INTRODUCTION Disasters – whether naturally occurring or man-made, foreseeable and unforeseeable – can have a profound impact on counties across the United States. In order to remain healthy, vibrant, safe and economically competitive, America’s counties must be able to anticipate and adapt to a myriad of changing physical, environmental, social and economic conditions. The National… Read more
Nature’s unpredictable fury and extreme weather events now seem to have become the unfortunate norm for many counties across the nation. Traditional approaches for mitigating risks from storms are proving not to be enough, while the role nature itself can play is often overlooked. Natural or green infrastructure systems can best help counties become more… Read more
Counties need to be able to prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters in a timely fashion, and as part of this preparation, they need to ensure that critical infrastructure, such as energy, water, communications and transportation, remain operational, or that service can be quickly returned to normal following a disaster. Click the… Read more
The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) was established by the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 and is charged with the deployment of a nationwide public safety broadband network (NPSBN) that is dedicated to first responder/public safety communications. Counties may also be able to leverage the network during times of non-disaster to… Read more
The response phase of a disaster lends itself to the most media attention, while the long-term recovery operations can extend for years. Elected officials can assist with publicity management and set the stage for an efficient recovery. Knowing how to handle difficult decisions when a disaster strikes can aid in effective implementation of the emergency… Read more
The world is increasingly complex. An incident in one county can rapidly become an national crisis, fueled by 24 hour news media coverage, and the proliferation of mass media. Governments are faced with an unrelenting expansion of communications media. Planning ahead and protecting citizens from risk is becoming ever more demanding. Pandemics, popular uprisings, and… Read more
As part of the Resilient Counties Initiative’s effort to create a disaster toolkit for counties, NACo hosted a social media day on December 13, 2018 to showcase how counties have responded to and recovered from disasters and have strengthened resilience within their communities. Throughout the day, counties shared examples of county accomplishments, disaster resilience tools and… Read more
Not every natural disaster comes with a two-month notice, so Yakima County, Washington, is counting its blessings. For several months, roughly 20 acres of a hillside — Rattlesnake Ridge — has been sliding away, threatening homes, highways and the Yakima River. In recent weeks, the slide’s acceleration has slowed, muddying predictions as to when it… Read more
Counties and parishes that took a hit from two monster storms — Hurricanes Irma and Harvey — are digging out from flooding, high winds, loss of power and more in Florida, Texas, Louisiana and elsewhere in the Southeast. Hurricane Irma claimed at least 26 lives on the U.S. mainland, The Associated Press reported. Much of… Read more
A little over a month ago, St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, found itself facing the third threat of the tropical hurricane season, Hurricane Nate. The storm was rapidly forming in the Caribbean Sea, and the parish had just days to inform and possibly mobilize the public to evacuate. The good news: It was prepared. Before the… Read more
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