This is Exactly Why the United States Needs a National Disaster Review Board!

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We now know the sirens were not sounded to alert Lahaina's residents. Why? How should west Maui rebuild? Here is an article from the Los Angeles Times. 

These situations are exactly why I have been calling for a National Disaster Review Board (NDRB) since 2012. Whether is a catastrophic wildfire like the ones that struck Lahaina and Boulder; poorly warned tornadoes like Joplin, or the others too frequently documented here (and we had two major misses yesterday evening, one in Missouri and one in Michigan); or an inevitable major earthquake, we are never going to make major societal progress on disasters without one.

The NDRB will be modeled after the hugely successful National Transportation Safety Board. It will investigate disasters and its second task will be to keep accuracy statistics on National Weather Service storm warnings. By law, it will not get into climate change. The USA already has two panels for that -- we do not need a third. 

Congress has a lot on its mind these days but disaster public safety should be a bi-partisan issue. Please call or, better still, write your congressional delegation. It is easy to do the latter by going to their website and click on "contact." 

Thank you!

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