Brian Bledsoe, a lecturer and founding director of the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems within the College of Engineering, conversed with GPB regarding the escalation of natural disasters in Georgia.

Bledsoe asserts that Georgia requires a comprehensive statewide strategy to harmonize disaster response, which has, until now, been overseen by various agencies with differing levels of resource access.

“The recent consecutive storms serve as evidence that we no longer inhabit a ‘single hazard’ universe,” Bledsoe expressed. Furthermore, as floods and severe temperatures grow increasingly prevalent in the South, “spur-of-the-moment acts of kindness” will fall short.

There are numerous measures that can be implemented to enhance the state’s infrastructure for disaster management.

“Many individuals mention, ‘well, we need capacity,’” Bledsoe noted. “Then the question arises, ‘what constitutes capacity?’ It’s a multitude of elements. It involves personnel who can apply for grants. … It’s about staff distributed across various sectors. And it includes some overarching state-level vision for resilience.”

The article Professor discusses strategies for natural disasters in Georgia was first published on UGA Today.