In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

From the American Red Cross’ Oregon Trail chapter comes yet another creative and timely preparedness idea, via their Twitter feed, for those who have some leftovers when Passover ends Wednesday: “shelf-life of matzo is 2 yrs; gefilte fish = 4; canned soups = 3. Great items for a disaster kit!”.
Lise Harwin explains further on the chapter’s Cross Blog:
Last night’s [...]

[Read more →]

Slate has a good article, “U.S. Department of Blogging: What The Rest of the Government Can Learn from the TSA” by Christopher Beam in which he argues that the Transportation Security Administration’s blog Evolution of Security is a model for governmental blogging, particularly in its interaction with the public. (As readers of this blog know, I agree. In [...]

[Read more →]

Laura Belsey is the director of Katrina’s Children, a terrific documentary about 19 kids from different neighborhoods in New Orleans area and the impact of Hurricane Katrina on their lives. In this ”What Should We Tell The Public?” video, Belsey relays some sage advice from the children in the film about what they learned going through this major disaster. 
The video [...]

[Read more →]

Acting FEMA Administrator Nancy Ward speaking at the National Hurricane Conference in Austin, Texas on Wednesday underscored the need for the general public to do their own risk and communications assessments as storm season approaches. And, she said in an interview now on FEMA’s YouTube channel that the agency would be continuing to expand its use of [...]

[Read more →]

Cargo screening may seem a somewhat arcane topic for a blog that focuses on citizen preparedness and engagement. But the issue raises what I think may be one of the most important homeland security subjects for both the government and the public — risk. The topic of risk in homeland security is something that I [...]

[Read more →]

Below are the winners (along with their “What is your one favorite thing about New York City?” entry) for the Securing The City: Inside America’s Best Counterterrorism Force – The NYPD (Simon & Schuster) book contest. Each will each receive a free copy of the book.
Andrew A. Altizer/Atlanta, GA — “Late Night with David Letterman”
Stephen Carter/Manuka, Australia – “My [...]

[Read more →]

I recently had the opportunity to interview Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, on the subject of citizen preparedness. Speaking in his Capitol Hill office, Thompson told me that he believes there needs to be more emphasis on public readiness and engagement in the U.S. 
He says he hopes President Obama will [...]

[Read more →]

One of the most impressive public-private citizen emergency preparedness partnerships in the U.S. is Oklahoma’s McReady campaign now in its sixth year statewide. As part of McReady, Oklahomans can enter a contest to win a safe room and emergency radios.
The campaign includes displays in McDonald’s restaurants throughout the state with information focusing on floods, tornadoes, lightning, emergency [...]

[Read more →]

There was an interesting article last week in the New York Times, ”Permanent Flood Solutions Just Out of Reach for Fargo,” by Kirk Johnson and Monica Davey. The piece uses Fargo (and neighboring Grand Forks) as a case study to illustrate a common dynamic when it comes to disasters — attention, action and funding are often in [...]

[Read more →]

This “What Should We Tell The Public?” video features New York State Assemblyman Jonathan Bing, the sponsor of a bill to establish a tax free period during September for emergency supplies. Bing is my local assemblyman, and I worked with him on creating the legislation. 
In his segment, Bing says that a major crane collapse near his [...]

[Read more →]