"Wisdom begins in wonder" – Socrates
Scouting New Homes for Climate Village Relocation
08/18/23
“Why is it important to scout new homes for climate village relocations?”
Some villages will need to relocate because of climate change. To do this, they need to find a new place with a suitable environment, stable economic integration, and close (physically and/or culturally) enough for the relocated to call home. This is why Scouting New Homes for Climate Village Relocation is so essential.
Why Improved Building Ventilation Systems Can Slow Down Pandemics During Heat Waves
08/17/23
“Why can improved ventilation systems slow down pandemics during heat waves?”
Pandemics can spread faster during heat waves since more people head indoors and breathe in air that may be infected by someone carrying a pathogen. But if ventilation systems are improved, then the particles carrying the pathogen can be isolated, keeping the rest of the population safe. This is Why Improved Building Ventilation Systems Can Slow Down Pandemics During Heat Waves.
Why More Nuisance Flooding Days Can Happen in California During El Niño
08/16/23
“Why can more nuisance flooding days happen in California during El Niño?”
El Niño can trigger higher sea-levels and rainfall in many parts of California. With higher sea-levels rainfall comes the increased potential for floods, including nuisance flooding. This is Why More Nuisance Flooding Days Can Happen in California During El Niño. Urban planners need to take this into consideration when designing flood protections.
Why Heat Waves Can Exacerbate Pandemics
06/15/23
“Why can heat waves exacerbate pandemics?”
Pandemics spread faster when people are in closer contact with each other. It’s common for people to pack into air-conditioned indoor environments during heat waves. This causes clustering and pandemic spreading. This is Why Heat Waves Can Exacerbate Pandemics.
Why Sea-Level Rise Will Exacerbate Nuisance Flooding
08/14/23
“Why will sea-level rise exacerbate nuisance flooding?”
Nuisance flooding happens when a nearby body of water makes a flood only strong enough to disrupt daily operations without any serious infrastructure damage. However, sea-level rise will cause the base water to rise, making flooding easier. Not only will this make nuisance flooding more frequent, but also turn events that may have been nuisance floods into serious damage. This is Why Sea-Level Rise Will Exacerbate Nuisance Flooding.
Nuisance Flooding
08/13/23
“How do we classify flooding that disrupts day-to-day activities?”
When we think of flooding, we often picture massive waves crashing into cities and enveloping everything in their wake. However, what happens when it’s just light flooding, only enough to disrupt day-to-day activities and *maybe* cause light infrastructure damage? Events like this is usually called Nuisance Flooding. Nuisance usually occurs at high-tide and the amount of days in a year a town has nuisance flooding is a useful metric to measure how disasters unfold.
What Qualifies as a “Substantial” Improvement Under FEMA’s 50% Rule
08/12/23
“What qualifies as a “substantial” improvement under FEMA’s 50% rule?”
FEMA’s 50% rule requires property owners to make substantial improvements to their buildings if they suffered over half of their market value in damage. But what exactly qualifies as a “substantial” improvement? Well, it turns out that improvements that bring the structure into compliance with the latest local and national flood regulations will qualify something as “substantial”. This is What Qualifies as a “Substantial” Improvement Under FEMA’s 50% Rule.
What Structures the FEMA 50% Rule Applies To
08/11/23
“What structures does the FEMA 50% rule apply to?”
The FEMA 50% rule governs how countless communities in the U.S. recover after a storm. But what structures have to obey these rules? Well, quite simply all structures that are not already in compliance with the latest standards must rebuild according to FEMA’s 50% rule. These are What Structures the FEMA 50% Rule Applies To.
Home Elevation
08/10/23
“Why can home elevation better insulate us from floods?”
Homes close to bodies of water can be subjected to floods. These can be so catastrophic that the entire structure can be submerged. And this is only going to become more common with the advent of climate change. But what can we do to protect against this? Well, what if were to simply elevate our homes? Through Flood Home Elevation we create an extra barrier against pouring water and keep our families safer.
Image credit: http://www.tampabay.com
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