In this next part of week two, we need to figure out our plan for sheltering: What is my shelter plan? The Ready.gov site advises us to consider where to take shelter if we receive a warning or believe we are threatened with an emergency. The local plan we looked up last week might have listed some…
Author: Civil Engineer
Civil Engineer with a background in local, state, and federal governments as well as private consulting.
Make Your Plan – Week 2
Now that we are aware of our risks, this week we are going to make our own disaster plan. This week will probably require the most work of all because there is so much to think about and plan for. Fortunately for us, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has created a few resources to…
Know your Risks – Week 1
This is week one, and we are starting by looking up our local hazard mitigation plan so we understand the risks we need to plan for. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) publishes an online map where you can check the status of your State’s plan and see if your county has a plan. Some…
Are You Prepared for the Next Disaster?
We often hear from emergency response professionals that right after a disaster it may be a few days before anyone can assist us and during that time we may need to rely on ourselves to survive. So having everything in place ahead of time can ensure we make it through a disaster and that our…
Comparing Bike Share Experiences: Carmel Bike Share
This is the second in a series of comparing the bike share programs in Columbus, Ohio, and Carmel, Ind. Carmel Bike Share, Carmel, Indiana The bike share program in Carmel, Ind., is operated by Zagster, a company which offers more than 200 programs in 35 states. The setup is much different than other bike shares…
Comparing Bike Share Experiences: Columbus CoGo Bike Share
A couple months ago I was able to spend some time in Columbus, Ohio, and in Carmel, Indiana, a city just north of Indianapolis. Since I had some time to explore at night and on the weekends, I decided to try out the bike share programs in each community. Each offered a much different experience…
Is it Really Climate Change or is it Sewage?
Lately I’ve seen several presentations which all include a similar slide with a graph like the generic one I created below. All the presenters then refer to the graph on the slide and make a statement similar to this: “and because of climate change you can see an increase in flooding over the last several…
ArcGIS Pro – My New Favorite Software
As a public works professional, one of the best things you can do in the new year is to check out ArcGIS Pro – a GIS mapping software by ESRI. I admit, like many GIS software products, ArcGIS Pro can be a little overwhelming to use right out of the box. Even though I am…
National Institute of Building Sciences Updates Mitigation Savings Ratio
On January 11, 2018, the National Institute of Building Sciences released their Natural Hazard Mitigation Strategies: 2017 Interim Report. This document reports an update to their 2005 determination of a mitigation benefit cost ratio of 4:1 where “for every $1 spent by FEMA on hazard mitigation, it is $4 in future benefits.†The new study has…
The Day the FCC Took Broadband out of the Right of Way
The use of public right of way is regulated by local or state government subject to local and state laws. Typically if a utility wants to install infrastructure in the public right of way, it must apply for and obtain a permit from the government agency which has jurisdiction over the right of way. The installation…