Everything's a Disaster

Preparing in the Dark

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremey Horan) — Thu, 10 Oct 2019 04:35:00 +0000

The current public safety power shutoff is probably the best thing that can happen for the residents of California. Here me out before you start throwing your spoiled food at me because you have no power and your food is now rotten.

As a resident of California, not currently impacted by the Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS), I am in the enviable position of turning on my lights and opening my refrigerator without fear of food spoiling. I am aware of this luxury given that close to 500,000 PG&E customers are either in the dark or wondering if / when their lights will go out.

While the power outage is causing consternation and frustration due to school closures, a lack of traffic lights, no gas, and a general inability to mindlessly scroll through Instagram, this should be seen an opportunity to test of our preparedness without having to go through the catastrophic pre-cursor associated with widespread power loss and infrastructure challenges.

California is reeling from 2 years of fire. Fires that claimed lives, destroyed businesses, and decimated towns. Recovery in most of the areas is just getting underway, and for the residents of Paradise, CA many are still dealing with the uncertainty of what happens next, almost a year later.

However, even with the memories of our recent catastrophes raw, many still remain unaware or unprepared for the realities that come with living in our hazard-prone state. Fires are just one of a slew of hazards that have the potential to re-shape our landscape and our lives, with the July 4^th Earthquakes in Trona, CA as the most recent example. Had the 7.0 that struck Trona, been closer to Los Angeles or any one of the population centers in SoCal, this power shutoff would be the least of our worries.

But it didn’t…and life goes on, reinforcing our unfounded belief that bad things happen to other people, not us.

So now the power is off. Yes, the rationale for shutting off the power is a subject of heated debate, and whether or not shutting off the grid is a sustainable solution to managing wildfire risk is a matter for a different post…but when life hands you lemons…you get prepared (I’m pretty sure that’s how the saying goes).

Will this power event stress our healthcare systems? You bet.

Is it making life more difficult for a whole lot of people? Undoubtedly.

Is shutting off the grid the answer for every time there’s a red flag warning? Absolutely Not.

Is this the perfect opportunity to realize that if you can’t weather a 4 day power outage, then you are SOL when the earth starts shaking, the flood waters rise, or the next fire rips through your community? YES!

People need to be jolted into reality. People need to realize that we are one bad day away from what they’re currently experiencing, only orders of magnitude worse.

The fallout from this PSPS will be severe with unanticipated ramifications because we’ve never experienced something like this, on this scale. When we lose power, we lose our ability to maintain life as we knew it, but we don’t lose our ability to function.

So tonight, when you’re sitting around lamenting the fact that you can’t watch Netflix, or post an Instagram story because your battery is dead, use a headlamp or candles (for that throwback vibe) and write down what you need to make life better right now…and whaddaya know, you’ve just started your very own disaster plan…see, it’s not that hard.

But before you lose momentum, when you get power back or are at work tomorrow, check out the links below to family disaster plans…these are good templates to help you figure out what is good information to know or have on hand before the next PSPS, or god forbid, something worse happens.

Then, play cards and drink a beer. It’s like camping indoors.

Stay safe.

Resources:

Family Disaster Planning Guide Links

https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/family-disaster-plan-english.pdf

https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_adult-fin-edyour-disaster-checklist.pdf

https://extensiondata.missouri.edu/pub/pdf/commdm/emw1011.pdf?_ga=2.171806752.167223711.1570680908-1385569052.1570680908

What We Have is a Failure to Communicate

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremey Horan) — Sat, 04 Mar 2017 01:03:00 +0000

There are few sounds that instill a sense of foreboding more so than the Emergency Alert System tones. Our response (well mine anyway) is Pavlovian, which I suppose is a good thing...however, recent events beg the question, what happens when these alert messages come too late or not at all, and who’s to blame?

Crisis communication and emergency notification are continual challenges for city and county agencies because when they get it right no one knows it, but when it goes wrong, the results play out publicly.

Issuing a warning isn’t easy or straightforward. In order to reach people, you need the means to do so, whether it’s a reverse 911 system, the Emergency Alert System, a network of sirens, or some other mass notification means, you need a way of sending a message. Then you have to account for the different languages spoken in your communities, or more specifically, the languages in the area you're notifying. In Alameda County alone (where I live) there are at least 53 different languages spoken; once you’ve figured out where those languages are spoken, you're halfway there. Next, you have to craft a message that concisely gets your point across and does so in a way that works in the languages you need to contact. Finally, when crafting your messaging and selecting the mechanism for distribution, you need to take into account that some of your population may not be able to read, have a hearing impairment, have a cognitive impairment, have issues with mobility, don’t have a computer or smart phone, or access to cable or news radio.

And while you might think that if the process were to breakdown, the point of failure would be in overlooking one of the aspects of communication mentioned above; however, as recent events illustrate (Oroville & San Jose), the delay often comes in hitting send.

Like most things related to public safety, there's a lot of trust involved; but trust is fickle under the best of circumstances, and trust in government even more so. Maintaining that trust requires prudent judgement, especially if you’re the one in charge of making the ‘go / no go’ decision on warning people in advance of an emergency, because what if you’re wrong? What if variables suddenly change, what if the message doesn’t have the intended effect, or people don’t get the message at all?

In 2011 Hurricane Irene did a great deal of damage in the Catskills Region of New York State, significantly impacting the State of Vermont and many other places along the eastern seaboard and Caribbean. However, even in the face of Irene being the 7th costliest Hurricane to spin through the Atlantic, what many took away from that experience was that Hurricane Irene was the storm that wasn't. The Mayor's Office in New York City took a hit, the media took a hit, and the credibility of those responsible for public safety was dinged for over-reacting.

In 2014 Hurricane Sandy was forecast to hit New York...similar warnings were issued by the Mayor’s office, the media, and social media that a Hurricane with significant storm surge was going to impact New York City and Long Island, those warnings largely fell on deaf ears.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Which brings us to the handling of the Oroville Dam Crisis, which is summed up best in the following:

KC Green

Understanding that the situation in Oroville was constantly evolving means some slack must be given, with flow rates over the unknown and untested emergency spillway being a giant question mark. It doesn't however change the fact that not four hours before the evacuation order was issued, the public was told that everything was under control...when clearly it wasn't.

To go from 'everything is fine' to having the next communication most people receive being this, is problematic:

A similar situation followed shortly after in San Jose, CA when the Coyote creek overflowed its banks requiring the evacuation of 14,000 people from nearby subdivisions. This time however, instead of being told to evacuate at the 11th hour, the city didn't issue anything and residents are understandably upset.

If communicating risk and managing expectations is what this is all about (and in my opinion, it is), then how do we expect our elected officials and managers to balance between being too 'knee-jerk' to being 'too little too late,' if both risk and expectations are inherently subjective? It feels like a lose-lose situation to me.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not begrudging anyone their righteous indignation for how the above situations were "managed"…and I don’t think this is something that should be glossed over. What I do have agita about though, is having people believe that pointing the blame solely at elected officials is an answer that will bring about change.

I believe that improvements need to be made in how governments communicate risk and to be better in transparently communicating that risk regardless of circumstance. I also believe the public needs to take a hard look at what they can do to better prepare themselves in advance of future events. Blaming others for our ills is a national pastime, but when we fail as individuals to examine what we currently do (which is often very little) to what we know should be done, we are dooming ourselves to repeat these scenarios again and again.

Water Water Everywhere...but not a drop to drink

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremey Horan) — Fri, 24 Feb 2017 00:55:00 +0000

The rainy winter the west coast is experiencing has many in California already thinking about picking up their time honored tradition of watering their driveways, while their sprinkler systems feed their patch of Kentucky Bluegrass. While tempting to do, I would strongly urge us to use the current change in California’s weather fortune as an opportunity for a little self-reflection.

Where to begin? First, no one can see the future, so maybe the drought that has plagued California for the past 5 years is ending in the most biblical of ways, or maybe this is just a blip on the radar. With 10-20 year droughts having been recorded throughout California’s history, our most recent dance with prolonged high pressure is a proverbial drop in the bucket. Then you add in the fact that during that brief 5 year period, farmers pumped so much water out of the central valley that the land subsided 1-2 feet in some places. But don’t worry; we don’t actually know how much water was pumped out of the ground because California doesn’t track that info, all we know is that our cup currently runneth over…so it’s best not to dwell on anything that might point to larger underlying issues with California’s water policies. Also, please overlook the arcane rules that govern water rights in the state, which has led, in part, to the over-pumping phenomenon that is contributing to the depletion of our natural aquifers. And as we marvel at overflowing reservoirs, we can see the gains that many advocates for smarter water policy had made, slipping away as we deal with the juxtaposition of going without, to having too much.

Remember when “brown was the new green?” As cities tried to market dead lawns as a show of solidarity with the broader effort to curb urban water consumption? Remember when there were cities in California whose wells ran dry and the state had to install massive cisterns so water could be trucked in? Remember when we realized that 102 million of our trees have died or are dying due to lack of water, when radio stations would publicly shame the most abhorrent water wasters? Remember when people cared about saving water because it was a precious resource? Yeah, me neither…because when the forecast calls for 10 Trillion…yes Trillion gallons of water to fall from the sky, why would you want to? Instead of conservation, people are worried about uninsured flood damage, loss of life, and infrastructure that's dissolving like cotton candy...and its hard to blame them.

So what now? In the short-term it would appear that we are at an inflection point—the abundance of what was once scarce has brought to light many problems, most urgently problems associated with our infrastructure that need attention…more than attention, they need sizable investment to address the deferred maintenance issues that plague bridges, dams, and levees nearing or past their designed lifespans. As evidence, California is faced with trying to find 66 Billion dollars to address the outstanding needs that have accumulated across its 1400 dams, 13,000 miles of levees, 25,318 bridges, and more than 50,000 miles of roads. And what’s sad and oddly prophetic is that as we witness what appears to be the catastrophic end to the most recent drought, the current situation highlights the missed opportunities and ignored pleas for funding infrastructure projects in the preceding decades that would have mitigated some of the crises we're currently dealing with.

Which brings me back to water…

Water is something we take for granted because we’ve always had it and then for a few cities in California…they didn’t. One day, they turned on their faucets and nothing but groaning pipes trying to dry-heave the last remnants of liquid occurred, and this is the fate for many more communities around the state and nation if don't act now.

I would like to suggest, now that we're in a more comfortable place with the amount of water we have, that we use this time to continue the dialogue that was started under more dire circumstances. We need to talk about water:

· How we use it
· Who gets to use it and how much it should cost
· Aquifer management and tracking water extraction
· Water rights and agricultural and urban usage
Aging Water Infrastructure impacts on Public Health
· Storm water capture and ideas to help keep what we receive naturally
Building water resilience in the face of natural or man-made crises

You know, continue the tough conversations that were started, but this time do it without the pressure of staring down the barrel of a gun.

Finding water issues that need attention isn't the problem, convincing people that now is the time right time to talk about them is. Using the uncertainty that many communities across California faced not even one year ago should be all the prompting needed to continue the dialogue that was started, but I fear that the 'what doesn't kill us, makes us stronger' mindset will sideline those discussions leaving us ever more vulnerable the next time we get parched.

An after action report that does not mince words..

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremey Horan) — Tue, 11 Feb 2014 12:00:00 +0000

The National Center for Security and Preparedness are in the midst of compiling an After Action Report on Sandy and New State OEM's response...words are not minced:

"NOTE: Blue-bolded and italicized texts contain information intended only for the Commissioner of the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.

"OEM is extremely understaffed. By comparison, Iowa's emergency management agency, serving a state with the same area as New York but only a sixth the population, is as large as OEM. The profound demands on an overtaxed staff during its many activations, as well as under performance by a vocal and unmotivated minority have severely degraded morale and compromised effectiveness. Designating emergency management staff as nonessential personnel to facilitate early retirement and a subsequent failure to fill empty positions has further eroded OEM’s capabilities. ""

One of the biggest revelations was the New York State OEM's staff has been reduced by 50% since 2011, from 125 to approximate 65 post-Sandy.

The report blasts Staff management, morale, outdated technology, strategy and response planning, etc...The report is clear, concise, and highlights vulnerabilities that will / have impacted recovery and New York State's ability to respond to future events.

Sandy "Notes" After-Action Report by Casey Seiler

Marketing Preparedness...

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremey Horan) — Thu, 06 Feb 2014 12:00:00 +0000

How do you break through? How do you create messaging that resonates? How do you get people to care, to act, to change their behavior? These questions can be heard in the offices of marketers and advertising...but they can also be applied when considering how to market preparedness.

The challenges in creating awareness and ultimately action around preparedness messaging feels very similar to the challenges advertisers and marketers face when changing perceptions or introducing a brand. Creating value around an idea, or inspiring action can be a daunting task, especially when we're talking about subject matter that makes people uncomfortable. The ability to raise awareness while actually imparting knowledge or changing behavior is the end goal in both marketing and preparedness, so why isn't there more cross pollination done between the two disciplines?

Meet Jenny Gottstein, she is one of those people who is blurring the lines between preparedness, marketing...and dare I say something that sounds like fun?!

At preparedness events there is usually a long line of people coming for free stuff, and during the 15 seconds you have their "attention" you try to impart some wisdom that may help them in the event of a disaster. These types of events are more about moving product to make reporting look good than it is about changing attitudes and perceptions.

Urban scavenger hunts are a big deal thanks to shows like "The Amazing Race;" clues direct you to various point and challenges dictate how quickly you advance and it appears Ms. Gottstein has combined the two, and thrown our love affair with Zombie's in the mix. The result is a disaster preparedness training game under the guise of the Zombie Apocalypse.

Soucre: Thelocalvoice.net

She armed players with smart phones and Nerf guns, and had teams of people run around the San Francisco completing challenges like "light a BBQ without matches" or “pack a Go Bag” or "bandage a burn wound" all while being chased by zombies. She tried to incorporate practical skill building but in a way that is more fun than serious. There was a lot of coverage of the event as well, on sites like: SF Weekly, FunCheap SF, and 7x7 and from the looks of it, it was well attended and fun was had.

According to Ms. Gottstein "It was a huge success" and as a result she is working to develop this concept into a nation-wide phenomenon.

I like this concept because it takes everything that I've talked about and we as a community of practice talk about and is actually trying to do something with it. Of course it's easy to be negative about how it doesn't do this, or meet the standards of that...but what it is doing, is getting communities of young people engaged. By leveraging popular culture and tying it to concepts that we struggle to connect to people on, she may have found a way to make people care, which I believe is a huge step in the right direction.

source: millenialtrain.co

Ms. Gottstein is working to create a version 2.0 and has applied to board Millennial Trains Project, a cross country start up incubator-esque environment on a train that stops in several cities along the way.

She has raised $5,000 and I believe secured her seat which is great news because she plans on meeting with some interesting people to build her ideas to adapt the game and make it better.
The Little Things Lab
Univ. of New Mexico Game Design Students
Code for America
Create Here

I encourage you to check out her page at: http://crowdhitch.millennialtrain.co/campaign/detail/2481

Make a plan, build a kit, get engaged...and get attacked by zombie's adds a new dimension to a marketing message that many have tuned out. In order to communicate with the whole community, we have to revise the way we approach how we engage. I think what Ms. Gottstein is trying to do is different, fun, and allows people to interact with the concepts of preparedness...something I haven't too much of in preparedness programming up to this point.

What do you think? Do you have examples of unique or innovative preparedness programming?

How Local Governments Hinder Our Response to Natural Disasters

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremey Horan) — Fri, 31 Jan 2014 12:00:00 +0000

Read this article: "How Local Governments Hinder Our Response to Natural Disasters" by Mr. David Wachsmuth; it could potentially be construed as heresy in some circles, but there is also a degree of truth in the observations he makes. Wachsmuth looks at the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy and talks about how the Mayor's office usurped the power to lead following landfall favoring improvisation instead of the plans the OEM had created.

One of the more interesting takeaways from the article is this:

"Collaborations need to be achievable to be useful. The sociologist Lee Clarke argues that disaster plans are "fantasy documents"—tools for building trust in an organization rather than actual, implementable plans. This was certainly true in the response to Sandy. More modest plans, which take account of political realities and power relations, are more likely to be useful than comprehensive but unachievable fantasy documents."

A lot of time, effort, and money goes into disaster planning and yet I've seen firsthand, as I'm sure many of you have as well, the ad hoc nature of response environments. Even when the best curated plans are exercised ad nauseam, challenges remain. This is not to say that planning can account for every facet of a disaster, but it would seem that two opposing forces are being pushed simultaneously, the need for rigidity in planning that ICS and the command and control mentality require, and the push for greater community involvement to build resilience and self-reliance.

How do you reconcile the rigidity that is often seen in municipal planning with the inherent ad hoc nature of grassroots community response? What does that look like in a plan for a city? As it stands many plans don't account for emergent response activities but with the role Occupy Sandy played following Sandy, that will hopefully change.

If the idea that the Mayor's office totally disregarded OEM's plans seems crazy...you can read about how Michael Brown, (you may remember him as "brownie"), disregarded the newly minted National Response Plan following Hurricane Katrina...plan-averse public officials it seems, are nothing new.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/15/AR2006031502320.html

To declare, or not declare...that is the question...

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremey Horan) — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 12:00:00 +0000

Washington, IL November Tornado Source: imugr

While never having had the responsibility of sitting in a County Executive's position or position of even greater responsibility at the state level, I would imagine that when a disaster strikes, they are conflicted: on the one hand they worry about the safety of their constituents, and on the other, they want the event to cause enough damage so that their jurisdiction can qualify for federal assistance. In a time when cities are declaring bankruptcy and tax bases are eroding, elected officials have to navigate the emotional fallout of a disaster as well as figure out how to pay for the subsequent response and recovery.

Although the disasters of 2013 didn't have the gravitational pull that Superstorm Sandy had, the Oklahoma Tornadoes, The Rim Fire in California, and the Colorado flooding all caused significant damage and all received Major Disaster Declarations.

However, 2013 also had several events that didn't qualify for Individual and/or Public Assistance, adding new voices and national coverage to growing discontent on how exactly the declaration process works. While some sort of declarations were given to the Yarnell Fire in AZ, The Fertilizer Plant explosion in TX, and the November Tornado outbreak in Illinois, in each instance there was an outcry that more should have been done to support the communities and survivors of those events.

Even though the above events didn't meet designated thresholds that would have triggered the full breadth of federal assistance, a Bill (H.R. 3295) was introduced in the House of Representatives with the intent of amending the criteria under which resources are offered dubbed the: "Fairness in Federal Disaster Declarations Act of 2014."

This Bill, which was introduced on January 21st, would amend the criteria used to evaluate a request for a major disaster declaration by weighting the factors used to determine Individual and Public Assistance, as well as request that economic factors of the impacted locality and the state's financial situation be taken into account when determining eligibility.

When the Congressional Act of 1803 was passed, considered the first piece of disaster legislation, it provided assistance to Portsmouth New Hampshire, a town recovering from a major fire. Prior to that localities were left to fend for themselves in the wake of a diaster. The premise on which our Emergency Management infrastructure is based is that events are to be handled at the lowest level of government possible. By amending the rules on how federal assistance is meted out, would we be making more events eligible? Would it work against the goals of creating resilience and bolstering preparedness in communities? Would the Bill ultimately end up paying for deferred infrastructure improvements? Not only that, but who's paying for the additional dollars given to disaster survivors?

While the current criteria used to trigger federal assistance following an event may have its flaws, I believe more questions and a more thorough investigation of Bill H.R. 3925 will need to be undertaken as it seems to pose more questions than it answers.

The Recovery of American Samoa

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremey Horan) — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 17:07:00 +0000

NOAA American Samoa Tsunami from Ed McNichol on Vimeo.

The South Pacific is a geologic hotbed of activity where earthquakes are a way of life and the threat of Tsunami's are all too real. In 2009, just under 2 years before the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami changed life for hundred of thousands of people, there was a Tsunami that struck the U.S. Territory of American Samoa as the result of a M8.1 quake--the largest in 2009.

American Samoa is a small island Territory with an area of just 76 sq miles, dominated by mountains running through much of its center, the topography of the island puts many of its 55,000+ inhabitants in close proximity to the ocean and at risk. While the familiarity with what to do and how to act in the event of an earthquake and tsunami prevented a large loss of life when the 4 15-20ft waves came ashore, the challenges of recovery were compounded due to American Samoa's unique geography and limited on island resources.

Because of its territory's status, FEMA was deployed to provide assistance, however, due to the indigenous system of land tenure that takes a more communal approach to land use, many couldn't prove "ownership" of their property which added to the challenge of delivering financial assistance.

It's geography and topography, the indigenous land use system, the limited resources on island, and the number of individuals and families affected posed unique challenges to the Federal system setup to provide financial assistance and the network of voluntary agencies looking to provide help.

Given American Samoa's proximity to the Tonga Trench, an earthquake generating machine, and the challenges that the traditional response infrastructure faced, prompted FEMA to invest over $100 million to get American Samoa certified as TsunamiReady by NOAA. The criteria by which this certification is given are that:

A community must have a 24 hour warning point
An Emergency Operations Center
Multiple ways to receive Tsunami warnings and alert the public -- a siren alert system has been installed
A formal Tsunami hazard plan
Conducting emergency exercises to promote public readiness through community education

The sizable investment made by FEMA to bolster resilience on island will hopefully work to mitigate the reliance on outside assistance in future responses. While the events that led to American Samoa receiving the TsunamiReady certification were tragic, the time, effort, and investment in resources have created a more resilient set of communities, ready when the next event happens.

Designing resilience into the fabric of our cities

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremey Horan) — Fri, 24 Jan 2014 17:26:00 +0000

In a similar vein to yesterday's post on the potential impacts the rapid increase in urban populations will have on our ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters, this article from the folks at Fast Company is about one vision that integrates resilience into our cities working with the space that's already available.

If the world did as Mr. De Chant's 'Per Mile Square' infographic suggests and underwent a hyperdensification, stacking on top of itself to achieve NYC levels of population density, then there would need to be modifications made to that environment that promotes / reinforces the resilience we are currently striving to create. The real world application of what these resilience strategies would look like are explored in this article and are lumped together and classified as 'green infrastructure.'

Image © Gensler

Remember that if the world is going to live like New Yorkers do, then roughly the same wasted space would need to be accounted for...in the case of NYC, that's roughly 5.3 million square feet of space, or roughly 92 football fields. This manifests itself in concrete traffic medians, vacant lots, and barren space that is waiting to be transformed. When you think of New York City, wasted space is not a concept that comes to mind, which is why this idea of transforming the "dead space" that is there into something that can work to promote resilience in the face of increased severe weather events is so cool.

When we think about cities, the prevailing mindset is that there is no room to do anything, overcrowding, poor sanitation, noise pollution, visual blight, and we've been programmed to believe that it stems from the model of our urban infrastructure. What it is though is a reluctance to invest in ideas that would transform that blight into opportunity. What Eric Tan of Gensler has done is to take existing "dead space" and repurpose it, so that it can help an overwhelmed municipal sewer system during strong deluges by creating absorbent surfaces that "eat" water. Or capturing solar energy in current "dead space" by building solar panels and charging stations to mitigate the need for power to charge mobile devices post-event.

These ideas are just that...ideas, but they open the door to what can be done to make our urban environments nicer places as well as places that work harder for us, helping us cope with a future of stronger and more frequent severe weather events.

Mr. Tan goes beyond the repurposing of existing dead space and explores what entire systems could look like from Storm Water Management, to Organic Waste Recyclers in a re-imagined urban setting. For more on his work check out: http://www.gensleron.com/cities/2013/6/10/town-square-initiative-new-york.html.

Image © Gensler

While hyperdensification brings with it lots of added benefits of space utilization, mass transit, opportunity for resource growth, etc...it also would compound the challenges faced when responding to disasters large and small. More people means more resources needed to evacuate, more shelters, better messaging on what to do, and a host of access issues ranging from infrastructure to accommodating individuals with disabilities. As our total population grows, this idea of re-imagining how we use our space will go from abstract to RFP rather quickly.

And for those who don't believe the density issue will quickly be pushed to the forefront of preparedness and recovery planning need look no further than the Post-Disaster Housing Prototype Program launching in New York City. The density issue is already being felt in the world of disasters and as more bodies migrate to urban centers, the ability to retrofit the space we currently use or have available while aligning it with the needs of the population will be crucial as we adjust to our new urban reality.

The Future of Cities and Disaster Response

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremey Horan) — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 16:57:00 +0000

The global population is exploding. More people means more space needed for food production, housing, economic development, etc...generally, more is needed to support more people. This growth however is putting people in harms way; vulnerable populations are living in places known to be at risk for increased impacts to natural hazards because there's no place for them to go (usually). While this rapid human sprawl takes place, industry is continually playing catchup, bending the rules or delaying the implementation of new rules to build faster and bigger in an effort to capitalize on the opportunity that the growth represents while ignoring some of the glaring signs that point to dangers in building economic centers or relocating population centers based on economic incentives without understanding or caring about the risks involved.

source: http://unitedwerecover.wordpress.com/

The graphic above illustrates the move taking place from rural communities to cities, this continued migration to existing population centers is something that requires a re-examination of how we consider planning our future urban developments and what we can do moving forward to make better use of the space we have.

In this great talk given by Vishaan Chakrabarti, he talks about the need for hyperdensification and how it will revolutionize our cities, accommodating for the increase in population sizes work to create more efficient and better organized systems that govern the people living within them.

One of the points made during Chakrabarti's talk is that much of the resource strain/insecurity we face stems from the inefficient way we've designed our surroundings, and that by re-designing / re-thinking the way we live, embodied by the concept of hyperdensification, we would be addressing the problem of people living in vulnerable areas while expanding available space for additional resource growth and development. While the wholesale buyin to Chakrabarti's ideology isn't what I'm selling, I must admit I find merit and a lot of common sense in his hyperdensification argument.

Hyperdensity as a standalone solution may not seem compelling given the comfort of our lifestyle and the fact the suburbs are a way of life for many, so the below infographic, taken from Tim De Chant's 'Per Mile Square,' puts the challenges of our population growth into perspective. The graphic only pertains to the land use that 7 billion people would require, it doesn't talk about resource consumption. The way we design our cities is only part of the equation, the rate at which resources are consumed would be another major hurdle that would need to be cleared in order for this type of thinking to work. As it stands, if the entire world used as much resource as the US does annually...we would need 4.1 times the resources of earth to sustain the American lifestyle...

http://persquaremile.com/2012/08/08/if-the-worlds-population-lived-like/

Just as the conversation around disasters has migrated from the abstract of "if" to the reality of "when," the challenges associated with accommodating our constantly expanding population will necessitate that changing the conversation around how we live and the way in which we consume resources. And if a move to a more dense way of life is achieved, what will that mean for disaster preparedness, response, and recovery? While Haiti is an extreme example of the impacts of a disaster on a high density urban area, the ongoing response and recovery operations have underscored an urgent need in redefining urban response to disasters. Areas of Christchurch are still closed off due to the continuing dangers the damage of the 2011 earthquakes.

Dense urban environments present their own set of challenges that compound the already difficult and chaotic response landscape, and if we are intentional in our move towards more densely packed urban environments, being structured in our approach to providing services pre/post disaster need to be taken into account as well.

Puerto Rico Earthquake Swarm

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremey Horan) — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 12:00:00 +0000

On January 13th news outlets reported a 6.4 quake along the northern coast of Puerto Rico, and just as the world recently became acquainted with the 'polar vortex' (previously known as a cold front), armchair seismologists were introduced to the Puerto Rico Trench. Lying just north of Puerto Rico, stretching roughly 800 miles, this topographical ditch in the Atlantic has been around for a long time, but a local awareness of plate tectonics and the forces at work that can produce earthquakes and subsequent tsunami's have not. Just as the unfamiliar term "storm surge" confused many in the Philippines and resulted in many staying in harms way as Super Typhoon Yolanda made landfall, a lack of familiarity with Earthquakes and Tsunami's in Puerto Rico mean that there is a lower level of awareness around quake preparedness. Then factor in that the last major earthquake to hit the island was in 1918 and you've got a recipe for an unmotivated public with no frame of reference when it comes to earthquakes.

And if you think that a one-off 6.5 quake isn't going to change attitudes, you're probably right, but what about the other 400+ quakes the region has experienced in the last week? While seismologists are quick to tell you that hundreds of earthquakes happen around the world everyday, the clustering and frequency of the earthquake activity around Puerto Rico has to make you wonder if something else is going on.

Compare the above to the earthquake activity in the last week in southern CA:

Does all of this seismic activity in Puerto Rico point to a larger earthquake event on the horizon? In most circumstances one would look to history for some context, but earthquake swarms, like the ones near Puerto Rico are not that well understood and answers to what is currently happening are not readily available by looking to the past. When a swarm generates a lot of small tremors, they usually fizzle out, but scientists don't understand why, so the answer to whether or not the Puerto Rico Trench is just getting warmed up remains to be seen.

While the causes and ultimate outcomes of the increased seismic activity remain a mystery, these quakes offer an opportunity to talk about the natural hazards Puerto Rico faces...especially earthquakes and tsunami's. One of the challenges in preparedness is to make people believe that the event in question can and will happen to them. For those in Puerto Rico, I hope that the attention the quakes are receiving will push these uncomfortable "what if" conversations that are generally avoided to the forefront of daily conversations. It's only when disasters are talked about that questions are asked and answers are sought. And while the constant rumblings of the earth make for sleepless nights, it's a reminder that we need to stay vigilant and continually press for greater engagement of our community partners so that when something does happen, people are prepared and communities are ready to recover.

Northridge 20 years later

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremey Horan) — Fri, 17 Jan 2014 12:31:00 +0000

At 4:31am 20 years ago residents of Southern California were jolted awake by a 6.7 magnitude quake that lasted for 30 seconds. What was soon dubbed the Northridge Earthquake was a reminder for many residents that Southern California is firmly between the cross hairs of the San Andreas Fault.

The ABC coverage above shows what happened: neighborhoods on fire, no electricity, no water, elevated freeway collapse, and a lot of uncertainty. But that was 20 years ago, that couldn't happen now...could it?

In this article "Buildings Vulnerable 20 years after Northridge Quake" Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is quoted as saying:

"We're as well prepared as any city in America, which is to say we're unprepared...I don't think anybody in America is very well prepared ... There's always going to be an earthquake we can't be prepared for."

And while that isn't the resounding vote of confidence you hope for from the Mayor of a city with more than 12 million people a stone's throw from the San Andreas fault...you have to wonder, if the Mayor has this type of attitude, then why are hundreds of thousands of dollars being spent annually to fund Regional Catastrophic Planning Teams ($857,000 in 2011/2012 (see pg 106) and upgraded Emergency Operations Centers ($400,000)?

If you look at my completely unscientific method of earthquake prediction you'll notice that the last major earthquake before Northridge was the Sylmar quake in '71--a 6.6 in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. Sylmar was roughly 20 years before Northridge and today marks the passage of 20 years since, and it feels like disaster amnesia has wholly enveloped Southern California...so much so that the mayor seems to have a "well...what can ya do?" mindset.

Growing a culture of preparedness in a diverse region of 12+ million people is no small feat, but when a significant number of residential structures continue to remain at risk 20 years later, the supply chains and infrastructure that criss-cross the San Andreas remain vulnerable, and preparedness is a foreign concept to a generation of people that weren't alive in '94, it becomes apparent that there is a lot to do and it feels like we're living on borrowed time.

So unless you're an engineer or have deep pockets and can throw money at this, I encourage you to take a few simple steps to help prepare:

Buy some MRE's (Meals ready to eat)
Get some Water: 1 gallon / day / person (3-5 day supply -- more is better)
Flashlights and batteries (candles tend to burn homes down during aftershocks)
A hand crank radio for news updates and if needed, a charge of your phone
Have some cash, preferably smaller bills (not all ATM's will be knocked out but why take that chance?)
Extra Medication / eye glasses
Know where your water and gas meters are and how to turn them off (fires will be a major problem)
Create a meeting point with your friends / family so that if you're separated you know where to go and when to be there

There is more you can and should do, but this is a start. Listen to the podcast below for 2 surprising facts about the most common injuries after Northridge and how you can prevent them from happening to you.

Being an alarmist never does anyone any good, but you also want to be ready...an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Shelter from the sky

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremey Horan) — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 12:00:00 +0000

To reinforce the powerful role innovation plays in transforming how people receive and perceive aid, I wanted to share another innovative idea that I came across in December. Industrial designer Adem Önalan won the Red Dot Design Award (I'd never heard of it either...but apparently it's a big deal) for what he calls "Lifebox":

Photo: Fast Company / Co.Exist

Lifebox is the product of talking to survivors of disasters and relief agencies to better understand if there was a solution that could fill some of the existing gaps in the delivery of aid following an event. The result of those conversations coupled with Adem's creativity yielded Lifebox and its 3 iterations: Air, Land, Water. Air can dropped from a plane with a built in parachute that doubles as the roof of the shelter, Water transforms into a raft, and Land is a straightforward tent (with the added benefit of a foam floor) that can be connected to other Lifeboxes to form larger rooms. The boxes are designed with 2 weeks of supplies for 4 people to cover the gaps that become exposed when critical infrastructure and access to areas are hampered by a disaster.

Photo: Fast Company / Co.Exist. Lifebox: Land

While I like the idea and the fact that it's more of a holistic solution to an immediate need taking into account different methods of delivery, I believe that its "out-of-the-box" nature could create challenges in ensuring its equitable distribution amongst vulnerable populations. I could see Lifeboxes being hoarded or sold in the chaos and confusion of early response activities. However, given the potential upside of the product, I'm confident that figuring out an equitable distribution model is something that bright minds can come up with fairly easily. I would also consider regionalizing the rations contained inside Lifebox to ensure that its culturally appropriate for the populations its helping.

But what I like most about the Lifebox is that it reminds me that just because things are the way they are...doesn't mean they have to stay that way. Change doesn't come easy, especially when people are comfortable in "the way it's always been done." There is power in innovation and sometimes all we need is a little nudge to get us headed down that path...I hope that "The First 72 Hours Challenge" and the uniqueness of Adem's Lifebox solution get your creative juices flowing to re-think how we do things and explore a the potential of doing things differently.

In disasters, 72 is the magic number...

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremey Horan) — Wed, 15 Jan 2014 16:54:00 +0000

The First 72 hours following an event, depending on the size of the impacted area and the severity of the event itself, are usually a black hole when it comes to information and action. The only activities that are taking place are search and rescue, and that falls to (depending on size, scope, geography) a handful of professionals, friends, family, or passersby of those in need. This is a time fraught with uncertainty on almost everything: number of dead / injured, missing persons, damage estimates to public and private structures, impacts to critical infrastructure, greatest unmet needs, which organizations are sending personnel where, credibility of information through formal and informal channels, etc...

It's in the first 72 hours that the level of preparation of those impacted and those responsible for organizing a response comes into play. For individuals and municipalities with lower levels of preparedness, the first 72 hours are chaotic and disjointed and the black hole analogy usually applies. For those that have a history with disasters or have taken steps to strengthen their levels of preparedness, the first 72 hours are a time where people take their places; the emergency management machine whirs to life and the activities of response kick into gear.

It's no coincidence that much of the preparedness literature tells you to have supplies for 3 days...it's because that's how long it usually takes for services to reach those impacted. Just look at San Francisco's preparedness campaign: www.sf72.org, it's based around the 72 hour milestone. Due to the 'just in time' supply chain models that many grocery stores employ to save on warehousing costs, 72 hours is usually the amount of time before shelves run bare. In the case of Super Typhoon Yolanda, the scope of the event made the provision of aid a challenge that took 10 days or longer in some areas to solve. Remember that it's during this time when most communications and cellular infrastructure is down or overloaded, and the power to charge the batteries on which those devices rely, is in short supply.

The bottom line is that even with our advances in technology and early warning systems, the first 72 hours after an event represent a challenge for preparedness and response practitioner's, and it's with that attitude in mind that unicef and socialab created "The Global Innovation Challenge: The First 72 Hours."

This challenge is open to any and all with ideas on how to address the needs of Children and Families following a humanitarian disaster, with a focus on one of the following 4 areas:

Energy
Healthcare
Information Communication
Water / Food

The idea/solution can be a product, a new technology or process, or an improvement on existing technology or process.

If you have a brilliant idea that can help crack the nut that the first 72 hours following a disaster represent, logon and share it...who knows, you may win $15,000 in seed capital and an opportunity to work with unicef and socialab to bring it to life.

Thanks to my Chilean Startup friend Mr. Darren Camas for bringing this unique contest to my attention.

A front row seat for destruction

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremey Horan) — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 12:00:00 +0000

As the technology to record every moment of our lives grows in its ubiquity, an unfortunate byproduct are those who choose to put themselves in harms way to capture something that most would (and should) be running from. The results are often dramatic and usually come at the risk of the individual behind the camera.

Examples of this can be seen in the growth of Tornado chasing, the insistence of weather personalities reporting from coastal areas as hurricanes make landfall, the people who flock to the beach to see a tsunami, or as the below image illustrates, those who want to see a phenomenon called a Tidal Bore...

What is it about the power of a storm that makes us lose our minds? What is it about wanting/needing to see the destructive power of nature, even after watching videos of what the true power of nature can do?

Why are there people hanging out in the yard of the school as the ocean surges?

I'm not sure I would've had the presence of mind to take a video

These people went to the beach to watch a tsunami come ashore! While the wave height was not forecast to be large...they're called disasters for a reason...

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremey Horan) — Sun, 05 Jan 2014 19:49:00 +0000

A happy 2014 to all of you out there in the blogosphere.

I realize that it's been a few weeks since my last posting and want you to know that my radio silence is due to there not being enough hours in the day.

I hope everyone had a great holiday season and are looking forward to a happy, healthy 2014.

More to come...

Housing in Humanitarian Crises

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremey Horan) — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Providing interim / transitional shelter post-disaster is a challenge, one where the demands for materials often outweigh the local supply. In unique circumstances, like the case of the tsunami that hit American Samoa in 2009, there wasn't enough building material on the island to address the shelter needs of the impacted communities. And while ordering more wasn't a problem, the multi-week lag from order to delivery due to American Samoa's unique geography, caused significant delays in getting people back into their homes. The point being that providing shelter following an event remains one of the greatest challenges to those in response and recovery, regardless of how straight-forward it may seem.

While the idiosyncrasies that affected the speed of recovery in American Samoa are unique to its geography, the challenges shelter represents post-disaster are not. Finding a shelter solution that's cheap, readily available, culturally appropriate, easy to put together, durable, can quickly be distributed, and can withstand the elements, are only a small set of obstacles that need to be overcome when figuring out how to get people out of camps and back to their communities.

The pressure to quickly implement a solution coupled with an organizational need to be "doing" while creating "impact," are part of the reason some shelter solutions fall short of their intended goals. A great example of this was witnessed when an International NGO implemented a shelter program in Haiti in 2010/2011. Shelters were distributed throughout the community but rarely used because they had no ventilation, the tarp walls provided no security, and they didn't come with doors. What seemed like a slam dunk on paper failed to gain any traction with the people it was intended to help.

Due to the host of requirements structures need to fulfill, hitting the mark can be exceedingly difficult when it comes to shelter following an event. That doesn't mean however that there isn't a shortage of innovative ideas that try to meet as many of the requirements as possible.

One such idea belongs to the I-BEAM architecture and design, with their pallet structure concept:

http://i-beamdesign.com/projects/refugee/refugee.html

While a great many challenges stand in the way of this concept making it to the front lines, it's one of
the ideas that I find interesting. For case studies on shelter designs following conflict and natural disaster check out: Sheltercasestudies.org, a great resource for examining a wealth of case history regarding shelter in dynamic environments.

While the magic shelter bullet remains an elusive ideal that many organizations covet, there isn't a shortfall of innovative ideas to spur the next round of implementation...if concept design intrigues you, I would suggest looking into Architecture for humanity and their book Design like you Give a Damn, where you will find no shortage of unique perspectives on post-disaster housing solutions.

http://designlikeyougiveadamn.architectureforhumanity.org/

Resilient Communities Training

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremey Horan) — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 12:00:00 +0000

The RAND Corporation is a think tank that covers a wide range of initiatives including a center focused on Catastrophic Risk Management and Compensation. Essentially there are a lot of smart people thinking about and writing about resilience and other topics related to disasters, similar to the conceptual focus and outputs of the Commons Lab at the Wilson Center. Interesting reading when you've got the time...but with the Holidays, who has any to spare?

I did, sort of. When perusing the RAND site for gift ideas I came upon an online training that covers some foundational elements and best practices associated with building resilient communities. After spending about 5-10 mins clicking, I believe the RAND resilience training to be worthwhile as a primer for those looking for resources to share on resilience both from an individual/household as well as an organizational perspective. A great idea for that emergency manager or community-based nonprofit visionary looking to take the bull by the horns.

If you give it a look, I would be interested in any feedback as I'm pulling together resources for a training I'm putting together.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/tools/TL109.html

The True Costs of Disasters

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremey Horan) — Sat, 07 Dec 2013 12:00:00 +0000

A great video about the "true" costs of disasters, economic losses, and what's perpetuating this cycle of loss.

For those interested in a more thorough examination...you can find the report here:

http://www.preventionweb.net/english/hyogo/gar/2013/en/home/GAR_2013/GAR_2013_2.html

It means nothing unless people act.

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremey Horan) — Thu, 05 Dec 2013 03:00:00 +0000

I read an article in the Wall Street Journal entitled "Typhoon exposed limits of Warning System." In the article it talked about a new LIDR system that will replace the existing Doppler radar system in the Philippines used to do the same thing: forecast an incoming storm, but do so with added bells and whistles that will enhance early warning capabilities.

I find it strange that in the midst of ongoing recovery efforts, the government continues to invest in advanced weather forecasting technology, as if it were a limitation of technology that caused the loss of life and not a failure of the framework designed to prevent it. From everything that I've read and from the reports that have come out, the warnings weren't the problem. Days in advance of Yolanda making landfall, there were warnings from the government and PAGASA indicating that this wasn't going to be your average storm, and implored that people respond by evacuating. While the article acknowledges that community action based on the forecasts is needed, it feels like the upgrade to the LIDR system is spending money and resource on addressing something that wasn't broken to begin with, while failing to acknowledge where the real vulnerability lies--in connecting with and empowering communities to take action once information is known.

How is it that a country that averages 20 typhoons a year not know "the drill"? Leading up to Sandy's landfall, people didn't leave because they didn't believe the warnings would match the dire reality forecasted. After communities weather 1,2...or 20 storms, complacency, or hubris can affect their attitude towards the real danger these storms represent. However, it wasn't until I saw this video report from the Wall Street Journal that a new aspect of why people didn't heed to warnings as they should have came to light. As part of the warnings that came from PAGASA, the term "storm surge" was used to describe the tsunami-like wall of water that did so much of the damage; something many Filipino's didn't fully understand. One gentleman in the video goes as far as to call the term "english" and ignored the reality it represented.

While I have no doubt that confusion and unfamiliar terminology surrounding the most deadly aspect of Yolanda's impact played a role in the massive loss of life, I wonder why, given the history Filipino's have with enduring typhoons and the dangers they represent, more widespread proactive action wasn't taken as a precautionary measure.

As recovery gets underway, many are looking to understand where the breakdown occurred and why more action wasn't taken at the local level. If warnings were issued, and a storied history of Category 5 Typhoon's hitting the Philippines known, with Typhoon Bopha hitting last December, why wasn't more done to move people out of harm's way? And why is a technological upgrade seen as a move that will help mitigate loss of life when the reason people failed to leave had more to do with protection of personal property than skepticism surrounding Yolanda's forecasted impact?

Technology is a tool. Higher resolution maps are great, early warnings with higher probabilities on storm impacts and locations are even better; however (insert broken record here) if the people who stand the most to gain (i.e. not die) from the information that these newfangled systems provide are not paying attention or don't care, then you might as well not have any warning system at all. The problem hasn't been the ability to forecast a storm--it's been communicating it in such a way that generates action and interest amongst the people who it will impact.

In Mississippi and Louisiana, people didn't leave when Katrina was bearing down because they didn't believe it was going to be as bad as the forecasts warned. In Galveston when Ike hit, people didn't believe that the island would be all but washed away. In New York, people heeded the warning when Irene blew ashore and when Sandy came, pushing a significant storm surge, people stayed and payed the price. In each of those instances we knew; we knew because history told us, the Army Corps of engineers warned us, and because modern day meteorology showed us where, when, and how severe. To continue to say that advances in severe weather forecasting are mitigating the loss of life and helping people be better prepared, at least where Typhoons and Hurricanes are concerned, is a load of crap. The technology currently used to forecast is sufficient, it's the ability of those whose responsibility it is to turn that information into action at a community level is where the challenge lies. While it's easy to point the finger, I recognize that motivating any large group of people to act is no small task...but when you have history, science, and the blunt trauma of reality on your side...I have to believe that more can and should be done.

Advanced systems and fancier graphics are great but when the dust settles and it's up to friends, neighbors, and search and rescue teams to shoulder the grim burden of counting the dead, the flashy 3D modeling doesn't mean a thing.

If disaster preparedness and risk reduction initiatives can't take hold in the Philippines, a country continually rocked by Earthquakes, Volcanic eruptions, and Typhoons...why would Anytown, USA devote one dollar more than was absolutely necessary to Preparedness if they haven't experienced a disaster in recent memory?

The unfortunate circumstances that have brought us to this moment are tragic...but lets not let this opportunity to champion the preparedness cause slip through our fingers. We need to be able to point to a success story...to be able to show the value in investing in education programs and Disaster Risk Reduction, if there is any hope of it taking hold in vulnerable communities around the world, especially those in our backyards.

Black Friday & Cyber Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremey Horan) — Tue, 03 Dec 2013 01:43:00 +0000

Over the weekend I was greeted with headlines of Black Friday violence; parking lot stabbings, retail worker beatings, and strangers fighting over material goods, all in the name of the holiday "spirit." Under any circumstance this type of behavior is appalling but when set against the backdrop of the last few months of disasters, it takes on a new dimension of materialism and sadness. And while the rest of the world goes about their business giving little thought to the flooding, tornadoes, and hurricanes we experience, a similar sentiment seems to permeate our attitudes about the things happening outside our boarders.

According to a Pew Research survey, Typhoon Yolanda has drawn less interest from the American public than previous disasters and as such is making the generation of donations difficult. The Haiti Earthquake, Indian Ocean Tsunami, and the Japan Earthquake & Tsunami all garnered greater attention and donations than Typhoon Yolanda did in the first weeks following the event. With the understanding that there is never a good time for a disaster to strike, and that there will always be competition for attention in our news cycles, one would think that the build up and subsequent aftermath of an event of the magnitude that struck the Philippines would demand significant attention and support, but that perception isn't matching reality. Why?

Are we fatigued? Are we tired of hearing about the misery caused by so many storms of increasing strength and frequency? If all the reports on climate change prove to be accurate, then the scenario that's unfolding in the Philippines is the tip of the iceberg. With added international pressure to address the impacts of our new climate reality seemingly falling on deaf ears, what will an increase in severe weather events mean on our ability to cope with them? The general trend is that fewer people are being killed in storms of increasing magnitude, but the economic impacts are skyrocketing because of the push to develop areas that remain vulnerable. So the fallout requiring financial support is increasing, while the ability for us to handle it and empathize comes into question.

Haiti is but a distant memory for most, almost 4 years later and the light that shined on the corruption and bureaucracy that strangled aid from making an impact has faded, and while I wish it were different, that's the reality. The Philippines have weathered a significant country-changing event. It is far too soon to let it slip between the cracks of black friday and cyber monday sales. This is a time of year for reflection and giving of thanks for the friends and family we have...please don't forget about those who have lost everything as a result of something beyond their control. Understand that the work of recovery is slow, requiring time, attention, and money, fickle things that are affected by outside influences, especially at this time of year.

While there are needs within our boarders, individuals and families who are dealing with disasters of their own...remember that for many, either at home or abroad, the luxury of 'want' will be overshadowed by the reality of 'need' for some time to come. For those of you out there working to aid in the recovery of impacted communities, thank you. Your tireless efforts are needed and appreciated. And for the rest of us who have to sit on the sidelines, please don't let the events that have impacted lives in: Illinois, Indiana, Syria, the Sahel, DRC, CAR, the Philippines, India, Colorado, or any other community around the world be overtaken by the glut of sales and holiday weirdness that grips our country every year.

Leaving Communities Behind in Recovery

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremey Horan) — Wed, 27 Nov 2013 19:57:00 +0000

We have all the tools we could possible want, we have the deepest wells from which to pull lessons learned and best practices from to avoid repeating mistakes previously made, we are united in our desire to help communities get back on track following disasters, and we are a relatively close knit community of professionals...so why is it so hard to get it together when we turn on the response machine?

As the kinks get worked out of supply chains and aid streams into areas that continue to have great need, I sense a groundhogs day scenario emerging in communities in the Philippines.

After speaking with colleagues on the ground in Tacloban, the situation that's been described sounds strikingly similar to what many Haitians felt disenfranchised by or disconnected to following the earthquake in 2010. The correlation between Haiti, the Philippines, and the aid mechanism setup is that instead of communities being viewed as active participants in the process, by providing a needed voice in determining how best to distribute aid dollars, they are viewed as victims in need of saving, as recipients of aid only. With the understanding that taking a community of tens of thousands and synthesizing their wants and needs down is the role of the political structure, this article in Foreign Policy about corruption in the Filipino political system is reason to look for an alternative way to give voice to the network of community-based nonprofits and informal community leaders during the recovery process.

Remember that sweet graphic of the cluster wheel of excellence, the one that highlights the clusters at work? Well I went back and did a little reading, and while it wasn't even close to thorough (so please correct me if I'm off base), I didn't read anything that suggested that integration of a local voice in the coordination structure was a priority. There was mention of working through regional and country offices to aid in the warning of an eminent disaster, or on select mitigation projects, but in a post-disaster setting, there is little that indicates any efforts should be made to be inclusive of local populations in how aid should be allocated to reshape and rebuild their communities.

This disconnect is a problem.

And while the premise that the very constituents the coordination mechanism is setup to advocate for are the one's being excluded feels Shakespearean it's so tragic...shades of this disconnect can also be found in the communities working to recover from disasters in the US. While community-based entities are a much stronger force within domestic disaster response and recovery...there are still challenges with integrating the voices of those recovering into post-disaster activities while setting and managing their expectations.

I'm sure there are a great number of examples of community-led initiatives that address this challenge, the one that seems to have had great success in the face of significant destruction is Joplin's Citizen Advisory Recovery Team (CART). The damage caused by the Joplin Tornado provided a unique opportunity to re-imagine what their community could be, and CART provided a conduit for community voices to be heard within the planning and development process. While community-based entities are the backbone of connecting unmet homeowner needs with available resources throughout long term recovery, the ability to capture and articulate a communities collective wants and desires and have them be accounted for in land use planning, zoning considerations, and development ideas is unique.

As the aid machine starts churning out grants to organizations playing needed roles in the provision of immediate aid to communities in the Philippines, let's not forget the people for which that aid was donated on behalf of and the role they should have in how it's used. What I'm suggesting isn't easy, and the responsibility of inclusion shouldn't rest solely on responding organizations, but a concerted effort should be made to ensure that starting now the representation in attendance at cluster meetings reflect the communities being served.

Buying Cleopatra

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremey Horan) — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 12:00:00 +0000

The island of Sardinia suffered a significant rain event Tuesday when close to 20" of rain fell in roughly 90 minutes. This event has claimed the lives of 17 people and ongoing damage assessments indicate the town of Olbia has received much of the damage with 9' of standing water in some spots.

While any event that takes lives and negatively impacts communities is a tragedy, I was interested to read in this Al Jazeera article, that Cyclone Cleopatra was not in fact a Cyclone, but a deep low pressure system. So how did it achieve cyclone status and who gave it the name 'Cleopatra?'

While I don't know who was the first to incorrectly attach the term "cyclone" to this weather system, I do know more about who named it. Since 2002 our friends at the The Institute of Meteorology at the Free Institute in Berlin have been allowing the general public to name the weather systems across Europe. When funding for the institutes continuous weather observation was cut to 8 hours per day, volunteers picked up the slack for the other 16. In response to this donations flooded in and the "Adopt a Vortex" program began.

But before you get too excited, the price for having your name associated with those sunny days will cost you 299 Euro or roughly $400...it's a bit cheaper for a low front. Still interested? Of course you are! Because when your weather system is baptized (their term, not mine) and runs its course, you'll receive a "Abschlusspaket, which is German for "Abschlusspaket." This "Abschlusspaket" will contain a certificate with the date of your system, it's life story, and some weather maps.

Just imagine if the dynamic weather wonder duo of Alexandra Steele and the cyborg weather phenom Jim Cantore were to continually reference the high pressure system you purchased as it brought sunshine and good weather to a portion of the country. While I don't see it happening, if someone starts a petition...sign me up.

Abschlusspaket not included

Donde esta el Baño?

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremey Horan) — Wed, 20 Nov 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Yesterday was World Toilet Day; I know this because I, like the rest of the world participated in a parade calling attention to this issue...and I'm lying. Between the Tornadoes in the US, the monsoonal rains in Sardinia, and the unfolding humanitarian crisis in the Philippines, this slipped through the cracks.

the best children's book ever created

As the books title indicates...everyone does in fact poop, where this book really falls short though is in addressing the fact that today roughly 2.5 Billion (with a 'B') people do not have access to a clean and safe toilet. Even more shocking is that 1 in 3 people do not have access to a toilet period.

Think about that. Then ask yourself how many times a day you use a toilet? I couldn't tell you because a toilet is a part of the scenery, something taken for granted...yet 2.5 Billion people don't have that luxury.

When you think about it in those terms, and realize that so many people don't have the opportunity to do their business in a civilized and sanitary way...then the fact that World Toilet Day got the shaft is kind of a big deal.

And here's the impossibly maddening reality regarding this human issue...it's 100% solvable. It's not as if new toilet designs are needed or a case needs to be made as to why this is important. If you're still not convinced that more should be done...may I suggest you take a roll of toilet paper next time you have the urge and get an outdoor experience and then see how you feel.

Finally there's an issue impacting billions of people and we have the tools to fix it...we just need the will to make it happen. For more information go to http://worldtoiletday.org/

you said it skeptical Haitian child...

International Disaster Response is a cluster...

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremey Horan) — Tue, 19 Nov 2013 12:00:00 +0000

The Philippines, an archipelago comprised of 7,000+ islands, is a paradise where the warmth and friendliness of the Filipino people make it a top travel destination. When Yolanda mowed her way across the island chain and it became apparent that it was going to be an event requiring significant humanitarian response, aid organizations put out appeals for donations and sent in assessment teams to figure out how best to provide their special brand of assistance.

With the overwhelming need created by the Typhoon, coordinated response remains a top priority. But how do you coordinate that many moving parts? In the U.S., coordination is a consistent challenge faced by federal, state, local, and community-based response structures. Internationally, aid organizations, foreign and domestic military assistance, and agencies representing the alphabet soup of UN agencies also need to be taken into account on top of everything else. With millions affected, thousands dead, and hundreds of thousands of homes damaged or destroyed across multiple island communities, where do you begin, how do you begin, and who's in charge?

The international humanitarian aid community has something that we in the United States do not--something that helps alleviate a lot of the guesswork around how the response will be shaped so that the focus can be on the provision of aid to those in need. On the premise of improving humanitarian response in emergencies, the United Nations (UN) created the IASC (the InterAgency Standing Committee), and in 2005 the Cluster System for coordination in humanitarian emergencies was adopted. The cluster system provides a scalable and replicable way for handling the delicate dance of leadership and coordination based around functional needs in response operations.

Cluster Overview

The thematic focus of the cluster system alleviates confusion around roles and responsibilities and makes it easier to highlight competency within a specific response function. While clusters aid in the dissemination and consumption of operational data, they also create unique funding opportunities. Because of the way the cluster system is structured, pooled funds managed by the UN are available to help support humanitarian operations and are oftentimes granted through the cluster system:

The Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF)
The Common Humanitarian Funds (CHFs)
Emergency Response Funds (ERFs)

Because complex humanitarian emergencies require so many aid organizations working together, a system to coordinate their activities is needed without limiting their independence. The Cluster System, for any faults it may have, is a system that has the buy-in needed and the ability to fill the most critical of role's--coordination that enables a stronger and more cohesive response.

While every system has its proponents and detractors, the fact that there's a unified system to point to is a big accomplishment. Domestically, emergency support functions (ESFs) would be the mechanism that plays a role most similar to that of the clusters, but unfortunately I think that the cluster system succeeds in combining the focus of ESFs with the coordinative function of a VOAD.

Coordination will always present a challenge to governments, municipalities, donors, and any other moving component involved in the disaster response machine. For whatever faults it may have, I applaud the IASC for endorsing the cluster system and for the organizations who operate within it's framework...I look forward to seeing all the good it can do in expediting a coordinated response to the communities struggling in the aftermath of Yolanda.