Latest news with #HousingandUrbanDevelopmentdepartment
Hans India
25-05-2025
- Climate
- Hans India
Urban flood management plan ahead of monsoon
Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has introduced a comprehensive Urban Flood and Waterlogging Management Action Plan for all civic bodies across the State. The initiative of the Housing and Urban Development department aims to safeguard public health, infrastructure and livelihoods of people in urban local bodies (ULBs) through a series of preventive, preparatory and responsive measures, an official said on Saturday. The plan is made on drainage, solid waste management, flood-prone area mitigation, shelter preparedness, disease prevention and others, he said. The southwest monsoon seasonal (June to September) rainfall over the country is most likely to be above normal, another official said. 'Under the plan, all the ULBs will set up monsoon-specific control rooms, which will operate on a 24/7 basis during the season, to promptly address public grievances related to waterlogging, blocked roads and water supply disruptions,' the Urban Development department official said. These ULBs are also asked to involve the community in the waterlogging situation, he said. According to the action plan, elected representatives, ward committees, local volunteers, and women self-help groups (WSHGs) will be engaged in local-level preparedness and response activities. The department has plans to hold a high-level inter-departmental coordination meeting before the first week of June 2025, involving fire services, drainage division, minor irrigation and other stakeholders to streamline efforts and ensure resource readiness. Housing & Urban Development Minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra said: 'Proactive planning and community participation are the cornerstones of our strategy. Our goal is to ensure that urban areas remain resilient, safe and prepared for the challenges of an intense monsoon.' A 100 per cent inspection, desilting and repair work of all drains and manholes in ULBs will be conducted to ensure free flow of drain water. Special attention will be given to repairing damaged drain covers and removing encroachments that obstruct drainage channels. Bar screens and wire meshes will be installed at tertiary drains to filter solid waste and prevent blockages during heavy rains. Local personnel will monitor these sites and carry out waste removal. Roads blocked due to fallen trees and debris following cyclonic events will be cleared promptly with a road restoration deadline of 72 hours. Waterlogging hotspots will be identified and pump sets along with emergency equipment will be deployed. Zone-level officers will be appointed to manage real-time emergency responses.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New state study suggests homelessness far undercounted in New Mexico
A homeless encampment in Española pictured in April 2024. A new Department of Health study released Wednesday determined a vast undercount of the state's homeless population by examining nearly 10 million anonymized patient records. (Photo by Patrick Lohmann / Source NM) The number of people experiencing homelessness recently in New Mexico is two to four times higher than previous estimates, according to a new research paper from the state health department. In findings researchers announced Wednesday, nearly 31,000 unhoused people, including 869 children under age 5, sought care at non-federal hospitals in New Mexico between 2019 and 2013. Researchers arrived at that number by analyzing certain fields within 10 million patient visit records, searching for patient addresses being listed as known homeless shelters or simply 'homeless,' among other indicators. Quantifying the number of people who live on the streets in New Mexico is a 'pervasive' problem, the study notes. The annual 'point-in-time' count, which the federal Housing and Urban Development department requires for certain federal grants, is an undercount and can vary based on numerous factors. But it's still considered an official count, and can be useful to detect trends, including huge increases in homelessness observed in Albuquerque and throughout the rest of the state in the most recent report. Read the study here. In what they described as a novel approach to counting the state's unhoused population, New Mexico Department of Health researchers Hayley Peterson and Dylan Pell determined that 30,882 patients experiencing homelessness visit hospitals nearly 183,000 times between 2019 and 2023, or nearly six visits each. The number of unhoused patients was about 8,000 in 2019 and hit a peak of a little more than 10,500 in 2022. 'Public health approaches that address infectious disease, environmental health, drug overdose, suicide and injury should include strategies to support [people experiencing homelessness] and promote stable housing,' said Miranda Durham, Chief Medical Officer for the Department of Health, in a news release. 'Health system interventions like screening for housing needs and linking people to housing services can have positive health impacts.' The new report's numbers are far higher than the 'point-in-time' counts for those years. In 2022, for example, volunteers counted about 2,600 people in homeless shelters and on the streets. In 2019, they counted 3,241. The counties with the highest numbers of unhoused patients were Bernalillo, Santa Fe, Doña Ana and San Juan, according to the report. Amid funding cut threats and homeless camp sweeps, a volunteer loses hope but keeps counting Two-thirds of the patients were male, according to the report. Nearly 40% were Hispanic, another 40% were white, and 15% were American Indian or Alaska Native in a state where about 12% of the total population is Native American. A little over 2,100 of the people counted, comprising 7% of the people the researchers counted, were under age 18. The researchers also examined medical diagnoses the patients received, finding the top 'comorbidity' along with homelessness, was alcohol-related disorders, with 17% of patients having that diagnosis. About 8% had a stimulant-related disorders, 7.1% had schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders and 4.8% were suicidal, among other common diagnoses, according to the report. About 455 people were treated related to their pregnancy, a finding that indicates 'additional supportive housing needs for families during a vulnerable life stage,' researchers wrote. The researchers determined that their method of counting and analyzing homelessness could help present a clearer picture of an issue that has long plagued the state. 'These findings bolster understanding of homelessness in New Mexico and demonstrate that statewide healthcare system data can be used to report homelessness and its comorbidities,' the authors write.
