Group items tagged

A well-developed infrastructure can be the difference between citywide resilience and longstanding disorder. Notably, this infrastructure consists of both the coordination of first responders and the physical structures they need to support emergency work. Both of these components impact the way a city reacts to natural disasters or other severe weather disturbances. Understanding environmental and climatic patterns proves critical in preparing for weather disturbances and natural disasters. Often, severe weather accompanies shifts in climate but affects each region differently. Armed with this knowledge, city officials across the country are examining ways they can alter infrastructure to mitigate disaster and rapidly repair the damage it might cause.

From depleted resources to toppling buildings, natural disasters can wreak havoc on communities. Some areas are more prone to particular weather-such as tornadoes, hurricanes or blizzards-while other regions see little need to plan for such catastrophes. When extreme weather impacts cities with large, unprepared populations, the opportunity for devastation increases. After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, the city spent years addressing the damage brought about by the disaster. Almost 10 years later, New Orleans is still recovering. To prevent other cities from suffering the same fate, several organizations have banded together to emphasize the importance of citywide resilience.

There is no scientific evidence that hot weather causes crime, but experts have found strong correlations between rising temperatures and more frequent violent crime. To keep the public safe, officers must be aware of this relationship and anticipate how resource availability and workload may change in the future.

For those living in remote or heavily wooded areas, wildfires threaten homes where it is difficult to fight and contain the inferno. The high temperatures and dry weather characteristic of the summer season are conditions ideal for fires to start and spread. Many emergency response organizations are embracing end-to-end disaster preparedness to ensure they are ready for wildfires well in advance of an outbreak.

There are strong correlations between rising temperatures and crime rates. To keep the public safe, leaders need not only to be aware of this relationship, but also to engage peers and the public in developing solutions to the impending resource gaps.

The South is slowly thawing out from its rare winter freeze and snowfall, but the ramifications of what occurred will impact how the region handles disaster preparedness in the future. In Atlanta, approximately three inches of snow crippled the metropolitan area, leaving thousands stranded on roads and emphasizing the important role first responders play in such emergencies.

During the summer and early fall, hurricanes become a major threat to a significant portion of the U.S. The combination of high winds, heavy rain and potential impact on coastlines can have far-reaching implications for communities, as was evident during storms like Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy. Many agencies look to scientific forecasts to help prepare for natural disasters, but regardless of what these reports say, first responders must formulate plans and protocols to prepare for the worst.