Disaster Response

The crisis that shocked the world: America’s response to the coronavirus How the world’s richest country got into this dismal situation is a complicated tale that exposes the flaws and fissures in a nation long proud of its ability to meet cataclysmic challenges. Joel Achenbach, William Wan, Karin Brulliard, Chelsea Janes Washington Post

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Buildings near a Safeway supermarket were destroyed in Paradise, Calif., on Nov. 8 as seen in footage taken on May 22. The Camp Fire destroyed nearly 19,000 structures and claimed 85 lives.  Ellie McCutcheon for NPR

npr.org - by Kirk Siegler - May 29, 2019

. . . Current federal aid is emblematic of a bigger problem in the way we respond to natural disasters: Disaster strikes, emergency help is deployed, checks are cut, communities are rebuilt — even in high-risk places.  Many say that reactive response has to change.  Staying the current course will bankrupt the federal Treasury.  Communities need to build — and rebuild — smarter.  "Communities need to be aware of those risks when doing community planning and not build in very high hazard areas" . . .

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CLICK HERE - FEMA - Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 Transforms Field of Emergency Management

A building destroyed by the Camp Fire is seen in Paradise, California, U.S., November 13, 2018. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester

reuters.com - by Andrew Hay - November 17, 2018

When a “megafire” engulfed Paradise, California, officials and residents had to abandon their evacuation plans and improvise new ways to save lives, learning lessons that could help the growing number of U.S. communities at risk to wildfires.

As strong winds sent flames roaring into Paradise at 2 miles per minute, emergency personnel and locals realized their escape plans, crafted after a 2008 blaze, would not work.

“The lessons we had learned in the past kind of went out of the window due to the sheer speed and intensity of this fire,” Paradise Emergency Operations Coordinator Jim Broshears said in a phone interview.

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