nws.noaa.gov - April 24, 2013

On April 24, 2013, NOAA’s National Weather Service, in partnership with the National Weather Service Employees Organization (NWSEO), released The Weather-Ready Nation Roadmap 2.0.  The updated Roadmap blends an understanding of social and physical sciences and lends itself to building community resilience in the face of increasing vulnerability to extreme weather and water events. After achieving the goals of the Weather-Ready Nation Roadmap, NWS will empower emergency managers, first responders, government officials, businesses, and the public to make faster, smarter decisions to save lives and protect livelihoods.

“The NWS recognizes that issuing excellent forecasts and warnings may not always be enough to save lives,” said NWS Director Louis W. Uccellini.  “The Weather-Ready Nation initiative is first and foremost to save lives and protecting livelihoods by providing useful, relevant, actionable information on for critical decision support services.”

nj.com - by Eugene Paik - April 4, 2013

submitted by Samuel Bendett

homelandsecuritynewswire.com - April 11, 2013

The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness is currently looking for a PR firm to help it launch a multifaceted awareness campaign. The campaign, worth about $4 million over three years, would aim to increase the level of emergency awareness and preparedness of residents, businesses, and communities in New Jersey.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

submitted by Albert Gomez

journalism.org

For millions who lost power but could still access the internet on mobile devices, Twitter served as a critical lifeline throughout the disaster that struck on October 29. At least a few news operations, such as Huffington Post and the aggregator BuzzFeed saw their servers go down and turned to Twitter and other social media to deliver reports.

According to Twitter, people sent more than 20 million tweets about the storm from October 27 through November 1.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

                          (LINKS TO STUDY ABSTRACT AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ARE BELOW)

Scientists look at an ice core from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide coring site.  Credit: Thomas Bauska, OSU

CNN - by Ben Brumfield - March 8, 2013

Global warming has propelled Earth's climate from one of its coldest decades since the last ice age to one of its hottest -- in just one century.

A heat spike like this has never happened before, at least not in the last 11,300 years, said climatologist Shaun Marcott, who worked on a new study on global temperatures going back that far.

"If any period in time had a sustained temperature change similar to what we have today, we would have certainly seen that in our record," he said.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Study Abstract - A Reconstruction of Regional and Global Temperature for the Past 11,300 Years
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/339/6124/1198.abstract

Image: People adapt. Photo: Shamsuddin Ahmed/IRIN

irinnews.org - March 5th, 2013 - Jaspreet Kindra

Contrary to popular belief, most rural communities facing recurrent climate shocks learn to adapt, using their own resources and knowledge. Yet many international aid programmes have outside “experts” craft interventions without the involvement of those they seek to help.

And many development projects do not actually promote adaptability, said Simon Levine of the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), in a 2012 Oxfam blog post.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

submitted by Samuel Bendett

homelandsecuritynewswire.com - February 18, 2013

Mounting scientific evidence indicates climate change will lead to more frequent and intense extreme weather that affects larger areas and lasts longer. We can reduce the risk of weather-related disasters, however, with a variety of measures. Experts say that a good strategy should include a variety of actions such as communicating risk and transferring it through vehicles such as insurance, taking a multi-hazard management approach, linking local and global management, and taking an iterative approach as opposed to starting with a master plan.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Volunteer Candice Osborne is able to quickly respond to the needs of Superstorm Sandy victims with the help of social media.

cnn.com- by Katie Walmsley - November 30, 2012

(CNN) -- It has been in operation only since October 30, but the Facebook page for "Giving back to those affected by Sandy" has a longer timeline than most Facebook members.

The page, started by the group "BK girls give back," began as a way to help people stranded in areas with no cell service or way to communicate after the superstorm. Soon, it took on a life of its own. Shelters in need of supplies, residents in need of a ride, organizations needing volunteers and even people who lost and found pets all posted on the timeline.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Photo by Fred R. Conrad/ The New York Times

nytimes.com - Peter Applebome - February 22,2013

HIGHLANDS, N.J. — If not for the most deadly natural disaster in American history, in Texas, and an innovative response to it, more than a century ago, one might briskly consign the proposal to save this oft-flooded borough at the northern end of the Jersey Shore to the realm of pigs with wings.

But four months after Hurricane Sandy almost obliterated downtown Highlands, an unlikely idea with one enormous historical antecedent seems to be taking hold here: Don’t just raise the buildings. Raise the town.

submitted by Henry Rodriguez

claimsjournal.com - February 19, 2013

The 15 insurers participating in the National Flood Insurance Program that are handling at least 1,000 claims related to Sandy, the progress they have made in closing claims, and the money they have paid out to date:

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

submitted by Henry Rodriguez

propertyinsurancecoveragelaw.com - by Chip Merlin - February 20, 2013

Flood insurance claims under the National Flood Program are unique. As implied in yesterday's post, Appraisal in Flood Claims, those closely involved with controversies regarding appraisals under the National Flood Program should not only read cases construing the flood policy, they should also read briefs filed by the attorneys for National Flood to anticipate future arguments and issues. This is very important to properly representing Hurricane Sandy insurance claimants.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Andy Wandilak, owner of Two Boots Pizza

CNN - by Jessi Hempel - November 23, 2013

Thanks to social networks, grassroots relief efforts scaled quickly and efficiently in Sandy's aftermath, giving them a bigger presence in many places than even the established aid agencies.

On the day Hurricane Sandy decimated entire neighborhoods of New York, Andy Wandilak offered to feed and shelter the family of a musician who plays at his restaurant. The guy's descriptions of the storm's aftermath were tragic. So Andy started cooking. He used Facebook and Twitter to ask the restaurant's patrons for support.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

submitted by Albert Gomez

urbangreencouncil.org - February 2013

The greatest obstacle to a responsible approach to climate change mitigation is a sense that the problem is insoluble. Urban Green Council’s latest research report, 90 By 50, demonstrates that the emission reductions required are in fact possible using technologies that are known and in almost all cases currently available, and that the cost is manageable from a citywide perspective.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Document - 90 by 50 - NYC Can Reduce Its Carbon Footprint 90% By 2050
http://issuu.com/urbangreen/docs/90by50?mode=window

Study: 90 by 50 - NYC Can Reduce Its Carbon Footprint 90% By 2050 (56 page .PDF file)
http://www.urbangreencouncil.org/servlet/servlet.FileDownload?file=015U0000000nD3r

submitted by Albert Gomez

This Feb. 5, 2013, photo,shows a home in the middle of Barnegat Bay, that was washed into the Bay from Mantoloking N.J. during Superstorm Sandy. States hit hard by Sandy are gearing up to remove tons of debris from waterways, including houses, vehicles, sunken boats, furniture, pieces of piers, decks and bulkheads _ all of which must be removed before the summer swimming and boating season. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

Hidden damage from Sandy lurks underwater as areas dependent on tourism brace for cleanup

Associated Press - by Wayne Parry - February 17, 2013

MANTOLOKING, N.J. (AP) -- On the surface, things look calm and placid. Just beneath the waterline, however, it's a different story.

Cars and sunken boats. Patio furniture. Pieces of docks. Entire houses. A grandfather clock, deposited in a marsh a mile from solid land. Hot tubs. Tons of sand. All displaced by Superstorm Sandy.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)