As Hurricane Florence hits communities throughout the Carolina’s and across the region, National Public Radio (NPR) provides a list of useful mobile apps that citizens can download to stay updated, safe, and access the resources they need to ride out the storm and the weeks following. From weather updates to finding gasoline and shelter, the list… Read more
High-performance infrastructure can not only mitigate the severity and cost of damages incurred from natural disasters, but it also attracts more diverse funding sources such as green bonds, catastrophe bonds, resilience bonds, and social impact bonds. This HUD fact sheet provides governments of all levels with a basic overview of innovative financing mechanisms available to… Read more
The Government of Puerto Rico is taking advantage of the opportunity to build back stronger and more resilient in the wake of Hurricane Maria’s devastating impact. Less than one year after Hurricane Maria made landfall in September 2017, the Government of Puerto Rico published this economic and disaster recovery plan to provide a framework for… Read more
A group of 10 International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and IBTS volunteers conducted service and governance assessments of Puerto Rico’s 78 municipalities after Hurricane Maria. The assessment results were performed as part of the Puerto Rico Municipal Assessment Project and were published in RAND Corporation’s report, “Transformation and Innovation in the Wake of Devastation: An Economic and… Read more
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently released its Disaster Recovery Toolkit for Housing Counselors, an online guide to help organizations focused on housing counseling “prepare for and engage with local partners that receive funding following disasters.” The toolkit includes two guides, “Preparing for a Disaster” and “Operating Post Disaster,” that provide… Read more
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. New and emerging technologies can be particularly critical for counties as they develop plans and programs to increase their resilience to unforeseen shocks. In a world increasingly driven by… Read more
What if you knew the weather…up to a year in advance? What would you do differently? Northampton County, Pennsylvania used weathertrends360’s year-ahead forecast to better plan their annual budgets. The forecast indicated the coming winter would be the 2nd warmest in decades, 10F warmer than the prior year with 75% less snowfall forecast. The forecast… Read more
Disaster can strike out of nowhere. Tornadoes touch down with little warning. Earthquakes do not announce themselves before they rumble underfoot. Days of pounding, persistent rain create overwhelming floods. These emergencies are only weather events—large vehicle crashes and other man-made crises can happen in a split-second. To make matters worse, a delayed or deferred response… Read more
Effectively communicating and clearly expressing the reasons for a tough decision using all available communications channels is essential for counties and local leaders. This workshop helps county leaders learn how to develop and deliver key elements of your message and leverage all mediums for maximum impact. Although the content of the workshop is not specific… Read more
Overview More than just data, Digital Coast provides tools, training and examples of how counties can bolster resiliency through data and information resources. Coastal counties make up only 17 percent of the U.S. land area, but provide 58 percent of our nation’s GDP. Coastal increases in population, extreme weather events, sea level rise and other… Read more
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