In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

In the June issue of Homeland Security Today magazine, there are a couple of interesting articles with relevance to public preparedness:

1) “From Florida To FEMA” by Michael Peltier is an interesting profile of new FEMA head Craig Fugate. The piece notes Fugate’s focus on changing the public’s expectations, mindset and responsibilities on preparedness. In Florida, he tried to get residents out of a “victim mentality and into taking a more active role in their own survival. He, in fact, dropped the word ‘victim’ from his public vocabulary.”

2) “Social Networks To The Rescue” by Mickey McCarter discusses the increasing role and potential of social media in disasters. The article describes how both FEMA and CDC are aggressively trying to determine how best to harness these new tools for disaster preparedness and response.