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Natural Hazards

Environmental Pollution
commentary
We Built an App to Detect Areas Most Vulnerable to Life-Threatening Haze
Tianjia Liu, Miriam Elizabeth Marlier, Jonathan J. Buonocore, Loretta J. Mickley, Ruth S. DeFries
Sep 10, 2019
The Conversation
Forest and land-use fires are ravaging Indonesia's Sumatra and Kalimantan islands. Haze from these fires threatens lives as inhaling smoke can cause heart and respiratory diseases, leading to premature deaths. We developed a new online tool to provide decision-makers with information to protect people living downwind from the fires.
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Disaster Recovery Operations
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Hurricane Recovery in the Bahamas: Turning Good Intentions into Good Decisions
Melissa L. Finucane @MelissaFinucane, Joie D. Acosta
Sep 6, 2019
The RAND Blog
Recovery in the Bahamas will have to be a balancing act. Plans will need to allow for transition toward long-term strategic goals for the nation, but also be mindful of not perpetuating inequities.
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Catastrophic Liability Risk Management
commentary
Allocating Costs for California Wildfires
Lloyd Dixon
Jul 24, 2019
The RAND Blog
Wildfires in California have caused and will likely continue to cause substantial losses for residents, businesses, and government agencies. It is important to distribute these losses in a manner that provides incentives to reduce their magnitude over time.
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Global Climate Change
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Resilience and Adaptation Strategies Can Address the Impacts of Climate Change
Feb 26, 2019
With climate change already generating storms, heat waves, and droughts beyond historical norms, local governments need to do more to prepare. A decisionmaking framework developed by RAND allows communities to stress-test ideas, weigh the trade-offs, and plan for a range of possible futures.
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Global Climate Change
commentary
Triaging Climate Change
Benjamin Lee Preston @bl_preston, Johanna Nalau
Jan 23, 2019
The Conversation
There are many opportunities to manage climate risk around the world, but not everything can be saved. Delaying triage of climate damages could leave societies making ad hoc decisions instead of focusing on protecting the things they value most.
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Global Climate Change
commentary
Mitigating India's Climate-Change Misery
Gulrez Shah Azhar
Oct 11, 2018
Project Syndicate
Despite years of dire forecasts, the international community has been unable to halt the steady climb in global temperatures, and it is the world's poorest who are paying the heaviest toll. As heat-related risks intensify, those living on the margins—in India and elsewhere—will need help to cope effectively.
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Natural Hazards
announcement
RAND Wins $2.1 Million Grant to Improve Landslide Prediction
Oct 10, 2018
A RAND-led team that includes the University of Southern California, the University of Oregon, the Sitka Sound Science Center, and the Sitka Tribe of Alaska will design a novel landslide risk warning system for Sitka, Alaska, a coastal town of 9,000 near the landslide-prone slopes of the Tongass National Forest.
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Emergency Preparedness
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FEMA's Transformation
Daniel M. Gerstein @Daniel_Gerstein
Jun 8, 2018
CNN
The Federal Emergency Management Agency's strategic plan shows several shifts in U.S. disaster relief policy. Redirecting longer-term recovery operations to state and local authorities would allow FEMA to concentrate its assets on the catastrophic disasters it is uniquely designed to handle.
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Global Climate Change
commentary
Staying Cool—as the Globe Warms
Gulrez Shah Azhar
Apr 23, 2018
Science and Development Network
Studies suggest that the heat of the future will exceed humans' capacity to cope. But taking advantage of smart technology, inexpensive traditional methods of cooling that require little energy use, and innovative energy-efficient technologies could provide a sustainable path forward in heat-challenged regions.
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Environmental Pollution
commentary
Can Dirty-Air Discontent in New Delhi Push India Toward Greener Days?
Gulrez Shah Azhar
Mar 22, 2018
Inside Sources
The downside to India's dramatic economic growth is New Delhi's off-the-charts air pollution. Public health officials have compared the harms of breathing in India's capital to smoking dozens of cigarettes a day. How bad must things become before Indians demand change and make it stick?
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Emergency Services and Response
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RAND Researchers Visit Puerto Rico After Hurricane Maria
Dec 19, 2017
A small team of RAND researchers went to Puerto Rico two weeks after the island was struck by Hurricane Maria. They are compiling their observations into a series of studies for the Army, with recommendations to smooth its response to future disasters.
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Global Climate Change
commentary
How Hot Is Too Hot? Rising Temperatures and the Workplace
Gulrez Shah Azhar
Nov 16, 2017
Mint
Climate change is here. Future extreme heat waves are a given and will likely grow in intensity, geographic reach, and duration. Plans must be made now to ensure survival of the poorest, to protect outdoor workers, and to adapt economic planning to what is increasingly becoming a hotter planet.
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Community Resilience
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How to Rebuild After This Year's Hurricane Season? Invest in Resilience
Melissa L. Finucane @MelissaFinucane
Nov 6, 2017
The RAND Blog
Investing in resilience in an informed and systematic way can help a wide range of high-risk communities be better prepared for any future disasters.
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Insurance
commentary
Why Houstonians Didn't Buy Flood Insurance
Lloyd Dixon, Noreen Clancy
Sep 12, 2017
The RAND Blog
Thousands of Houston-area homeowners will face massive, uninsured losses due to flood damage. Few homeowners buy flood insurance unless they are required to, and it's only mandatory for homes with mortgages located in FEMA-defined high-risk flood zones. People tend to ignore low-probability risks.
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Emergency Preparedness
commentary
Rethinking Disaster Evacuation
Daniel M. Gerstein @Daniel_Gerstein, Andrew Lauland
Sep 11, 2017
Domestic Preparedness Journal
Before a storm hits, officials must decide whether to evacuate the public or advise them to shelter in place. Other, more targeted choices — such as sheltering in safer locations within a city — could be available if an analytic basis for making such judgments were fully developed.
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India
commentary
Where Are India's Heat Hotspots?
Gulrez Shah Azhar, Jaime Madrigano
May 17, 2017
The RAND Blog
Poverty, poor sanitation, a precarious water and electricity supply, and limited access to health care make India vulnerable to heat waves. Rural and urban districts could improve their preparedness by developing and targeting local adaptation strategies.
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