Good Morning…
Welcome back to Disaster Discourse Monthly! In this issue, we discuss how to prevent wildfires, the role of data in disaster mitigation, and the Global Climate Strike.
A Cure for Wildfires…?
A new article from the Proceedings from the Academy of National Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) details a new system for the mitigation of wildfires that will allow at-risk areas to be proactively treated before a fire occurs. According to WIRED, this gel could act as a “vaccine” to prevent future fires.
Big Data for Disasters…
FEMA recently procured a national economic data set that will allow the agency to “do modeling and analytics of the ‘before’ and ‘after’ state of a potential natural disaster,” which will help emergency managers better mitigate and prepare for potential impact. Another organization, First Street Foundation, is using data, along with local zoning maps and high-tech lidar images, to update flood maps across the nation, in the hopes of helping communities better understand their flood risk and take action to prepare for it.
Standing Up for Climate Change…
The Global Climate Strike, which took place last month, saw over 4 million people from Antarctica to New York City marching to bring awareness to climate change. Climate change has impacted the intensity of hurricanes, which are in turn transforming the ocean itself.
The Big Problem with Small Disasters…
An article by E&E News claims that FEMA’s historic “preoccupation” with small disasters has damaged its ability to handle large scale ones. This study once again underscores the “locally executed, state managed, and federally supported” approach to disaster recovery that former FEMA administrator Brock Long has emphasized.
Not Just for Fun…
An image of a Swiss traffic patrol car’s gear went viral, creating a meme that swept across the global emergency management community. The meme hasn’t only brought internet fame; the officers who started the challenge believe it has also brought greater awareness to their “prevention campaigns.”
Architectural Active Threat Prevention…
One high school in Michigan has been redesigned to reduce the impact of an active threat event, through sightline-reducing hallways, lock-down mechanisms, and classrooms with hiding spaces.
Thanks for reading. We’ll see you in November!