End of September Wrap-Up
It’s the last day of September, so we may as well jump right in…
The moon is rusting, Imelda and Humberto are hanging out just offshore, the entirety of New England is suffering worsening drought conditions, and wildfire smoke could kill 70,000 Americans by 2050.
The Montgomery County Fire and Rescue team clean up debris left by the tornado that killed two people and left more than $16.5 million in damages. Photo credit: Jocelyn Augustino/ FEMA, September 25, 2001
23rd Anniversary of the College Park (MD) Tornado - September 24th marked 23 years since the DC Metro area suffered its largest one-day tornado outbreak, with 6 confirmed tornadoes in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. One of those (an F-3 tornado) struck the University of Maryland causing the death of two students, Colleen and Erin Marlatt, whose father was an instructor at the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute (MFRI). MFRI’s on-campus facility was also destroyed.
Though the damages from this storm reached nearly $100M, this tornado did not result in a Presidential disaster declaration. Most of the damage was confined to the University of Maryland campus and the 7,000-acre Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. Damages at the University of Maryland were covered by the State’s insurance policy and BARC, a USDA facility, is not eligible for federal assistance.
One Year Since Hurricane Helene - Communities throughout North Carolina are looking back on Helene’s one year anniversary; NOAA produced this amazing storyboard Helene in Southern Appalachia; many in Appalachia feel just as vulnerable as they did before Helene; debris fields remain in certain places across the region; and several North Carolina officials visited Washington to ask why FEMA is not doing their part.
FEMA - With the future of FEMA still being deliberated in Congress, and the FEMA Review Council still working toward their November deadline, the current agency charged with supporting State and local governments is struggling. According to current and former FEMA staff, the agency is caught in a “doom loop” of increased bureaucracy and low morale. The WSJ covered FEMA’s paralysis “by design” in Missouri.
Mississippi River mayors met in Minneapolis this week, part of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative, where they offered their own suggestions for FEMA reform, including the creation of a pre-disaster mitigation program emphasizing nature-based solutions and wetland restoration. At the same meeting, the Department of Commerce unveiled its newly created Mississippi River Basin drought dashboard.
Shutdown - It seems inevitable that the Federal government will shut down tonight at midnight, save a last-minute, short-term resolution to temporarily fund it. Here in Maryland, home to much of the federal workforce, State officials are scrambling to ensure support systems are available for those who are furloughed, or worse, laid off.
Communications - Audio streaming service TuneIn announced a partnership with FEMA to provide real-time emergency alerts to listeners; the National Weather Service is at a “breaking point”; and NOAA is celebrating 50 years of airborne weather research.
Sad Farewell - Today marks the end of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and its almost 60 years of service funding equal-access, non-commercial, educational programming for millions of Americans. Viewers of PBS and listeners of NPR may notice a change in local programming as early as tomorrow. PBS Public Editor lays out What You’ll Miss When It’s Gone.
New Research: A new study published by the National Academy of Sciences shows the simple act of adding warning labels or community notes indicating that social media content has been fact-checked “significantly reduces the engagement with and diffusion of false content”.
Another study, from Australia, used Facebook data to demonstrate that misinformation isn’t just a digital problem, it can lead to real-life consequences like poor health outcomes, falling public trust, and significant societal harm.
Here in the US, the Univ. of Illinois-Urbana Champlain is investigating the degree to which misinformation it is contributing to divorces and breakups, and new research from the University of Michigan reveals that conspiracy content on TikTok and YouTube is driving overall distrust in public institutions.
Potpourri - Most of the energy released by earthquakes comes in the form of heat, not shaking. According to this study from Georgia State University, once you’ve accounted for overconfidence… women outperform men in many ways. Finland has been atop the list of Happiest Places each year since 2019, and here is why they stay so happy.
SRP Partners’ nonpartisan research enables government and commercial clients to make well-informed decisions and plan for an uncertain future. The Porch is our place to share what we find relevant, interesting, and meaningful throughout the course of our work.