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Natural Hazards

Disaster Recovery Operations
commentary
HSOAC Hosts Seminar Series on Improving Equity in Disaster Policy
Max Izenberg
Oct 7, 2020
The RAND Blog
Natural and biological hazards, and critically the human response to these hazards, have the potential not only to exacerbate existing population inequities but also to create them. To better understand the equity implications of disaster policies, the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center invited several experts to share their knowledge.
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Wildfires
blog
Wildfires, America's Wealth Gap, Screening for COVID-19 at Work: RAND Weekly Recap
Sep 18, 2020
This weekly recap focuses on the growing risk of wildfires, how Americans' incomes have grown (or not), workplace screenings for COVID-19 symptoms, and more.
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Democracy
blog
Summer Reading List for Congress
Aug 18, 2020
During the August recess Hill staff should have an opportunity to step back from the fast pace of votes and hearing preparation to examine priorities for the fall and beyond. This list of must-read research and commentary covers some policy issues they will likely be addressing after the break.
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Emergency Preparedness
commentary
How COVID-19 Sheds Light on Disaster Policy's Need to Prepare for Multiple, Sequential Emergencies
Carlos Martín, Aaron Clark-Ginsberg
Aug 11, 2020
Urban Wire
The pandemic has highlighted the vulnerabilities many disaster-affected households face. As lawmakers debate a second relief package, they could reconsider how the emergency management framework responds to the effects of simultaneous hazards on individual-assistance and community-recovery programs.
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Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
blog
Preparing for a COVID-19 Election, Hurricane Response, North Korea: RAND Weekly Recap
Aug 7, 2020
This weekly recap focuses on preparing for a COVID-19 election, how the pandemic is affecting artists, North Korea's deadly artillery, and more.
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Global Climate Change
essay
Civilians and Military Collaborate to Address Climate Change
May 13, 2020
The Hampton Roads area in Virginia is home to more than 1.7 million people, a major port, and more military installations than anywhere else in the United States. Its rising sea levels and floods brought together civilian and military officials on a project to mitigate damage and foster resiliency.
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Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
commentary
Planning for the Upcoming Hurricane Season in Light of COVID-19
Aaron Clark-Ginsberg, Gary Cecchine @GaryCecchine, Craig Fugate, Craig A. Bond
May 4, 2020
Vox
What if Hurricane Katrina had hit during a pandemic? Emergency planners can prepare for this scenario by evaluating current response system capacity, evacuation and sheltering procedures, food and supply issues, and more.
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Firearms
blog
U.S. Gun Policy, Reopening Schools, Prepping for a Hurricane: RAND Weekly Recap
Apr 24, 2020
This weekly recap focuses on what scientific evidence says about the effects of U.S. gun laws, how schools may have to change when they reopen, preparing for a COVID-19 hurricane, and more.
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Community Resilience
commentary
What Can FEMA Learn from the Historic 2017 Hurricane and Wildfire Seasons?
Jason Thomas Barnosky, Patrick Roberts @RamblingRoberts, Joie D. Acosta
Feb 3, 2020
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
When a hurricane comes ashore or a wildfire ignites, most of a community's vulnerability to disaster is already set. Emergency managers including FEMA, states, and localities could do much more to identify statewide risks and build community resilience before an event makes headlines.
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Wildfires
blog
Australia's Fires, Artificial Intelligence, Fentanyl: RAND Weekly Recap
Jan 24, 2020
This weekly recap focuses on Australia's devastating fires, how artificial intelligence could manipulate the masses, the fentanyl crisis, and more.
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Wildfires
commentary
Australia's Fires: Respond Now, but Also Measure Toll on People for the Future
Melissa L. Finucane @MelissaFinucane
Jan 20, 2020
The RAND Blog
As an Australian, Melissa Finucane has watched with anguish as massive bushfires devastated wide swaths of her home country. As a researcher who studies community resilience, she can't help but think of how much blood, sweat, tears, and money will be required to recover.
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Artificial Intelligence
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Artificial Intelligence, Refugees, Global Health Security: RAND Weekly Recap
Dec 20, 2019
This weekly recap focuses on the Pentagon's artificial intelligence strategy, technology's role in the refugee crisis, threats to global health security, and more.
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Wildfires
commentary
A Climate Scientist's Brush with Wildfire
Robert J. Lempert @RobertLempert
Dec 18, 2019
CalMatters
RAND researcher Robert Lempert was evacuated from the path of a wildfire. This experience emphasized for him the challenges of adapting to climate change, not merely because it is hard, but because it makes the familiar become unfamiliar in unexpected ways.
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Domestic Terrorism
blog
White Supremacist Terrorism, Wildfires, the Dark Web: RAND Weekly Recap
Nov 1, 2019
This weekly recap focuses on violent white supremacy, power outages to prevent wildfires, how to catch criminals on the dark web, and more.
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Wildfires
commentary
Turning Off Power to Combat Wildfires Could Harm the Very People Who Need Protection
Joie D. Acosta, Regina A. Shih @ReginaShih
Oct 28, 2019
CalMatters
While intentionally shutting off power may be a practical way to prevent power lines from sparking wildfires, is it worth the risks? Until more thoughtful and comprehensive decisions are made, planned power outages need to be planned better.
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Wildfires
commentary
Uncovering the Links Between Fires and Public Health in Equatorial Asia
Miriam E. Marlier
Oct 25, 2019
Google Earth and Earth Engine on Medium
Fires in Indonesia, if left unchecked, could cause an average of 36,000 premature deaths annually across Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Researchers built a tool that models the effect of the fires on public health.
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