Disasterology: December 2020

This newsletter is a compilation of recent disaster ~things~ that I think are cool, important, or otherwise of interest to people who are intrigued with disaster (broadly defined).

There’s a little something for everyone!

I’m thrilled to report we have made it to the end of 2020!

May your 2021 Disaster Bingo Cards remain empty! (They won’t, but let a girl dream.)

The State of Emergency Management

I regret to inform you all that my Knotting Hill meme in last month’s newsletter has had no impact on the Biden transition team. We still do not know who the new FEMA administrator will be. The best we got is this article from E&E News which speculates about five possible choices.

Some Goals for 2021

I’m always exhausted by the year-end disaster recaps, but I felt a sense of dread about them this year. The Weather Channel has a nerve-racking list as does Vox. Buzzfeed did a global photo montage of how climate change was made visible this year. The US shattered the billion-dollar disaster records (of course). Scientific American kept a running list of all the record-breaking disasters of 2020. An article of the disaster records we didn’t break may have been shorter. Netflix and Amazon Prime both made weird mockumentary things about 2020 that were disaster heavy.

I get why people are happy to leave 2020 behind. I personally don’t ever want another year like this one. At the same time, when you understand how our risk is increasing across the country and around the world, you know that we will have more years like 2020 (and worse) unless we make massive changes.

So, my list this year is not about the disasters that have happened but what we can do to prevent the disasters that haven’t happened yet.

1.     Get the pandemic under control. As US public health experts have said since the beginning, this did not need to happen. There is so much that can be done to minimize the suffering associated with the pandemic. Not only in terms of the number of people who actually have Covid but also in managing the indirect impacts of the pandemic. Yes, Mitch McConnell, I’m talking about you.

2.     Talk about comprehensive emergency management reform (and maybe actually, like, do it?) The way in which we approach emergency management before, during, and after disasters is not adequate to meet the needs across the country. There are 1 million changes that could be made but before we do that, we need to take a full accounting of what those problems are and what the most appropriate policy solutions are to address them. Here are just a handful of changes off the top of my head. IAEM also put out some recommendations for the first 100 days of the Biden administration. (They have already failed at the first recommendation which was to announce the FEMA nominee by the end of 2020 but…)

While we’re changing things in emergency management… let’s address the rampant harassment and discrimination within FEMA. These survey results released this month probably won’t surprise you but they should horrify you.

3.     Go all in on climate change. This is it y’all. This is the year that we have to go all in on addressing climate change. From an emergency management perspective, this primarily means throwing the kitchen sink at hazard mitigation. I’m talking about the kind of investment in mitigation that makes Project Impact look like child’s play.

You get a buyout program! You get a levee! You get funding for infrastructure maintenance! You get funding for fire management!

As we start to throw all of this mitigation money around we also need to make sure that we are making strategic decisions about prioritizing the communities that are most at risk. There needs to be a comprehensive national climate adaptation plan that guides these efforts. On a related note, Earther has an impressive article that looks at how every federal agency – including FEMA -- needs to incorporate climate change into their work.

~MEME~ Break: 

The Book of the Month:

“Environmental Justice in A Moment of Danger” by Julie Sze

This book is a fundamental read for anyone who does disaster work. You just cannot understand disasters or emergency management without understanding environmental justice.

From the Introduction:

“It offers a primer for those who intuitively understand that environmental racism and environmental injustice exist in far too great measures and who want to make the world less damaged, structured by, and invested in racism, class inequality, gender violence and attacks on immigrants, refugees, and Indigenous rights and land claims.”

There is a lot in here. If you’re new to reading about environmental justice I recommend keeping a highlighter in hand. That shouldn’t scare you off though. The language is accessible and the examples she uses, like the Standing Rock Protests and Hurricane Maria, will be familiar and help move you along.

The Disasterology Monthly Newsletter gives this 10/10 stars.

You can read more here and buy it from Burning Books here.

Important Disaster Related Media Coverage This Month:

Response

The Washington Post: Voices from the Pandemic: ‘Do people understand what’s happening here? Do they care?’

I cannot think of a more gut-wrenching piece of writing from this year. This is the story of a man who is living in a nursing home. 

The Washington Post: Stealing to survive: More Americans are shoplifting food as aid runs out during the pandemic

Remember when the pandemic began and some people were worried the shelves would run out of food? Of course, America running out of food has never been the problem– it’s people not having the money to buy food. How easily this problem could be solved.

ProPublica: States with few coronavirus restrictions are spreading the virus beyond their borders

It’s almost like states aren’t islands unto themselves and a coordinated federal response would be useful.

Sun-Sentinel: Secrecy and Spin: How Florida’s governor misled the public on the COVID-19 pandemic

There is no shortage of elected officials who have made deadly decisions for the public this year. Here’s a look at DeSantis.

The Local: Venice tide barriers raised after flooding due to ‘miscalculation’

*Stares directly at the camera*

The New York Times: 2020 was especially deadly. COVID wasn’t the only culprit.

Another look at deaths this year with a focus on non-COVID related mortalities. It’s difficult to say how many of these excess deaths should be considered indirect pandemic deaths.

The New York Times: Young people have less COVID-19 risk, but in college towns, deaths rose fast

Look, I know this is the most obvious thing in the world and yet, here we are…

Mitigation

E&E News: Low-income homes to face triple flood risks by 2050 – study

Based on research from Climate Central and National Housing Trust this article underscores the unequal impacts of impending flooding.

WWNO & Southerly: ‘Ticking Time Bombs’: Residents kept in the dark about risks to La.’s chemical plants during storms

An important investigation of worst-case scenarios of chemical releases in Louisiana and their proximity to cities with predominantly Black populations.

New York Times: Wealthier, whiter areas are more likely to get help after fires, data show Further evidence of disparities in mitigation funding.

Recovery

New York Times: 2 Hurricanes Devastated Central America. Will the Ruin Spur a Migration Wave?

I don’t necessarily love the framing of this article but I’ve included it because so little seems to have been written about Hurricanes Eta and Iota. There’s also this NPR article.

Earther: California’s hellish 2018 wildfires cost the U.S. economy $148.5 Billion

We should really do mitigation.

Outside: The Long-lasting mental health effects of wildfires

A really important look at post-wildfire mental health impacts.

E&E News: FEMA seeks to slash disaster aid as Trump heads for exit

The long threatened idea of limiting the number of events approved for a Presidential Disaster Declaration has emerged again this month. As far as I can tell this is a political non-starter but who knows what 2021 will bring.

Weird Disaster Thing

I don’t know how to tell you all this so I’m just going to say it: people have decided Smokey Bear is hot now.

The End Bits:

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