• Weather

As Flood Plains Expand, Sellers Continue to Hide Risk from Residents

• climate change
• FEMA
• flood insurance
• Flooding
• NFIP

by Amy Lupica, ODP Contributing Writer  Across the nation, 15 million residences are at high risk of flooding within the next 30 years, and most homeowners and renters aren’t aware of this risk. Only about half of states require any kind of disclosure when it comes to flood risk and those that do offer information […]

• Weather

Hurricane Delta Leaves Louisiana Delta Reeling

• FEMA
• homeless
• hurricane
• Hurricane Delta
• Louisiana
• named storm
• power
• severe storm
• tornado

Hurricane Delta provided a knockout second punch to the Southwest Louisiana coastline, coming ashore within 20 miles of Hurricane Laura’s path, leaving more than 200,000 customers still without power late yesterday (at its peak the number was 700,000).

Why This Matters:  Delta was the 25th named storm, the 10th to make landfall in the U.S. this year, and storm season is winding down but it is not over.

• Animals

Caring for Pets During Natural Disasters

• FEMA
• natural disaster
• pets

September is recognized as National Preparedness Month which encourages and reminds Americans to be prepared for natural disasters or emergencies. Unfortunately, this year disasters are a threat that millions of Americans have seen realized from wildfires on the West Coast to an exceptionally active hurricane season in the Atlantic. And while people are enduring unspeakable […]

• Health

We Need to Focus on Mental Health After Natural Disasters

• CDC
• FEMA
• mental health
• natural disaster

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it a national mental health crisis. A CDC survey found that 40% of respondents are struggling with mental health, as CNN explained, “both related to the coronavirus pandemic itself and the measures put in place to contain it, including physical distancing and stay-at-home orders.” And now, according to the […]

• Weather

More Extreme Weather Makes Life Harder for Millions of Americans This Week

• climate change
• derecho
• FEMA
• heat
• high heat
• hurricane
• severe storms
• severe weather

The extreme weather events this summer keep piling up. Phoenix set a record for the most number of days over 110 degrees in a year with 35 — so far as of yesterday.  Plus a derecho, which is akin to an inland hurricane, swept 700 miles across the midwest Monday.

Why This Matters:  President Trump is trying to remove $50 billion from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to pay for needed unemployment benefits he unilaterally ordered.  Given the increased number of hurricanes predicted (a new storm is forming in the Atlantic), it seems like a particularly bad time to raid FEMA’s emergency funds.

• People

Flooding and Severe Storms Disproportionately Impact Black and Brown Communities

• African American communities
• FEMA
• Flooding
• minorities
• storms

As the third tropical storm of the season, Cristobal, sits in the Gulf of Mexico picking up steam like a pinball aiming for the coast somewhere from Houston to New Orleans, a new analysis of federal flood insurance payouts shows that flooding in the U.S. disproportionately harms black neighborhoods. 

Why This Matters:  This is not new news – there have been studies pointing out this disparity for years.  Indeed, more than a year ago, the National Academies of Science (NAS) issued a report that said that “Severe storms ‘fall on the rich and poor alike,’ but low-income neighborhoods suffer more damage from urban flooding.”