FEMA recently announced that it would not approve many disaster management plans unless they accounted for climate change factors. States such as California and Connecticut already have them. However, they are lacking. These are some climate-related essentials for any disaster management plan.
1. Decreasing Water Levels
As climate change takes place, rainfall can decrease or increase. In some areas, a decrease can be a catastrophic detriment. For example, the Pacific Northwest receives 70 percent of its power from hydroelectricity. A drop in the water supply would not only affect drinking water. It would also affect electricity supplies and prices. Less electricity would affect residents, electric vehicle use, emergency facilities such as hospitals and much more. Since everything today is electric and digital, it is important for emergency management plans to account for the detriments of decreasing water supplies.
2. Increasing Water Levels
In other areas, such as the Gulf Coast and Atlantic Coast, flooding happens much more often than it did in the past. The most intense storms account for about 1 percent of all storms. In these strong storms, the amount of rainfall has increased by about 20 percent over the past 50 years. Floods put people out of their homes and businesses and create sanitation hazards. The cost of emergency care, relocating people and mitigating other damages would be in the billions across a short coastal range.
3. Structural Enhancements
As water levels rise in some places, structures must be protected better from floods. Storms have become more severe in the past several years, and they show no signs of slowing down. Better protection for buildings from hurricanes, tornadoes and strong storms is a must. Also, earthquake protection measures are important for all areas near fault lines. Structures must also be adapted to survive higher temperatures with longer dry spells in some areas. Prevention is key to minimizing damages, and Americans must become more informed about what they can and should do to minimize risks to their homes and businesses.
4. More Response Resources
Since storms are becoming more severe, disaster response costs have risen. The costs of major hurricanes has increased sharply over the last decade, and the spending totals for cleaning up after major floods across the Midwest and South have spiked. More victims and more damages mean more money. If supplies are not available, they must be flown in. Victims may go without necessities and become ill, which results in increased medical costs or an increased demand for medical supplies. Disaster plans must account for the increasing severity of storms and how they create the need for more response supplies.
5. Loss Of Natural Resources
As mentioned earlier, climate change can affect the availability of necessities such as regional electricity. However, its effects can be more widespread. For example, honey bees have been dying at alarming rates. These fuzzy buzzing creatures play a major role in the health of crops, which play a major role in food supplies. The dying bee population is due mostly to climate changes and alterations to agricultural processes. Disaster management plans must account for the rate of such losses and what it might mean for emergency food supplies and food supplies after a disaster.
Accounting for climate change in disaster management planning will take careful analysis of current trends, possible changes and their many effects on populations. This will help emergency management teams be prepared with improved response practices. Emergency management professionals are valuable assets to the world today, and they protect people from the negative effects of climate change.