NCDP 20th Anniversary Reflections and Impacts Shortly after the 9/11 attacks and the anthrax exposures, centers throughout the United States were set up to prepare for and make our nation more resilient. In 2003, the National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP), Columbia University, was founded to provide an academically based, interdisciplinary center focused on the capacity to prevent, respond to, and … Continue reading “NCDP 20th Anniversary Reflections and Impacts” Learn More
The Beginnings of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP) Shortly after the 9/11 attacks and the anthrax exposures, centers throughout the United States were set up to prepare for and make our nation more resilient. In 2003, the National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP), Columbia University, was founded to provide an academically based, interdisciplinary center focused on the capacity to prevent, respond to, and … Continue reading “The Beginnings of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP)” Learn More
Federal Disaster Funding at Play in Fiscal Year 2024 and Government Shutdown Negotiations The Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) is running dangerously low as the busiest time of the disaster season arrives and lawmakers debate spending levels for the coming year. Members of Congress are negotiating a budget deal to fund the federal government for FY 2024, as well as a Continuing Resolution (CR) as a stopgap measure for … Continue reading “Federal Disaster Funding at Play in Fiscal Year 2024 and Government Shutdown Negotiations” Learn More
Avoidable Fatalities in “Tipping Point” States: Impact of Presidential Actions and Policies on States The avoidable death count from COVID-19 continues to rise. Using simple comparative mortality rates we have expanded the prior national comparative study to look at how we can also estimate the number of lives that might have been avoided if these states had the same benefits from national leadership as the neighboring province of Ontario, … Continue reading “Avoidable Fatalities in “Tipping Point” States: Impact of Presidential Actions and Policies on States” Learn More
Financing catastrophe: 4 ways we pay for disasters This piece was originally published on January 28, 2019, in The Hill. Looking back, 2018 was another remarkable year of billion-dollar disasters. In the last 20 years, climate-related disasters have cost the world $2.25 trillion, a 250 percent increase from the $895 billion spent between 1978 and 1997, and that trend is only looking to increase … Continue reading “Financing catastrophe: 4 ways we pay for disasters” Learn More
Five reasons not to underestimate Hurricane Florence This piece was originally published on September 12, 2018, in The Hill. As Hurricane Florence approaches the East Coast as a major hurricane, there is also a collective sigh of relief among many that the route of the storm avoided areas like Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico that are still recovering from the 2017 hurricane … Continue reading “Five reasons not to underestimate Hurricane Florence” Learn More
Private sector can shoulder more responsibility for disaster readiness This post was originally published on March 15, 2018 in The Hill. I just returned from Texas, where I was assessing the relief progress of our partners six months after Hurricane Harvey made landfall. Tens of billions of dollars have been invested into rebuilding coastal towns and cities that endured the worst damage of the … Continue reading “Private sector can shoulder more responsibility for disaster readiness” Learn More
Commentary: This Year’s Hurricane Season Was the Costliest Ever. Now What? This post was originally published on November 30, 2017 in Fortune. Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria have created the costliest hurricane season to date, but this is also part of a trend of increasing frequency of billion-dollar weather disasters. And it’s creating a stark reality for American companies today. As large-scale disasters become more common, businesses must do … Continue reading “Commentary: This Year’s Hurricane Season Was the Costliest Ever. Now What?” Learn More
The Biggest Test Trump Faces With Hurricane Harvey This post was originally published on August 28, 2017 in Fortune. All presidents face disasters at some point in their tenure, and how they lead the nation through the response and recovery has a direct impact on the lives of those affected by the event. Hurricane Harvey is the first major natural disaster to test the … Continue reading “The Biggest Test Trump Faces With Hurricane Harvey” Learn More
Ebola Recovery: The Long View [Written February 2015] While the Ebola crisis has quietly exited mainstream media and public interest (Figure 1), over 15,000, Ebola survivors [1], [2] struggle to regain a semblance of normalcy in a complex environment of pre-existing poverty and post-conflict dynamics. Each country heavily impacted by Ebola, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea has its own unique historical context which … Continue reading “Ebola Recovery: The Long View” Learn More
Superstorm Sandy: A Long Path to Recovery Superstorm Sandy made landfall on October 29, 2012, causing 117 deaths and inflicting billions of dollars of economic damages in the United States. Two years later the economic, environmental, health and social impacts are still felt among many of the affected residents. Over 300,000 homes in New York and 350,000 in New Jersey and were … Continue reading “Superstorm Sandy: A Long Path to Recovery” Learn More
