Disasterology: September 2021
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!
Greetings!
The State of Emergency Management
The state of emergency management is… wondering why politicians still aren’t talking about comprehensive emergency management reform when 1 in 3 Americans live in a county that had a declared weather-related disaster this summer (and that’s before we get to the pandemic issue).
This has been the month where the focus has been less on one specific disaster and more on the overall impact of living in constant turmoil. Specifically, there was a focus on the strain various systems are under. Some argue the health care system has collapsed. Others are warning of a ‘system collapse’ in the global supply chain. And then we have our little emergency management system chugging along. This month FEMA was described as being “close to the breaking point” under a “crushing workload”.
Then there was Hurricane Ida.
Hurricane Ida
Ida brought devastation across Louisiana and up through the U.S. to the east coast. It has been an absolute nightmare and many people feel ‘forgotten’ and need help. If you are able, please donate to Another Gulf Is Possible, Imagine Water Works, or another group working on recovery efforts.
There’s been a lot said about Hurricane Ida. Here are five things to know.
While flooding caused a significant portion of the damage throughout Louisiana. The long-term power outages in the aftermath compounded impacts.
Nearly a Week Without Power, New Orleans Is Facing a ‘Race With the Clock’. Sophie Kasakove & Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs for The New York Times.
New Orleans Was Already a ‘Heat Island.’ Then Ida Cut the Power. Matt Simon for Wired.
Entergy Resisted Upgrading New Orleans’ Power Grid. When Ida Hit, Residents Paid the Price. Max Blau, Annie Waldman, & Tegan Wendland for ProPublica.
Utility That Blacked Out New Orleans Was Too Busy Fighting Climate Regulations. Dharna Noor for Earther.
To Keep The Lights On, New Orleans’ Grid Needs To Change – Here’s How. Antonia Juhasz for National Geographic.
As is the case in every disaster not everyone has been affected equally.
What a hurricane means when you live in Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’. Rachel Ramirez & Nicquel Terry Ellis for CNN.
Disasters like Ida burden women and LGBTQ people, from evacuation to recovery. Ko Bragg for The Lily.
Ida Reveals Two Louisianas: One With Storm Walls, Another Without. The New York Times.
Detainees in Lafourche Filled Sandbags to Save Property. When the Town Evacuated, They Were Kept Jailed. Madison Pauly for Mother Jones.
In the aftermath, there has been widespread confusion about what government aid is available and who can access it.
‘Do I even qualify?’: Deadline looms for $500 FEMA aid following Ida. Carly Berlin for Sourtherly.
Patchwork advocacy appears in Houma for tenants affected by Hurricane Ida. Kezia Setyawan for The Courier.
Louisiana dad and daughter living out truck, waiting for FEMA help to rebuild home destroyed by Hurricane Ida. CBS News.
As FEMA aid pours into Louisiana, some fall through the cracks: ‘I just feel so abandoned’ Blake Paterson for The Advocate.
This is going to be an exceptionally long recovery. Not only is the damage widespread geographically but southwest Louisiana is also still struggling through recovery. The state as a whole has been through one disaster after another leaving both resources and patience running thin.
Housing shortage is ‘single greatest concern’ in Louisiana, governor says. Wesley Muller for Louisiana Illuminator.
Communities in South Terrebone continue to struggle after Ida. Sherman Desselle for WDSU.
51% of Louisiana households don’t meet a basic needs ‘survival budget,’ according to United Ways. Claire Taylor for The Advocate.
The Climate Connection
Hurricane Ida Offers a Glimpse of the Dystopia That’s Coming for All of Us. Andy Horowitz for The New York Times.
How sea-level rise is making hurricanes like Ida more destructive. Jena Brooker for Grist.
~MEME~ Break:
The Book of the Month:
“1001 Voices on Climate Change: Everyday Stories of Flood, Fire, Drought, and Displacement from Around the World” by Devi Lockwood
I had the absolute joy of reading this book in a hammock this summer (do recommend) and have been recommending it since. Devi traveled around the world asking people about the changes they were already seeing in their communities because of the climate crisis. It is such a personal and, at times, heart-wrenching look at the many ways climate change manifests globally.
The Disasterology Monthly Newsletter gives this 10/10 stars.
You can read more here and buy it here.
Important Disaster Related Media Coverage This Month
Response
A Deadly Fungal Disease on The Rise In The West Has Experts Worried. Zoya Teirstein for Grist.
How Are Michigan Residents Still Drinking Water With Toxic Levels of Lead Years After Flint? Jena Brooker for Grist.
What Went Wrong With NYC’s Emergency Alerts, and How Can We Do Better? Alissa Walker for Curbed.
Reporting on Climate Injustice in One of The Hottest Towns in America. Brooke Stephenson for ProPublica.
Firefighters From Mexico Battle California Fires, One After the Other. Raquel Maria Dillon for KQED.
When It Rains in Detroit. Bilal Baydoun for The Nation.
Climate Change Is Bankrupting America’s Small Towns. Christopher Flavelle for the New York Times.
Mitigation
When The Hospital Emergency Room Is Inundated With Knee-deep Water. Laura Santhanam for PBS News Hour.
Tool To Ease Floods Goes Unused. Tom Johnson for NJ Spotlight.
What You Need To Know About The Finalized Houston Ike Dike Plan Soon Headed For Congress. Emily Foxhall for Houston Chronicle.
The Federal Governement Sells Flood-Prone Homes To Often Unsuspecting Buyers. Huo Jingnan, Rebecca Hersher, & Tegan Wendland for NPR.
The Disaster That Brought Us To Dixie. Jane Braxton for CalMatters.
Recovery
In Deep: One City’s Year of Climate Chaos. Lauren Rosenthal for The Water Main.
FEMA Closes Gap That Prevented Many Black Families in South From Receiving Disaster Aid. Bracey Harris, Lindsey Davis, & Dasha Burns for NBC News.
International Response To Haiti’s Earthquake Must Avoid 2010 Mistakes. Brian Concannon & Kathleen Bergin for The Hill.
Preparedness
Extreme Heat Has Killed Hundreds of Workers. The US Government Is Finally Doing Something About It. Zahra Hirji for Buzzfeed.
We’re Already Barreling Toward The Next Pandemic. Ed Yong for The Atlantic.
Utility Companies Aren’t Preparing For The Right Kind of Disaster. Seth Blumsack for Fast Company.
The Quest To Find African American Graves Before They’re Lost To Climate Crisis. Colleen Hagerty for The Guardian.
How to Lessen Suffering After The Worst Hurricanes? Outfit Restaurants With Solar Panels and Batteries. Devin De Wulf for The Washington Post.
Why Investing In Libraries Is A Climate Justice Issue. Sarah Sax for High Country News.
Sunrise Movement’s Gulf Coast Trek Highlights Need for a Civilian Climate Corps. Chante Davis for Teen Vogue.
Weird Disaster Thing
Babes.
We are getting a new disaster movie.
We are getting a new disaster movie with Meryl Streep.
We are getting a new disaster movie with Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, Timothée Chalamet, Jennifer Lawrence, Cate Blanchett, Jonah Hill, Ariana Grande, Tyler Perry, and about 50 other people.
The trailer is BANANAS. I’ve watched it no less than 100 times. It might be terrible. It might be incredible. Either way, I cannot wait.
The End Bits:
I would love it if you’d forward this to your friends, post on social media, and undertake any other form of newsletter sharing you deem appropriate. They can sign-up here.
In case you signed up for this newsletter without knowing who I am (a bold choice!) you can read more about me on my blog, listen to this episode of Ologies, or follow me on Twitter and Instagram where I impulsively narrate my every thought.
Read Disasterology: Dispatches From The Frontlines of The Climate Crisis If you haven’t picked it up yet you can read a review from USA Today here, order it here, or get it as an audiobook here.
The logo was made by my friend Gabi. You can check out her Instagram and hire her for all of your badass art related needs.
Finally, this newsletter is ~FREE~. I plan on keeping it that way because eliminating barriers to disaster knowledge is important. However, several people expressed an interest in financially supporting this work. I’ve created a “paid subscriber” option for $5 a month or whatever you’d like to give. The only difference between a free sign-up and a paid subscriber option is that you’ll be able to see the full archives of the newsletters. Really, this is just a way for those who want (and can) to support the newsletter. I’ll use the money to cover administrative expenses, do things like buy books to review, and maybe one day hire a research assistant to help. Thank you to everyone who has already supported financially!!