Hurricane Preparedness Digital Care Package

June 1st marks the beginning of what is predicted to be an active hurricane season. All coastal residents should be prepared and follow guidance from local and state officials on how to stay safe in the face of hurricanes and Covid-19.

This is also a good time to reflect on the fact that Black, Vietnamese, and Indigenous communities are at greater risk of experiencing the impacts of both a hurricane and our current pandemic. What can you do to help marginalized communities weather the coming storms? How can we create systemic changes and put our communities on equal footing in the face of these challenges? We suggest reading “What Natural Disasters Reveal About Racism and Poverty” and “STUDY: After Natural Disasters, Whites Accumulate Wealth While People of Color Lose It”

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Storm and Hurricane Playlist | Curl Up with a New Read | Quick Reads | Watch Coastal Films and Chill | Podcasts | For the Kids (And the Kids at Heart!) | Take Action to Help the Coast, Your Community and Those in Need | Never Stop Learning

Storm and Hurricane Playlist

Thanks to https://www.tulanewater.org/playlists! 

Curl Up with a New Read

Rivers of Power by Laurance C. Smith Laurance was on Delta Dispatches (listen here)! The book covers rivers of the world, but does go into the Mississippi River in-depth “In Rivers of Power, geographer Laurence C. Smith explores the timeless yet vastly underappreciated relationship between rivers and civilization as we know it. Rivers are of course important in many practical ways (water supply, transportation, sanitation). But the full breadth of their profound influence on the way we live is less obvious.”

Words Whispered in Water: Why the Levees Broke in Hurricane Katrina by Sandy Rosenthal   Coming soon from local activist, Sandy Rosenthal. Her new book reflects on the engineering disaster of Hurricane Katrina and important lessons learned about risk reduction. Pre-order your copy today.

Quick Reads

• The Lessons America Never Learned from Hurricane Katrina
• To Soften a Hurricane’s Blow, Don’t Drain the Swamp
• A population explosion is about to come to Louisiana’s Queen Bes
• Feeling Cooped Up? Let your mind fly free with acclaimed nature illustrator David Allen Sibley “What It’s Like To Be A Bird” 
• Experts warn of a more active hurricane season. We need more wetlands, fast.
• New NOAA report on Climate Change and Strong Storms

Watch Coastal Films and Chill

These three documentaries produced by Frontline examine the government’s approach to disasters, their aftermath and lessons learned.

• • “The Storm” 
  • “The Old Man and the Storm”
  • “Law & Disorder”
• “MRGOing Going Gone” looks at the issues around the now-closed Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, which accelerated coastal erosion in lower Louisiana and allowed a wave of storm surge that flooded New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish during Hurricane Katrina.

Podcasts

• “Hurricane Season”
  • This eight-episode podcast explores how major storms going back to 1900 greatly impacted Greater Houston people and policies. As we approach the one year anniversary of Hurricane Harvey, the nation’s worst rainstorm, Houston Public Media takes a look back at some of the biggest storms that have impacted the Gulf Coast and its development, policies, and people.
• Try some of these Code Switch episodes to learn about inequities in disaster response
  • “It’s Getting (Dangerously) Hot in Herre”
  • “When Disaster Strikes”

For the Kids (And the Kids at Heart!)

• Environment and Climate Justice books for young people
• Louisiana Environmental Education Association’s website features a list of resources for learning more about our state’s environment.
• Restore or Retreat released a free four-sheet activity booklet that will challenge your knowledge on all things coastal Louisiana!
• This kid-friendly hurricane preparedness coloring book, “It’s Always Raining in New Orleans”, makes it easy for families to talk about what’s needed to stay safe this season. 
• Try out one (or all) of these fun, eco-friendly DIYs designed by National Geographic’s Kids vs. Plastic series.
• Create a city safe from flooding with PBS Kids’ “Don’t Flood the Fidgets” game!
• Here’s seven garden projects your kids will love that that can be indoors or outdoors.

These free printables for kids include printable mazes, paper dolls, hidden pictures, connect the dots and color by numbers while teaching them valuable math, writing and problem solving skills!

Take Action to Help the Coast, Your Community and Those in Need

We recommend taking the time to support and donate to some of these black or POC – led organizations to contribute to the fight for a more equitable future:

Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development	Greater New Orleans Water Collaborative	Sankofa NOLA	Gulf Coast Center for Law and Policy
Backyard Gardeners Network	Healthy Community Services	Deep South Center for Environmental Justice	Coastal Communities Consulting

Never Stop Learning

• Are you trying to learn more about systemic racism? Here are a few places to start:
  • Read Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack
  • Listen Season 2 of the Scene On Radio Podcast – Seeing White
  • Read White Fragility
• Save the Date for our upcoming 6/16 webinar on Hurricane Season
• Join CPRA for Webinar Wednesdays to learn about important coastal topics from experts! Also view previous webinars, like the Hurricane Season webinar from May 27 that featured Army Corps of Engineers’ Colonel Murphy and CPRA Board Chair Chip Kline
• Don’t miss the free (and virtual) Capitol Hill Ocean Week Conference on June 9 focusing on the global issue of protecting biodiversity. Register here.