In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

I just read about a good idea that the government of Singapore has had about briefing members of the blogsphere in advance of emergencies. According to an article in Channel News Asia headlined “Bloggers, moderators can help ease public fears in crisis”:
The Internet has made possible the rapid spread of fear in a crisis, said Deputy Prime Minister [...]

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The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held a hearing yesterday on the nomination of Craig Fugate for Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Administration. Fugate received enthusiastic backing from committee members and his confirmation seems assured. 
From a citizen preparedness perspective, I think it was terrific that very early in his opening statement Fugate made [...]

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With all the focus on the environment on Earth Day, I wanted to reiterate a point about the connection I think should be made between the public service campaigns on global warming and emergency preparedness. 
It is my contention that the two efforts are complementary and should be more linked closer together in the public’s mind — and [...]

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I just read an interesting new study, “Resilient Nation,” by Charlie Edwards from the London office of the think tank, Demos. Resilience is a concept that has been talked about a good deal here in the U.S., and this report is a very useful addition to that discussion. Though the majority of the case studies/stories in “Resilient Nation” [...]

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From my own personal experience, I know that children are key motivators in influencing their parents behavior. So that is why educating kids on preparedness is crucial to attaining the goal of a more prepared nation. But a key to any new educational emergency readiness initiative in the schools is that it complement existing curricula [...]

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Since CERT teams are comprised of citizen volunteers who are not usually deployed on a frequent basis, there is a need for refresher work both in the classroom and out in the field. One typical task for NYC-CERT teams is to help direct traffic (whether it be during a power failure or other emergency), which is [...]

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Randy Larsen, a good friend of this blog and the national security advisor to the Center for Biosecurity of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, has just been appointed Executive Director of the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism (WMD Commission). It’s a terrific choice for the Commission as [...]

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For the next book contest, I am offering two copies of Disaster Communications In A Changing World  by George D. Haddow and Kim S. Haddow. (Thanks to the publisher, Butterworth-Heinemann). I think the book will be of interest to many readers of this blog. It focuses on what I believe is the most interesting new development in [...]

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On Tax Day, I thought I would highlight Virginia’s second annual Hurricane Preparedness Tax Holiday which will run from May 25-31. During that week, sales tax will be lifted on purchases of preparedness-related supplies and equipment. Though the state’s Department of  Emergency Management considered last year’s week successful, I wanted to see if the agency was making any changes [...]

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New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly recently announced that he wants to create a special high security zone in midtown Manhattan with surveillance cameras, license plate readers and highly equipped personnel at a cost of $58 million. The initiative, however, has yet to be fully funded, according to an article in the New York Times:
The [...]

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