This month’s hurricane dealt a final blow to a long-threatened waterfront house on Nantucket. Reflecting a national trend, the owner’s daughter compares town officials to “ostriches, with their heads buried in their hands” [sic]. Town says “Erosion is a fact of life when you live on an island. I don’t think there’s an overwhelming problem […]
Tag Archives | case study
Are You Using Social Media for Emergency Management? Your Citizens Are!
Posted on August 10, 2010
The Red Cross has released the results of a survey of just over 1,000 respondents on how people use and expect to use social media during a disaster. The results are pretty striking. A couple of highlights: Nearly 3-in-4 respondents use at least one online community or social network. Facebook was by far the most […]
3ft of Freeboard? I'll Take 12ft!
Posted on July 19, 2010
After Hurricane Ike bashed a hole in their roof and left their first floor uninhabitable, FEMA experts recommended that Galveston (TX) residents Matt and Lauren Johnson elevate their home 3′ above the minimum requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program. The Johnsons went for 12′ instead. “Even if it costs us more now, whatever costs […]
County Promotes More Precise Storm Surge Maps
Posted on May 24, 2010
A Florida county has released new storm surge maps, and they’re giving locals a more precise idea of their risks of being hit by the storm surge associated with a hurricane. Tampa Bay Online has the whole story. As the article reports, Hillsborough County has based the maps on revised models from the National Hurricane […]
South Shore Searches for Seawall Repair Funds
Posted on May 24, 2010
The Patriot Ledger is reporting that South Shore communities are struggling to find money to repair aging seawalls in the absence of steady maintenance funding. After the catastrophic failure of the seawall in Marshfield’s Fieldston neighborhood this week, local officials are working to patch together resources from many sources for repairs not just there, but […]
StormSmart Coasts Community Leader Receives National Award
Posted on May 19, 2010
Anne Herbst, the conservation agent for Hull, was selected as one of five national recipients of the 2010 Walter B. Jones Memorial Awards for Excellence in Local Government. Anne was given this competitive award for having raised the bar of local management of coastal hazards. Throughout Hull’s participation in the StormSmart Coasts program Anne has […]
Municipal Emergency Management Messaging Systems
Posted on May 12, 2010
Emergency Management has published an interesting story on using so-called “Messaging Systems” as a means of quickly reaching residents during emergency events. These messaging systems can contact people through various means including phone or email depending on how they’re set up. While these are generally proprietary systems and aren’t free, the community profiled in this […]
Texas Town Tightens Development Rules
Posted on May 12, 2010
The City Council of Galveston, Texas recently approved new beach-front construction regulations. The new rules push new development 75 feet back from the north toe of dunes, or 350 feet from the mean high-water line, whichever line is farther landward. They are seen locally as a compromise with some wanting stricter regulations while others did […]
County Uses FEMA Funds for Innovative Infrastructure Reconstruction
Posted on May 11, 2010
Good case study on a county using FEMA Public Assistance (PA) 406 Mitigation funds to pay for post-storm recovery using a relatively innovative technique: When technical advice from a Public Assistance Specialist recommended using a geo-textile to stabilize the embankment and make the road more resilient once repairs were completed, Lafayette County’s Emergency Management Coordinator […]
StormSmart Coasts Community Proposing Regulatory Changes
Posted on February 5, 2010
The Vineyard Gazette published an article today about one of Massachusetts’ StormSmart Coasts communities, Oak Bluffs. The article discusses the risks that Oak Bluffs and the rest of Martha’s Vineyard face from sea level rise and describes the regulatory changes the town is proposing. These changes, which would affect a limited number of homeowners, aim to […]