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Quick Proof that Building Codes Work [video]

The Institute for Business and Home Safety built a proper hurricane making machine, then constructed two homes in front of it. One was built to standard building codes, the other to their “Fortified for Safer Living” code. They turned the hurricane on and, well, you can see the results. Wow. Show this the next time […]

The 2010 Hurricane Season Begins with New Oil Spill Map

Today, of course, marks the start of the 2010 Hurricane Season. The good news: there don’t appear to be any storms yet. The bad news: the oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill continues to spread without an end in site. Have a look at this interactive map that shows the extent of the oil each […]

Editorial Advises Better Planning and Building, NOT the Ike Dike

A new Houston Chronicle article argues that building the so-called “Ike Dike” will put more, not less people and property at great risk, and that the best way to protect property from hazards is to keep them out of hazardous areas. In “Forget the Ike Dike, let’s improve building methods” Texas A&M professor John Jacob […]

County Promotes More Precise Storm Surge Maps

A Florida county has released new storm surge maps, and they’re giving locals a more precise idea of their risks of being hit by the storm surge associated with a hurricane. Tampa Bay Online has the whole story. As the article reports, Hillsborough County has based the maps on revised models from the National Hurricane […]

New Diagram of BP's Siphon Tube

BP has released a new image of what’s going on a mile under the sea surface at the Deepwater Horizon site. Regrettably, it doesn’t appear to be working as well as they’d hoped.

Lots of Unknowns as Hurricane Season Closes in on Clean-Up Efforts

Reuters has an interesting article on what the oil spill means for this year’s hurricane season. The short version? Nobody’s sure. On the one hand, nobody likes the idea of the a hurricane pushing the oil that’s currently at sea into the Gulf’s beaches (or further inland). On the other hand, some folks, including some […]

REMINDER: Coastal Resilience Symposium, May 26 Houston

Just a quick reminder that the Coastal Resilience Symposium is next week. You can still register on their site. Here’s a link to the agenda. Should be a great event. Coastal Resilience Symposium (May 26th, Houston)

Oil Spill: Good and Bad News (Sunday Edition)

The Times-Picayune is reporting both comforting and frightening news this morning: The good: BP said early Sunday afternoon that the mile-long tube working, drawing most of the leaking oil to the tanker from the Gulf seafloor. The not-so-good: Researchers have found more underwater plumes of oil than they can count from the blown-out well, said […]