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Disastrous Spending: Federal Disaster-Relief Expenditures Rise amid More Extreme Weather
Disastrous Spending: Federal Disaster-Relief Expenditures Rise amid More Extreme Weather
Source: Center for American Progress
Superstorm Sandy devastated New Jersey, New York, and other areas along the eastern seaboard six months ago on October 29, 2012. It took at least 72 lives in the United States and caused nearly $50 billion in damages. Congress eventually provided $60 billion in disaster relief and recovery aid after weeks of deliberating and partisan bickering. These recovery efforts continue to this day.
Sandy was the worst natural disaster in the United States in terms of destruction and deaths since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, but it wasn’t the only one. In 2011 and 2012 alone, the United States experienced 25 floods, storms, droughts, heat waves, and wildfires that each caused at least $1 billion in damages. Combined, these extreme weather events were responsible for 1,107 fatalities and up to $188 billion in economic damages.
The Center for American Progress conducted an analysis and found that the federal government—which means taxpayers—spent $136 billion total from fiscal year 2011 to fiscal year 2013 on disaster relief. This adds up to an average of nearly $400 per household per year.
Nearly all of this disaster spending was for relief and recovery from these and other smaller natural disasters. Most of these disasters are symptomatic of the man-made climate change resulting from massive amounts of carbon emissions and other pollutants in the atmosphere, which warm the oceans and the Earth. As climate change accelerates, so will federal spending on disaster relief and recovery, which will ultimately be paid for by taxpayers.
CRS — Analysis of the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013
Analysis of the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013 (PDF)
Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists)
Hurricane Sandy caused extensive human suffering and damage to public and private property. In response to this catastrophic event, Congress considered legislation to provide supplemental appropriations to federal disaster assistance programs. In addition, Congress considered revisions to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (the Stafford Act, P.L. 93- 288 as amended), which is the primary source of authorities for disaster assistance programs for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). As a result, Congress passed the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013, which was included as Division B of the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013 (P.L. 113-2). Division A of P.L. 113-2 provided a $50.7 billion package of disaster assistance largely focused on responding to Hurricane Sandy. Additionally, Congress increased the National Flood Insurance Program’s borrowing authority by $9.7 billion (from $20.725 billion to $30.425 billion) (P.L. 113-1). Both of these supplemental relief law are discussed separately in CRS Report R42869, FY2013 Supplemental Funding for Disaster Relief.
This report analyzes the provisions of the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013. In general, these provisions amend the Stafford Act with a stated goal of improving the efficiency and quality of disaster assistance provided by FEMA.
FCC Acts to Ensure Reliability of Calls to 9-1-1 During Emergencies
FCC Acts to Ensure Reliability of Calls to 9-1-1 During Emergencies
Source: Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission today proposed action to improve the reliability and resiliency of America’s 9-1-1 communications networks, especially during disasters, by ensuring that service providers implement vital best practices in network design, maintenance, and operation. The Commission also proposed amending its rules to clarify how service providers can more effectively and uniformly notify 9-1-1 call centers of communications outages and cooperate to restore service as quickly as possible.
In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking adopted today, the Commission moved forward to implement four key recommendations for strengthening 9-1-1 service made by the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau. The Bureau’s recommendations, contained in a January 2013 report, resulted from an in-depth inquiry into the widespread 9-1-1service failures that occurred after a derecho storm hit portions of the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic in June 2012. A significant number of 9-1-1 systems and services were partially or completely down for several days after the derecho – from isolated breakdowns in Ohio, New Jersey, Maryland, and Indiana to systemic failures in northern Virginia and West Virginia. In all, 77 9-1-1 call centers serving more than 3.6 million people in these six states lost some degree of connectivity, including vital information on the location of 9-1-1 calls.
Seventeen 9-1-1 call centers, mostly in northern Virginia and West Virginia, lost service completely, leaving more than 2 million residents unable to reach emergency services for varying periods of time. Unlike hurricanes and superstorms, which are generally well-forecast, derechos are more like earthquakes, tornados, and man-made events for which there is little-to-no advance notice and opportunity to prepare.
As a result, the derecho put a portion of the Nation’s communications infrastructure to an unexpected test, revealing significant vulnerabilities in the design and maintenance of 9-1-1 networks. The Bureau found that most of the failures would have been avoided if the network providers that route calls to 9-1-1 call centers had fully implemented industry best practices and available industry guidance.
Hat tip: PW
Capabilities-Based Planning for Energy Security at Department of Defense Installations
Capabilities-Based Planning for Energy Security at Department of Defense Installations
Source: RAND Corporation
Department of Defense (DoD) installations rely on the commercial electricity grid for 99 percent of their electricity needs, but extensive energy delivery outages in 2012 have reinforced that the U.S. electricity grid is vulnerable to disruptions from natural hazards and actor-induced outages, such as physical or cyber attacks. In the event of a catastrophic disaster — such as a severe hurricane, massive earthquake, or large-scale terrorist attack — DoD installations would also serve as a base for emergency services. To enhance energy security, DoD has identified diversifying energy sources and increasing efficiency in DoD operations as critical goals. But how to enhance energy security across the portfolio of installations is not clear and several questions remain unanswered: Energy security for how long? Under what conditions? At what cost? The underlying analytical questions are, what critical capabilities do U.S. installations provide, and how can DoD maintain these capabilities during an energy services disruption in the most cost-effective manner? Answering these questions requires a systems approach that incorporates technological, economic, and operational uncertainties. Using portfolio analysis methods for assessing capability options, this paper presents a framework to evaluate choices among energy security strategies for DoD installations. This framework evaluates whether existing or proposed installation energy security strategies enhance DoD capabilities and evaluates strategy cost-effectiveness.
World assumptions, posttraumatic stress and quality of life after a natural disaster: A longitudinal study
Source: Health and Quality of Life Outcomes
Background
Changes in world assumptions are a fundamental concept within theories that explain posttraumatic stress disorder. The objective of the present study was to gain a greater understanding of how changes in world assumptions are related to quality of life and posttraumatic stress symptoms after a natural disaster.
Methods
A longitudinal study of 574 Norwegian adults who survived the Southeast Asian tsunami in 2004 was undertaken. Multilevel analyses were used to identify which factors at six months post-tsunami predicted quality of life and posttraumatic stress symptoms two years post-tsunami.
Results
Good quality of life and posttraumatic stress symptoms were negatively related. However, major differences in the predictors of these outcomes were found. Females reported significantly higher quality of life and more posttraumatic stress than men. The association between level of exposure to the tsunami and quality of life seemed to be mediated by posttraumatic stress. Negative perceived changes in the assumption “the world is just” were related to adverse outcome in both quality of life and posttraumatic stress. Positive perceived changes in the assumptions “life is meaningful” and “feeling that I am a valuable human” were associated with higher levels of quality of life but not with posttraumatic stress.
Conclusions
Quality of life and posttraumatic stress symptoms demonstrate differences in their etiology. World assumptions may be less specifically related to posttraumatic stress than has been postulated in some cognitive theories.
Global report on Fukushima nuclear accident details health risks
Global report on Fukushima nuclear accident details health risks
Source: World Health Organization
A comprehensive assessment by international experts on the health risks associated with the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (NPP) disaster in Japan has concluded that, for the general population inside and outside of Japan, the predicted risks are low and no observable increases in cancer rates above baseline rates are anticipated.
The WHO report ‘Health Risk Assessment from the nuclear accident after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami based on preliminary dose estimation’ noted, however, that the estimated risk for specific cancers in certain subsets of the population in Fukushima Prefecture has increased and, as such, it calls for long term continued monitoring and health screening for those people.
Experts estimated risks in the general population in Fukushima Prefecture, the rest of Japan and the rest of the world, plus the power plant and emergency workers that may have been exposed during the emergency phase response.
…
In terms of specific cancers, for people in the most contaminated location, the estimated increased risks over what would normally be expected are:
- all solid cancers – around 4% in females exposed as infants;
- breast cancer – around 6% in females exposed as infants;
- leukaemia – around 7% in males exposed as infants;
- thyroid cancer – up to 70% in females exposed as infants (the normally expected risk of thyroid cancer in females over lifetime is 0.75% and the additional lifetime risk assessed for females exposed as infants in the most affected location is 0.50%).
For people in the second most contaminated location of Fukushima Prefecture, the estimated risks are approximately one-half of those in the location with the highest doses.
CRS — The National Flood Insurance Program: Status and Remaining Issues for Congress
The National Flood Insurance Program: Status and Remaining Issues for Congress (PDF)
Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists)
In late October 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused widespread flood-related property damage in coastal areas of states throughout the Northeast and the mid-Atlantic region. The storm exposed vulnerabilities in the region’s public transportation and infrastructure and underscored the nation’s growing exposure to extreme weather events, sea-level rise, and coastal flooding. Although the full economic cost of Sandy will not be known for years, the storm has resulted in substantial federal disaster recovery assistance, including tens of billions for flood and hurricane protection and coastal restoration, and the rebuilding of mass transit systems and housing.
Government payouts under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) are estimated to be between $12 billion and $15 billion in flood insurance claims. In the immediate aftermath of Sandy, this amount quickly exceeded the $4 billion in cash and remaining borrowing authority from the Treasury Department. By January 2013, the NFIP had processed more than 140,000 claims for Sandy-related damages totaling about $1.7 billion. To protect the financial integrity of the NFIP and ensure that the NFIP has the financial resources to cover its existing commitments following the devastation caused by Sandy, the Obama Administration requested that Congress pass legislation to increase the NFIP’s borrowing authority. On January 4, 2013, Congress passed, and the President two days later signed into law, H.R. 41 to provide a $9.7 billion increase in the NFIP’s borrowing authority, from $20.725 billion to $30.425 billion, to pay flood claims related to Hurricane Sandy.
Policymakers have expressed views on several flood management challenges facing the NFIP. These challenges include finding ways to (1) improve the accuracy of flood risk assessment and mapping of hurricane and coastal storm hazard areas; (2) strengthen the financial sustainability of the NFIP in the face of expected future extreme weather events (climate change), sea-level rise, and coastal flooding; (3) address potential affordability challenges associated with mandatory purchase requirements and implementation of full actuarial premium rates, beginning in 2014; (4) reduce the likelihood of future emergency supplemental spending to finance recurring recovery expenditures by making communities stronger and more resilient; (5) address uncertainty surrounding human settlement patterns and the NFIP’s ability to contain the nation’s growing exposure to floods; and (6) explore the creation of effective hazard-reduction strategies—linked to land use planning techniques (and construction standards)—to direct development and people out of, and away from, flood-prone areas.
Early in 2012, Congress passed and President Barack Obama signed into law the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, P.L. 112-141. The law reauthorized the NFIP through September 30, 2017, and made a number of reforms to strengthen the future financial solvency and administrative efficiency of the NFIP. In the wake of Sandy, Congress might choose to consider policy options to achieve greater sustainability and cost savings by addressing long-term flood management challenges. Options include the use of flood policies (10-20 years, rather than 1 year), privatization of flood risk, issuance of community based flood insurance contracts, and regulatory and tax changes to encourage financial innovation in financing recovery from large- scale natural disasters. This report provides an analysis of flood risk management, summarizes major challenges facing the NFIP, and outlines key reforms enacted in the Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012. The report identifies and presents some key remaining flood management issues for congressional consideration, and concludes with a discussion of policy options for the future financial management of flood hazards in the United States.
A New Harvard Report Probes Security Risks of Extreme Weather and Climate Change
A New Harvard Report Probes Security Risks of Extreme Weather and Climate Change
Source: Harvard University Center for the Environment
Increasingly frequent extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, severe storms, and heat waves have focused the attention of climate scientists on the connections between greenhouse warming and extreme weather. Because of the potential threat to U.S. national security, a new study was conducted to explore the forces driving extreme weather events and their impacts over the next decade, specifically with regard to their implications for national security planning. The report finds that the early ramifications of climate extremes resulting from climate change are already upon us and will continue to be felt over the next decade, directly impacting U.S. national security interests. “Lessons from the past are no longer of great value as a guide to the future,” said co-lead author Michael McElroy, Gilbert Butler Professor of Environmental Studies at Harvard University. “Unexpected changes in regional weather are likely to define the new climate normal, and we are not prepared.”
Changes in extremes include more record high temperatures; fewer but stronger tropical cyclones; wider areas of drought and increases in precipitation; increased climate variability; Arctic warming and attendant impacts; and continued sea level rise as greenhouse warming continues and even accelerates. These changes will affect water and food availability, energy decisions, the design of critical infrastructure, use of the global commons such as the oceans and the Arctic region, and critical ecosystem resources. They will affect both underdeveloped and industrialized countries with large costs in terms of economic and human security. The study identifies specific regional climate impacts—droughts and desertification in Mexico, Southwest Asia, and the Eastern Mediterranean, and increased flooding in South Asia—that are of particular strategic importance to the United States.
The report concludes that the risks related to extreme weather require that the U.S. sustain and augment its scientific and technical capacity to observe key indicators, monitor unfolding events, and forewarn of impending security threats as nations adapt to a changing climate. The study recommends a national strategy for strategic observations and monitoring— including greenhouse gas and aerosol emissions, ocean temperatures, and satellite observations of the Arctic—and improved forecast models. “Our critical observational infrastructure is at risk from declining funding,” added co-lead author D. James Baker, Director of the Global Carbon Measurement Program at the William J. Clinton Foundation and former Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). “Without that knowledge, the needs of civil society and national security for mitigation and adaptation will go unmet.”
Evacuation and Sheltering of People with Medical Dependencies – Knowledge Gaps and Barriers to National Prepar edness
Source: Homeland Security Affairs
Emergency plans are mandated by a number of federal regulations, often with conflicting definitions, to incorporate people with medical dependencies. However targeted planning for this segment is presently hampered by substantial knowledge deficits defining this population and the potential resource requirements in a disaster. These gaps prevent the development of evidence-based best practices for locating, communicating with, transporting, sheltering, and ensuring the safe recovery of those with medical dependencies. The authors discuss the knowledge gaps in preparing for this population and propose solutions to fill these gaps in order to facilitate enhanced preparedness for people with medical dependencies.
A Preliminary Analysis of Network Outages During Hurricane Sandy
A Preliminary Analysis of Network Outages During Hurricane Sandy (PDF)
Source: University of Southern California (Information Sciences Institute)
This document describes our analysis of Internet outages during the October 2012 Hurricane Sandy. We assess network reliability by pinging a sample of networks and observing those that respond and then stop responding. While there are always occasional network outages, we see that the outage rate in U.S. networks doubled when the hurricane made landfall, then took about four days to recover. We confirm that this increase was due to outages in New York and New Jersey.
Evidence-Based Treatments for Childhood Trauma
Evidence-Based Treatments for Childhood Trauma (PDF)
Source: Virginia Department of Social Services
Trauma-based treatments are designed to serve many children who are impacted by a wide variety of traumatic experiences. Children who are victims in motor vehicle accidents, who have experienced war, who have lived with domestic violence, who have experienced the loss of a parent to illness or to an accident, and those who have been maltreated all might benefit from interventions designed to alleviate symptoms of traumatic stress.
Children in the foster care system have often experienced deprivation or trauma such as child maltreatment that led to their placement in care. Child trauma victims of sudden parental loss, natural disasters, refugee children, or children who are immigrating to the United States with their families from war-torn countries may be living with their families of origin and may or may not be served by child welfare systems. The trauma interventions described in this article can be appropriate for both children in foster care and children living with their families.
CRS — Emergency Assistance for Agricultural Land Rehabilitation
Emergency Assistance for Agricultural Land Rehabilitation (PDF)
Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists)
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) administers several permanently authorized programs to help producers recover from natural disasters. Most of these programs offer financial assistance to producers for a loss in the production of crops or livestock. In addition to the production assistance programs, USDA also has several permanent disaster assistance programs that help producers repair damaged crop and forest land following natural disasters. These programs offer financial and technical assistance to producers to repair, restore, and mitigate damage on private land. These emergency agricultural land assistance programs include the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP), the Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP), and the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program. In addition to these programs, USDA also has flexibility in administering other programs that allow for support and repair of damaged cropland in the event of an emergency.
Both ECP and EFRP are administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). ECP assists landowners in restoring agricultural production damaged by natural disaster. Participants are paid a percentage of the cost to restore the land to a productive state. ECP is available only on private land and eligibility is determined locally. EFRP was created to assist private forestland owners to address damage caused by a natural disaster on nonindustrial private forest land.
The EWP program and the EWP floodplain easement program are administered by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). The EWP program assists sponsors, landowners, and operators in implementing emergency recovery measures for runoff retardation and erosion prevention to relieve imminent hazards to life and property created by a natural disaster. In some cases this can include state and federal land. The EWP floodplain easement program is a mitigation program that pays for permanent easements on private land meant to safeguard lives and property from future floods, drought, and the products of erosion.
Most of the emergency agricultural land assistance programs are funded through supplemental appropriations, rather than annual appropriations. As a result, funding for emergency agricultural land assistance varies greatly from year to year. Agricultural land assistance programs do not usually receive the level of attention that triggers a supplemental appropriation. Therefore, funding is typically provided for these land assistance programs as part of a larger supplemental appropriation that funds a number of agencies and programs beyond agriculture. This irregular funding method has left some agricultural land assistance programs without funding during times of high request.
Recent restrictions placed on supplemental appropriations for disaster assistance have changed the way the agricultural land assistance programs allocate funding, potentially assisting fewer natural disasters. Language in the Budget Control Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-25) limits emergency supplemental funding for disaster relief. Specifically, funding used for disaster relief must be used for activities carried out pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act, P.L. 93-288) for FY2012 through FY2021. This means funds appropriated through emergency supplementals for disaster relief for these ten years may only apply to activities with a Stafford Act designation. Since funding for agricultural land disaster assistance programs is appropriated almost exclusively through supplementals, this requirement could limit the way agricultural land assistance programs work in the future, potentially assisting fewer natural disaster events.
CRS — Federal Emergency Management: A Brief Introduction
Federal Emergency Management: A Brief Introduction (PDF)
Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists)
The federal government plays a significant role in emergency management, which generally refers to activities associated with avoiding and responding to natural and human-caused hazards. Emergency management in the United States is highly decentralized and contextual in nature: activities often involve multiple jurisdictions as well as a vast number of agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and private sector entities. In addition, the number and type of actors involved in an incident will vary tremendously depending on the context and severity of the event. Similarly, the legal framework through which emergency management functions and activities are authorized is also decentralized and stems from multiple authorities.
Congress annually appropriates funds for a wide range of activities and efforts related to emergency management. For example, between 2005 and 2011 Congress provided an average of $12 billion annually to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the lead federal agency responsible for disaster relief through regular and supplemental appropriations. Congress has also invested over $120 billion through various federal agencies to help the Gulf Coast Region recover from the hurricanes that hit the Gulf Coast in 2005 and 2008.
In recent years congressional interest in emergency management has focused on funding, program administration, and program coordination—both among federal agencies and state emergency management agencies. This report provides an introduction to the principles and foundations of federal emergency management in the United States and a description of the activities of the federal agencies that provide assistance, focusing primarily on the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but also including information on the National Guard, Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense, Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Transportation, Environmental Protection Agency, Forest Service, and Small Business Administration.
This report is designed to provide Members of Congress and congressional staff with a general overview of principles and foundations of federal emergency management in the United States as well as the types of activities provided by various federal agencies. The report begins with a description of the four phases of emergency management: (1) mitigation, (2) preparedness, (3) response, and (4) recovery, and includes examples of some of the activities that take place in each of these phases. The report then discusses a recent movement at the federal level to carry out these phases of emergency management through a system of frameworks. The frameworks include (1) the National Prevention Framework, (2) the National Protection Framework, (3) the National Mitigation Framework, (4) the National Response Framework, and (5) the National Disaster Recovery Framework. The frameworks are used to designate roles and responsibilities and coordinate various activities.
Next, this report describes the process for requesting federal assistance for major disasters, emergencies, and fire suppression. The declaration section also includes brief summaries of the types of assistance provided through each type of declaration. This discussion is followed by description of federal-to-state cost shares, how federal assistance is funded, and the process through which FEMA requests assistance from other federal entities. The section then provides a description of the close-out process—the process in which FEMA terminates its recovery efforts. The report includes a discussion of key federal laws and policies that influence federal emergency management, and concludes by highlighting some of the federal activities that take place in response to emergencies and disasters.
Ready or Not? Protecting the Public from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism
Ready or Not? Protecting the Public from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism
Source: Trust for America’s Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
In the 10th annual Ready or Not? Protecting the Public from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism report, 35 states and Washington, D.C. scored a six or lower on 10 key indicators of public health preparedness.
The report found that while there has been significant progress toward improving public health preparedness over the past 10 years, particularly in core capabilities, there continue to be persistent gaps in the country’s ability to respond to health emergencies, ranging from bioterrorist threats to serious disease outbreaks to extreme weather events.
In the report, Kansas and Montana scored lowest – three out of 10 – and Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Vermont and Wisconsin scored highest – eight out of 10.
Helping Children and Adolescents Cope with Violence and Disasters: What Parents Can Do
Helping Children and Adolescents Cope with Violence and Disasters: What Parents Can Do
Source: National Institute of Mental Health
A booklet that describes what parents can do to help children and adolescents cope with violence and disasters.
CRS — Offsets, Supplemental Appropriations, and the Disaster Relief Fund: FY1990-FY2012
Offsets, Supplemental Appropriations, and the Disaster Relief Fund: FY1990-FY2012 (PDF)
Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists)
This report discusses the recent history of offsetting rescissions in paying for supplemental appropriations to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Disaster Relief Fund (DRF). As Congress has debated the growing size of the budget deficit and national debt in recent years, efforts have intensified to control spending and offset the costs of legislation. In 1995, 2011, and again in 2012, the question of offsetting disaster relief spending emerged in congressional debate. In 2011, a series of disasters threatened to deplete the DRF, which is the primary source of assistance to state and local governments as well as individuals in the wake of disasters.
Hurricane Sandy struck the east coast of the United States on October 29, 2012. The storm caused tens of billions of dollars in damage along the coast. As damage estimates became public in the weeks after the storm, calls for supplemental appropriations to help pay for recovery efforts were met with calls for offsets from some quarters.
Traditionally, supplemental disaster relief funding has been treated as emergency spending, not counted against discretionary budget caps, and not requiring an offset. However, supplemental spending packages have at times carried rescissions that have offset, to one degree or another, their budgetary impact. In some instances, the supplemental spending packages have contained both appropriations for the DRF and offsetting rescissions.
This report examines the use of offsets in connection with supplemental funding for the DRF since FY1990, reviewing three specific incidences where bills that had an impact on the level of funding available in the DRF were fully offset, and points out a number of issues Congress may wish to consider in this debate.
Since FY1990, there has only been one case in which supplemental funding for the DRF was completely offset by rescissions.
This report will be updated as events warrant.
2012 was warmest and second most extreme year on record for the contiguous U.S.
2012 was warmest and second most extreme year on record for the contiguous U.S.
Source: NOAA
2012 marked the warmest year on record for the contiguous United States with the year consisting of a record warm spring, second warmest summer, fourth warmest winter and a warmer-than-average autumn. The average temperature for 2012 was 55.3°F, 3.2°F above the 20th century average, and 1.0°F above 1998, the previous warmest year.
The average precipitation total for the contiguous U.S. for 2012 was 26.57 inches, 2.57 inches below average, making it the 15th driest year on record for the nation. At its peak in July, the drought of 2012 engulfed 61 percent of the nation with the Mountain West, Great Plains, and Midwest experiencing the most intense drought conditions. The dry conditions proved ideal for wildfires in the West, charring 9.2 million acres — the third highest on record.
The U.S. Climate Extremes Index indicated that 2012 was the second most extreme year on record for the nation. The index, which evaluates extremes in temperature and precipitation, as well as landfalling tropical cyclones, was nearly twice the average value and second only to 1998. To date, 2012 has seen 11 disasters that have reached the $1 billion threshold in losses, to include Sandy, Isaac, and tornado outbreaks experienced in the Great Plains, Texas and Southeast/Ohio Valley.
New From the GAO
New GAO Reports
Source: Government Accountability Office
TAX GAP
IRS Could Significantly Increase Revenues by Better Targeting Enforcement Resources
GAO-13-151, Dec 5, 2012
FLOOD INSURANCE
Participation of Indian Tribes in Federal and Private Programs
GAO-13-226, Jan 4, 2013
CRS — Emergency Response: Civil Liability of Volunteer Health Professionals
Emergency Response: Civil Liability of Volunteer Health Professionals (PDF)
Source: Congressional Research Service (via University of North Texas Digital Library)
The devastation inflicted on the Gulf region by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 and Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008, in addition to recent disasters in the Midwest due to tornadoes and flooding, triggered mass relief efforts by local, state, and federal government agencies, as well as private organizations and individuals. As unpaid volunteers have carried out much of the relief effort, some have questioned whether such volunteers—particularly medical personnel, so-called “volunteer health professionals” (VHPs)—will be protected from potential civil liability in carrying out their duties. This report provides a general overview of the various federal and state liability protections available to VHPs responding to disasters. This report does not discuss liability of VHPs who go abroad to render assistance.
CRS — Army Corps Supplemental Appropriations: Recent History, Trends, and Policy Issues
Army Corps Supplemental Appropriations: Recent History, Trends, and Policy Issues (PDF)
Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists)
Under its civil works program, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans, builds, operates, and maintains a wide range of water resources facilities. The Corps also plays a prominent role in responding to domestic natural disasters, in particular riverine and coastal flooding events. The Corps can assist in flood fighting at the discretion of its Chief of Engineers in order to protect life and property, principally when state resources are overwhelmed. The Corps is also authorized to protect and repair its own facilities in the event of flooding, and to operate a program, the Rehabilitation and Inspection Program (RIP), that funds the repair of participating nonfederal flood control works (e.g., levees, dams, dunes) damaged by flooding events. Repairs under this program are funded by the Corps’ Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies (FCCE) account. The Corps also undertakes a variety of other activities at the request of FEMA under the National Response Framework, which are outside the scope of this report.
In recent years a number of natural disasters have required Corps response and repair activities with costs running into the billions. Congress provided most of these funds through supplemental appropriations. Over the 10-year period FY2003 to FY2012, Congress appropriated $25.5 billion in supplemental funding for the Corps through 12 supplemental appropriations acts (including P.L. 111-5, or ARRA). This was approximately half of the total amount received by the Corps in annual appropriations over the same period. Of the $25.5 billion, about $21 billion (82%) was for actions to respond to riverine and coastal flooding or other natural disasters. The majority of this funding was for response and repair related to Hurricane Katrina and the 2005 storm season ($16 billion). In addition to the disaster funding, Congress provided the Corps with non-disaster related supplemental funds, including $4.6 billion under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (P.L. 111-5) and $39 million for facility security and other expenditures.
Hurricane Sandy’s impact on the East Coast is raising questions about how to fund Corps natural disaster response and recovery activities, including infrastructure investments in hurricane and flood protection. This report summarizes recent trends in supplemental funding for the Corps, particularly related to natural disasters. It provides summary data and analysis on Corps funding over the last 10 years and includes a general discussion of how the Corps funds emergency actions at its own facilities and elsewhere.
