Over a month after Maria: Looming challenges and small victories

More than a month after Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico, Americans continue to feel the effects of the storm. The island itself remains largely out of power, with electricity still unavailable to 75% of residents at the start of the week. According to the Army Corps of Engineers, the island’s electric grid infrastructure includes 2,400 miles of transmission lines and 30,000 miles of distribution lines. In a press conference on Saturday, Ricardo Rossello, the Governor of Puerto Rico, outlined a goal timeline for power restoration: 30% by the end of October, 50% by November 15, and 80% by December 1. His goal is to restore power to 95% of Puerto Rico’s grid by the end of December, but admits that it will be challenging to do so.

Oregon’s early summer algae blooms "a wake-up call" for the future safety of drinking water

Cyanobacteria. The scummy, green colored “algae” blooms that have plagued Florida’s lakes and riverways this summer have also been causing trouble on the rivers of the West Coast. Oregon officials are already used to issuing the recreational advisories that come with the increasingly frequent summer blooms on Detroit Lake, but they were caught by surprise in early June when it was found that cyanotoxins, toxins produced by certain species of cyanobacteria, had contaminated the water supply in Salem, which serves nearly 20,000 residents.

One year after Manchester Arena attack, community gathers to remember those affected and share ‘spirit of solidarity’

On May 22, 2017 Salman Abedi detonated a bomb in the foyer of the Manchester Arena as an Ariana Grande concert let out, killing 22 people and injuring 240 more. The perpetrator died in the attack. This horrific incident prompted widespread community mobilization as the city rallied to transport and house those left stranded and later as they tried to maintain unity and held a number of interfaith vigils. In the days following the attack, a benefit concert headlined by Ariana Grande raised £18 million for the “We Love Manchester” fund which donated money to victims and their families.

Once the parties start again

We’re now in the third month of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic in the US. In some ways our collective response to this has been effective (e.g., closing the borders), in some ways not (e.g., politicizing the pandemic). We are clearly learning as we go – as we should – and our response efforts are getting better focused. But the pandemic is both causing problems that will last long after we have the pandemic under control, as well as shining new light on existing problems that we haven’t solved.

Oklahoma storms cause dangerous flooding

On Tuesday, April 30th severe storms began in Oklahoma which brought tornadoes, intense winds, and flooding to the state. As a result, Oklahoma’s Governor, Kevin Stitt, declared a state of emergency for 52 counties, which was amended on May 8th to add 14 counties and again on May 24th to add the state’s remaining 11 counties. Under this declaration, agencies throughout the state gained permission to purchase items that could help decrease the amount of time it takes to get resources to affected areas.

Officials prepare for a potential landslide in Washington State, as four million cubic yards of rock slowly inch downhill

In south-central Washington State, a fissure located on Rattlesnake Ridge has put officials on alert as about four million cubic yards of volcanic rock continues to make a slow path downhill. Though the landmass is only moving at about two-and-a-half inches per day, local geological experts are keeping a close watch on the area, concerned that it could accelerate. Its proximity to a major connecting highway, large river, and a dam have officials concerned about the potential catastrophic effects if the slide breaks loose in a w

Now are we ready to talk about CINET? | GRI Blog

On Wednesday I testified before the U.S. House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection about information sharing. U.S. Rep John Ratcliffe (R-TX), chairman of the subcommittee, and Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI), ranking member, were particularly interested in what more needs to be done in the two years since Congress passed the Cybersecurity Act of 2015. That act eliminated many of the excuses for why companies don’t share cybersecurity information. It also directed the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies to develop the means to share classified information with private companies.