on June 9, 2009
FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grant program provides funding for eligible mitigation activities that reduce disaster losses and protect life and property from future disaster damages. In the Commonwealth, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) co-administer these grants, and to assist sub-applicants they will be hosting briefings […]
New Cape Cod Flood Maps Project Greater Risk
Posted on June 2, 2009
An article in the Cape Cod Times today reports the results, and some thoughts, on the preliminary revisions of FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) for some Cap Cod Communities. For anybody who has been following the issue anywhere along our nation’s coastlines, it’s not surprising to see that rates are expected to increase. It’s […]
REPORT: Interagency Study Concludes Structural Shore Protection Can't Solve All Problems
Posted on May 28, 2009
The Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force (a group organized by the U.S. Corps of Engineers in the wake of Hurricane Katrina) has released a draft of a report evaluating the performance of the New Orleans hurricane protection system during Hurricane Katrina and to assess the risks posed to the New Orleans region by future tropical […]