GAO says the US is not prepared to fully recover from a ‘dirty bomb’ attack
February 26, 2010
What the hell?
Read it and weep. Or at least scream. Hot off the presses at the Government Accountability Office.
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d10204.pdf
Basically, the GAO dumps the problem on FEMA’s doorstep, saying the agency is “responsible for developing a comprehensive emergency management system,” but “has not developed a national disaster recovery strategy, as required by law, or issued specific guidance to coordinate federal, state, and local government recovery planning for RDD and IND incidents, as directed by executive guidance.”
Again, what the hell? How many years has it been known that dirty bombs are a potential danger? What have they been doing all this time?
To date, most federal attention has been given to developing a response framework, with less attention to recovery. Responding to an attack would involve evacuations and providing treatment to those injured; recovering from an attack would include cleaning up the radioactive contamination to permit people to return to their homes and businesses. Existing federal guidance provides limited direction for federal, state, and local agencies to develop recovery plans and to conduct exercises to test recovery preparedness. Of the over 90 RDD and IND exercises to test response capabilities in the last 6 years, only 3 included a recovery component.
So we know how to respond to an attack, we just don’t know what to do after that initial response. Which begs the question, what happens to people who want to return to their homes after such an attack?
They’re screwed, that’s what happens.
This is ridiculous. Congress needs to lean on FEMA to develop guidelines and strategies to deal with the aftermath of a dirty bomb attack. This is not the sort of thing that should be handled by a special commission after the fact.
Keep the faith.
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow
February 10, 2010
As long as I don’t have to drive in it.
I took a short walk around my block and down another street at dusk, and snapped some pictures as I went. We haven’t had this much snow in years. It reminded me of the storms we had when I was a kid, and of how we’d go out and build snowmen in the yard afterword.
I feel the need for some hot chocolate coming on …
Branches on a tree in the front yard.
The lamp post, by the mailbox.
In other times, there's a sidewalk under there.
Another view of the front yard tree
That snowball to the left is my car.