The Worst Case in Disaster Planning – Editorial, NOLA. – Good points in the editorial. I also think that we should look at the worst cases. However, politicians, and the disaster planners who work for them, usually do not want to admit that their plans do not cover the worst cases because that would require very unpopular actions[…]
Author: richards
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Mississippi Flood History
The Mississippi Delta has always been defined by the sediment flow of the river and level of the ocean. Of these two, sediment flow is less important than ocean level – ocean level has varied more than 200 feet over…
Fewer but Bigger Hurricanes?
Some models of the effect of climate change on hurricanes predict fewer storms but stronger storms. While all storms are a threat to the Louisiana coast, it is the large storms that threaten the very existence of cities such as New Orleans. Dr.…
Coast Guard Report on Response to BP Spill
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY For the nation, the Deepwater Horizon oil well blowout and release was unprecedented in scope,scale, and duration. While the response system established by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990(OPA 90) has effectively dealt with approximately 1,500 oil spill…
The Japanese Tsunami and what it means to the US
Several areas of the United States are subject to tsunamis, and the coast north of San Francisco through the Canadian border has a history of catastrophic tsunamis. This report from FEMA details the tsunami risk in the United States: https://biotech.law.lsu.edu/climate/docs/japan_eq_tsunami_and_what_they_mean_for_the_us_03-17-2011.pdf…
Small storms, big floods – Tropical Storm Allison
Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Gustav were relatively dry storms. Had they been wet storms like Allison, the damage to Louisiana would have been much greater. If New Orleans received the 39 inches of rain that Houston received during Allison, it…
The Black Swan of Coastal Ecology
This is a presentation at the University of Oregon Public Interest Law Conference, March 5th, 2010:
Should we subsidize developing high risk coastal areas?
By Kathy Chu, USA TODAY
DAUPHIN ISLAND, Ala. — This island’s website couldn’t be blunter: “Dauphin Island is in a precarious position of being a barrier island, in essence an overgrown sandbar. This gives us a potential of being a disaster in the making. We have been hit by numerous hurricanes, Ivan, Frederic, Georges, Danny and many more!”…
Cover Image
The blog cover image is a picture I took at Waveland, MS, looking toward Biloxi, after Hurricane Katrina. More of my Katrina images are available at: www.epr-art.com
Coastal Law Resources
LSU Law Student Environmental Law Society
The LSU Law Center has an active environmental law society:
Coastal Law and Science at LSU
Coastal law brings together many legal specialties, including property law, oil and gas law, federal and state environmental law, public health law, and aspects of national security law. But law alone is not enough. Developing effective coastal policy also requires…
Waterworld
http://www.tnr.com/article/environment-energy/magazine/77388/waterworld
“This fall, construction is set to begin on a $4 million pop-up floodwall near the National Mall in Washington, D.C. It’s designed to be assembled quickly in the event that torrential rains cause the nearby Potomac River to spill into the city[…]
Marsh land destruction not foreseeable cause of Katrina damage
In this consolidated limitation action, Claimants, Hurricane Katrina floodvictims, filed claims against the Limitation Petitioners, private companies thatoperated twenty-two dredging vessels along the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet pursuant to contracts with the United States Army Corps of Engineers[…]
Florida’s Beaches – Caught between the ocean and a hard place
Florida is facing the same problems with global warming that face Louisiana: as the beaches try to retreat inland with ocean rise, they are stopped by armoring on developments. For Louisiana, this means the end of the wet lands. For…
Can Mississippi Diversions Restore Lost Land?
Missouri River Planning: Recognizing and Incorporating Sediment Management
Historically, the flow of sediment in the Missouri River has been as important as the flow of water for a variety of river functions. The sediment has helped form a dynamic network of islands, sandbars, and floodplains, and provided habitats for native species[…]
Can River Diversions Restore Marshland?
These two papers raise serious doubts about the use of river diversions to restore marshland[…]
Children and Disasters
An interesting report on the special problems of children in disasters[…]
Green Building and National Hazards
Green building strategies include minimizing building materials and building in ways that may increase risks from earthquakes, floods, hail, and wind. FEMA raises some of these issues in this report: Natural Hazards and Sustainability for Residential Buildings, FEMA P-798 /…
Insurance Risks and Climate Change – Swiss Re
https://biotech.law.lsu.edu/climate/docs/A10485_Climate_adaption_Publication_A4.pdf
Insurance can be key in helping communities adapt to and manage the risks associated with climatic events, according to a report by Zurich-based Swiss Reinsurance Co[…]
Actuarial Rate Review – National Flood Insurance Program
https://biotech.law.lsu.edu/climate/docs/actuarial_rate_rev20091.pdf
See the real numbers on the funding and premiums for the National Flood Insurance Program.
Environmental Groups Weigh-in on NFIP
State Wind Pools – Who is really at risk?
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-09-22-1Ainsurance22_ST_N.htm
Click on a state for exposure.
What is the Corp Really Building in New Orleans?
From the University of Colorado Natural Hazards Observer:
Corps of Engineers’ Steven Stockton
Avoiding the Single Line of Defense
Natural Hazards Observer • September 2010
“Where are the visionaries for the future? [Congress’] focus is on a million different areas. It’s not on water infrastructure or on disaster risk mitigation,” says Steven Stockton, director of Civil Works for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.[…]
National Wildlife Federation and the NFIP
Environmental groups have strong objections to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) because it encourages development in fragile coastal environments. This testimony also mentions the proposed Multiple Peril Insurance Act which create a wind insurance program like the NFIP. Environmental groups oppose this because…
Introduction to the National Flood Insurance Program
In the late 1960s, the federal government set up a national flood insurance program to deal with the failure of the private market for flood insurance. (Failure in the sense that no one wanted to actuarially sound rates for flood insurance.) It…
CRS Report – Potential BP Liability for the Oil Spill
“Since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill began on April 20, 2010, Congress has given much attention to the compensatory liability provisions of the Oil Pollution Act and, to a lesser extent, those of the Jones Act and the Death on…
Hurricane Katrina – Was Flooding Really a Surprise?
(Hurricane Katrina resources) One of the post-Katrina myths is that no one expected the city to flood. It is true that no politician ever used the f-word when calling for evacuations. This was the single deadliest mistake in the response…
Images of Katrina
The fifth anniversary of Katina is approaching, so this blog will devote some days to Katrina related posts. I sat out Katrina in Baton Rouge, where we got some damage, but where Rita was the more dangerous storm. LSU was…
Oliver Houck: Can We Save New Orleans? The Paper
Oliver Houck, Can We Save New Orleans? 19 TUL. ENVTL. L.J. 1-68 (2006) This is Professor Houck’s cri de coeur, written shortly after Katrina. It is worth reading to catch a sense of the times, and rereading if you have…