Free Training. National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP), Columbia Climate School, at Columbia University

 

At the time of this newsletter, 2022 has proven to be another billion-dollar year of weather and climate disasters affecting the United States. And 2023 is starting with high rainfall and flooding in Los Angeles County, Orange County, Santa Barbara County, and other southern counties in California. At NCDP, we know communities are impacted long after the disaster ends. In 2022, there were 18 weather and climate disaster events, with losses exceeding $1 billion with 474 deaths.1 Major disasters included: ·    One winter storm/cold wave event (across the central and eastern U.S.) ·    One wildfire event (wildfires across the western U.S., including Alaska) ·    One drought and heat wave event (across the western and central U.S.) ·    One flooding event (in Missouri and Kentucky) ·    Two tornado outbreaks (across the southern and southeastern U.S.) ·    Three tropical hurricanes (Fiona, Ian, and Nicole) ·    Nine severe weather/hail events (across many parts of the country, including a derecho in the central U.S.)    Some additional disaster challenges of 2022 included the fifth-warmest calendar year on record for Florida and Rhode Island. An above destructive hurricane season with 14 named storms, Hurricane Fiona brought 12-18 inches of rain to Puerto Rico, Hurricane Ian brought 150 mph sustained winds to Florida along with flooding, and Hurricane Nicole made landfall in Florida, causing thousands of people to lose power. There were 1,332 tornadoes reported, and in March of 2022, the most tornadoes were recorded in the 1950-2022 record. In the West and Alaska, wildfires were widespread, causing destruction, and in Alaska, over 1.185 million acres were burned, which is the second-highest on record. Disaster events impact communities large and small.  To assist communities in preparing for and returning from these catastrophic disasters, the National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP), Columbia Climate School, at Columbia University has created training programs focused on post-disaster economic and housing recovery, mass care, and pandemic planning.  These programs are funded through Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants. 1NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters (2023). https://www.noaa.gov/news/record-drought-gripped-much-of-us-in-2022; DOI: 10.25921/stkw-7w73

 

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