National Strategy for Civil Earth Observations On April 19, 2013, the Obama Administration’s Office of Science and Technology released its, “National Strategy for Civil Earth Observations.” “Each year, Federal agencies invest billions of dollars in civil Earth observations. Through these investments, the U.S. government ensures that the Nation’s decision makers,...
Early in the morning of April 18, 1906, a major earthquake estimated to be between 7.8 and 8.3 magnitude hit the San Francisco area. The earthquake was caused by a rupturing of nearly 300 miles of the San Andreas fault, and it was felt across California, Nevada and Oregon. Fires...
The National Library of Medicine Disaster Information Management Research Center offers links and information on Disaster Apps and Mobile Web Pages. “The tools on this page are designed to provide mobile device users access to Web-based content. They are developed to run on specific mobile platforms, such as iOS (iPhone...
Superstorm Sandy made landfall in Long Island and New York City on October 29, 2012 and quickly caused severe damage to much of the downstate region. On December 10, 2012 New York State Senators Dean G. Skelos and Jeffrey D. Klein announced the formation of a bipartisan Task Force for...
“At the direction of President Barack Obama, the Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA] continues to coordinate federal government assistance — including Department of Defense-provided aid — to support states in response and recovery of Hurricane Sandy[.]” Involvement in the response to this storm also includes U.S. Northern Command, more than...
The Migration Policy Institute, together with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, released a report this month entitled, New Approaches to Migration Management in Mexico and Central America, which “traces the history of migration and transmigration trends and policy in Mexico and Central America, and examines Mexico’s sweeping 2011...
Hurricane Sandy is a category-1 storm that is estimated to bring “life-threatening flooding to the US mid-Atlantic coast and hurricane-force winds from Virginia to Massachusetts, Monday evening and into Tuesday.” The storm has been gaining more strength, with winds of over 90 miles per hour, and conditions are anticipated to...
Due to the seasonal monsoon rains and tropical storms in the region, the Philippines is currently experiencing widespread flooding that has left parts of the country without services and thousands without homes/shelter. News reports indicate that the flooding has forced nearly 130,000 people across the country from their homes. One...
Nearly one year ago today the third largest tornado outbreak in US history (since systematic tornado record keeping began in 1950) was recorded on April 25-28, 2011. The areas most affected by the devastating tornadoes included the Southern, Midwestern, and Northeastern United States. In particular, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee,...
On April 20, 2010 while drilling in the Macondo oil field 40 miles off the Louisiana coast, the semi-submersible drilling rig Deepwater Horizon suffered a huge methane gas explosion and resulting fire that caused the rig to sink two days later. Eleven crew members died during the event that resulted...
