In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

A report released at today’s National Summit on Youth Preparedness says “schools are an ideal place for children to learn disaster preparedness.” The study, Bringing Youth Preparedness Education to the Forefront: A Literature Review and Recommendations, looks at best practices, scholarship and offers recommendations. It is worth reading for this interested in the subject.

The Department [...]

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One of the objectives of this year’s National Preparedness Month (NPM) is to highlight the value of personal technology for citizens in emergency situations. So, I wanted to mention that the simulation company, Depiction, will be holding a free webinar this week on that subject – “Preparing Your Community with Personal Technology” - Thursday, September 16, 2010 7:00 PM [...]

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I’m always on the lookout for clever preparedness ideas and have found one in my own backyard.
New York City’s Office of Emergency Management (NYC-OEM) has organized an interesting partnership with several museums. Any New Yorkers who visit the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, the Museum of Art and Design, or the FDNY Fire Zone [...]

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Mike Coston at the always thoughtful Avian Flu Diary blog recently addressed a topic I was meaning to discuss but had not yet gotten around to. In a post, “NPM10: The Ethics of Prepping,” Coston raises the question whether “it is unfair, or somehow unethical, to ask those with greater financial means to prepare for disasters while some [...]

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As the U.S. marks the ninth anniversary of 9/11, I wanted to post some ideas that I think would help raise citizen preparedness and engagement. The recommendations come from discussions that I have had with people involved in all aspects of the issue, my own experiences as a parent and CERT member in New York [...]

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Gary Oldham from the blog, Wingineering, offers a nice case study and analysis of the use of Twitter during three recent emergencies — the New Zealand earthquake, Colorado fires and San Bruno gas explosion.
In this post, “Twitter to the Rescue: Social Media’s Evolving Role in Disasters,” Oldham highlights the role of “dedicated and thoughtful ‘keynote’ [...]

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A new Stanford University study recommends that in the event of a nuclear explosion, people in large metropolitan areas are better off sheltering-in-place in basements for 12-24 hours than trying to evacuate immediately, unless a lengthy warning period is provided.
In the report, “Analyzing Evacuation Versus Shelter-in-Place Strategies After a Terrorist Nuclear Detonation,” which is published [...]

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As the U.S. marks the anniversary of 9/11, I wanted to mention the Preview Site for the National September 11 Memorial for readers who live in the New York area or are planning a visit here.
The Preview Site provides a sense of the forthcoming National Memorial and Museum, which is scheduled to open in 2011. It [...]

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South Carolina has been one of the most active states in promoting the “See Something, Say Something” anti-terrorism campaign to its residents. It has also been among the most creative. In fact, the state’s Office of Homeland Security’s Be Ready SC campaign has just created “See Something, Say Something” binoculars to help bring public attention to the program.

The [...]

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U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano travelled to the New York City’s Emergency Operations Center in downtown Brooklyn yesterday to make a major speech to local first responders on the eve of the ninth anniversary of 9/11. I was asked by the City’s Office of Emergency Management to represent the Community Emergency Response Team [...]

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