One of the FEMA/Ad Council Listo.Gov Spanish PSAs.

One of the FEMA/Ad Council Ready.Gov English PSAs.

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 of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Education, and the American Red Cross held the Summit, which brought together approximately 150 attendees from the fields of youth communications, programs serving youth, developers of youth preparedness education, practitioners from the state, tribal, and local levels, and academia — as well as abroad, including New Zealand, Chile and Israel.

The goal of the Summit is to synthesize input from all participants to develop a framework for a national strategy on grades K-12 preparedness education to increase youth preparedness knowledge, skills, and behaviors, and to address youth of all abilities and backgrounds.

The full report can be found here. The National Summit webinar can be found (and will be posted later on): here.

The Obama Administration has said that public readiness is a priority and has taken steps to strengthen the involvement of Americans in their own homeland security. However, officials acknowledge that there is still a ways to go. I present these proposals to help move forward citizen preparedness on a local, state and national level. I hope these suggestions can be a useful addition to the policy discussion and have submitted it to the Federal Preparedness Task Force. As always, I welcome your feedback:

1) CREATE CITIZEN PREPAREDNESS TASK FORCE — The lack of progress to date on public readiness and engagement underscores the need to develop new ways of approaching the issue. DHS Secretary Napolitano should create a Citizen Preparedness Outreach Task Force to assess the current state of public readiness and work on developing new approaches. At present, there is no clear social education analog to civilian emergency preparedness that can be easily pulled off the shelf so it will take some work to develop an effective program. In fact, the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism in its final report recommended the Administration make citizen engagement a priority. But Chairman Bob Graham told me that the ‘WMD Commission’ did not did not find anything suitable it could recommend, and that something new has to be developed.

2) BETTER DEFINE WHAT IT MEANS TO BE “PREPARED” “READY” AND/OR “RESILIENT” — An American Red Cross survey indicated that 93% of Americans are not prepared for disasters. The truth is that no one can be fully prepared, but there is a need to offer the public a clearer definition — including a minimum level — of preparedness. That might include creating a family communications plan and storing tangible supplies but also knowing more about potential threats that every American should know. That doesn’t mean overwhelming people with too much information, but making sure they are at least familiar with some basics. (For example, the first time citizens hear about a ‘dirty bomb’ from government officials should not be in the moments after one has been exploded.) In addition to the content questions, there is also a word meaning issue to deal with as well. The Obama Administration has been emphasizing the concept of societal resilience. Should emergency management officials be talking about citizen resilience in their communities rather than preparedness or readiness?

3) SUPPORT & REPORT ON STATE/LOCAL PREPAREDNESS EFFORTS — Provide adequate seed money for state and local government to bolster civilian preparedness programs and link the grants to performance. Encourage authorities to report publicly on their level of citizen preparedness and create metrics for better measuring civilian readiness. Find interested governors to take on leadership roles and create pilot models in their states. There is a need to employ both “bottom/up” and “top/down” approaches to disaster preparedness combining state, local and community leadership and citizen involvement with federal commitment and focus. Ensure that government authorities can competently respond to disasters but also more strongly emphasize the need for the public and local communities to be prepared and self-reliant, particularly in the first 72 hours after a disaster.

4) HIGHLIGHT & SPREAD MODELS FROM AROUND U.S. & OTHER COUNTRIES — There is a need to help promote and implement best practices from communities around the U.S. and draw, where applicable, particularly from British and Israeli experiences. One model may be the United Kingdom’s National Risk Register, which sets out publicly the government’s assessment of the likelihood and potential impact of a range of different public health, natural and terrorist risks. It is designed to increase awareness of the kinds of risks the UK faces, and encourage individuals and organizations to think about their own preparedness. The Register also includes details of what the Government and first responders are doing to prepare for those emergencies and the role of citizens in those plans

5) USE ‘CARROTS’ TO CHANGE PUBLIC BEHAVIOR – Provide a tax write-off for citizens to buy preparedness-related products as a way to promote participation and to signal governmental commitment. Encourage states to create tax-free periods as is being done in Virginia and Louisiana (and has been introduced in the New York legislature). Also, consider targeting assistance to citizens who cannot afford to prepare. The fact is that when we really want to change social behavior as a nation we do it through the carrot or the stick. The carrot is the preferable tool for this issue, but it needs to be used. And, thus far, incentives (and vegetables) have largely been missing from the preparedness effort, which helps explain the lack of progress. Similarly, preparedness disincentives in the law should be removed (ie. in some places, homeowners who retrofit their homes face higher tax assessments.)

6) BRING IN BUSINESS TO DEVELOP INTEGRATED ‘WIN-WIN-WIN-WIN’ PUBLIC PREPAREDNESS MARKETING CAMPAIGNS– Design and roll out a full service preparedness marketing campaign with help from the private and non-profit sectors. Galvanize business to take on disaster preparedness in the same way they have with disaster response, most notably in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (ie. big box stores, packaged goods manufacturers, bottled water companies, wireless industry). Work with companies in preparedness-related businesses to offer major discounts tied to citizens taking actual readiness steps recommended by Ready.Gov and local emergency management offices.

For example, individuals and families come into ‘big box’ stores with emergency communications plans (or fill them out in the store) and in return they would receive a significant discount on supplies or free products (ie. if you purchase a case of bottled water, you would get your emergency supply thrown in for free). And if a customer signed up to volunteer for CERT or the Red Cross Disaster Services, they would get a bigger discount. Mobile phone retail stores would be excellent settings for preparedness events/trainings to help people register for government emergency text/e-mail alerts. I’d also like to see an event/photo-op with kids teaching their parents about texting and its role in an emergency. Here again, the companies would offer customers extra free text/phone minutes for completing the preparedness step.

7) DON’T BE AFRAID TO TELL THE CHILDREN — Put more emphasis on educating young people on preparedness by piggybacking on other related school-based social education efforts, most prominently fire safety. The challenge is the both the decentralization of the nation’s education system and the already high curricula demands on teachers. Yet, an effective fire education program was implemented in the schools beginning in the 1970’s, and there would seem to be a perfect fit to integrate a preparedness module into that existing program. The federal government should work with state and local officials as well as fire and education officials to determine how best to accomplish that objective.

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate recently suggested expanding the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program for young people. I believe that a decision to expand CERT-type training in the schools would be welcomed on a bipartisan basis.There should be more public briefings on how personal tech would be helpful in an emergency, before the emergency (including how Twitter, Facebook and one’s smart phone can be invaluable). Further, every governmental preparedness web site should add a cell phone and an extra battery (or other power source) to the basic components of their recommended disaster supply kit.  Many private companies are working on applications for citizen emergency communications. Those business efforts need to be integrated with official alerts (ie. the new iteration of the Emergency Alert System) and unofficial citizen-based social media (as well as the news media). Both the content and distribution channels of emergency communications are changing and new models need to be developed.

8 EMBRACE AND ACCELERATE PREPAREDNESS 2.0 – There is a need to better inform the public on the potential of 21st century personal technology to prepare for and respond to 21st century emergencies. We must make Americans more aware of the capabilities of the technology at their fingertips (ie. wireless devices, social media sites) in advance and integrate it into disaster planning and response. The public’s new ability to access and distribute information offers both an opportunity and a challenge to government authorities.

There should be more public briefings on how personal tech would be helpful in a crisis, before the crisis (including how Twitter, Facebook and one’s smart phone can be invaluable). Further, every governmental preparedness web site should add a cell phone and an extra battery (or other power source) to the basic components of their recommended disaster supply kit. Many private companies are working on content and distribution applications for citizen emergency communications. Those business efforts can complement official efforts (ie. the new iteration of the Emergency Alert System) and unofficial citizen-based social media (and well as the news media). One hugely promising initiative is CrisisCommons which over the past year has created groups of volunteers throughout the world to bring technology to bear on disaster response issues.

9) FIND POLITICAL, CELEBRITY PREPAREDNESS SPOKESPEOPLE – During the time that I have covered the topic of citizen emergency preparedness, one of the most surprising things I’ve found is that there is no major elected official who has taken the lead on the issue. It’s surprising for a number of reasons: natural disasters and terrorism dominate the headlines and will continue to for the foreseeable future; citizen preparedness is pretty much an unassailable, bipartisan, patriotic and community-building topic; and even the smallest interest in Washington has at least one political champion (but not public preparedness). And, with much to do, there is a great opportunity to have a positive policy and political impact. To some in the readiness community, the absence of star power on the issue has been one reason for the lack of public attention. Though celebrities have been eager to participate in fundraising efforts after catastrophes like the Haiti effort), there is no big star who is singularly identified as a spokesperson for emergency preparedness.

10) GIVE THE PUBLIC MORE INFO SO THEY CAN BETTER PREPARE & PARTICIPATE – There is a need to better inform the public when it comes to disaster preparedness so they can not only ready themselves and their families but also be part of the policy debate. Let me mention two areas briefly:

a) Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD): In its report, the WMD Commission argues that the incoming Administration should make an effort to inform and engage the public on the subject of WMD’s. I agree. And, I suggest officials consider starting that process by defining (or redefining) what a WMD actually is. At present, it is most common to define a WMD for the public as a chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (or “CBRN”) weapon.

The Commission report, however, focuses primarily on the dangers of biological and nuclear terrorism, both of which could be absolutely catastrophic. By contrast, a chemical or radiological (better known as a ‘dirty bomb’) weapon could be very serious but would likely not cause as much lasting damage. In fact, both a chemical and radiological attack would likely be a one-shot event seriously impacting those directly near the event, closer in result to a ‘traditional’ terrorist bombing. A nuclear bomb or biological incident, however, could have wide and long-lasting ‘mass destruction’ impact to humans, property and the society itself. We don’t want the public — and the nation as a whole — to overreact to some threats and underreact to others.

b) Risk: I think it may be one of the most important homeland security subjects for both the government and the public, because it highlights some of the tradeoffs involved in determining how to allocate the nation’s security resources and the role of risk management in making those decisions. This is a debate which should include the public. Right now, Americans aren’t engaged in the discussion over the security, financial, logistical and time tradeoffs involved in our own homeland security.

We need to introduce risk management into homeland security which would lead us to ask and answer important questions: What improves our security and resiliency? And what can be done at a reasonable social and financial cost? Those answers should come not only from policymakers but with the guidance of the public itself.

The public should be asked: How much risk do you want to pay for? How much inconvenience do you want to deal with? These are dilemmas we deal with everyday in our lives; we need to bring that same approach to homeland security and disaster preparedness. FEMA’s Fugate has since his days in Florida made the point that natural hazards turn into natural disasters because of man-made decisions on development, including ubiquitous golf courses: “You can tee off in Tallahassee and play through to Pensacola,” he likes to say.  ”Unless the public understands we need to change where we develop and live, it won’t matter.” It is up to elected officials to present those choices, including building codes, levies and insurance incentives.

11) ‘SEE AND SAY’ SOMETHING MORE – Build upon the initial success of ‘See Something, Say Something’ -type citizen information campaigns by providing the public with more specific guidance on how to assist law enforcement and, without giving away sources and methods, offering more feedback on the information they have provided. Law enforcement officials are concerned about societal complacency nine years since 9/11, but have not determined how to communicate to the public a more candid – yet calm and balanced – picture of the threat and how they can best help. The Department of Homeland Security is expanding “See Something, Say Something” nationally, which is a positive development. However, there is still a need to better explain to citizens their role, particularly at a local level. One important question is how much of what new information and training given to law enforcement about terrorism prevention should also be provided to the public.

12) MEDIA SHOULD COVER PREPAREDNESS AS WELL AS DISASTERS – While the press does wall-to-wall coverage on natural disasters and has covered practically every aspect of terrorism story closely, it has largely overlooked advance public preparedness. By contrast, during the Cold War, magazines ranging from Life to Modern Farmer dedicated entire issues to civilian readiness. Obviously, the press’ role is not to serve as a publicity arm of the government, but it is a topic that deserves more attention. And without more media coverage, it will be difficult to break through to the public. One great example of the press as a unique asset is the list of preparedness tips and lessons learned from the disaster survivors that was collected by the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

13) GOVERNMENT PREPAREDNESS OUTREACH NEEDS TO BE FAR MORE INTERACTIVE — Right now, if a member of the public has a question about the preparedness process, there is nowhere to go. And, as someone who does a lot of public outreach on street fairs, radio or in community meetings I hear a lot of questions from average citizens about emergency readiness — ie. Shouldn’t buildings have mandatory emergency drills? Shouldn’t everyone have a solar charger in your ‘go-bag’ to be able recharge a cellphone or radio? Shouldn’t you have an evacuation family meeting spot outside of the City in case there is major disaster? In case of an emergency, where should we go for information? The emergency management community on a national, state and local level must overhaul its public information operations to be able to address those questions directly and lead the public through what can be a challenging process to undertake.

14) ‘DO ASK, DO TELL’: MAKE “PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY” MORE CENTRAL TO PREPAREDNESS MESSAGING — Instead of telling people to prepare because it is a responsibility (you need to do this), government has used a softer ask when it comes to trying to get the public to prepare. To me, the it is time to try to do more “telling” and less “asking”. I don’t believe the government should be afraid to explicitly tell the public that each of us can either hinder or help relief efforts by what they decide to do before and during a disaster. And, that it’s up to each of us to choose.

If indeed preparing for disasters is a responsibility of citizenship (which I think it should be), then it should been positioned that way. PSA’s saying that people are imperiling the lives of first responders and their fellow citizens, particularly the vulnerable (ie. the elderly, disabled) not to mention your own family might be treated with a little more urgency. Another potentially useful messaging approach was suggested to me by former Miss Utah Jill Shepherd who used citizen preparedness as her pageant platform. It can (and should) be included in the preparedness pitch that readying yourself and your family for disaster at home is a way civilians can contribute to the nation’s resilience and complement the work and sacrifice of those serving in the military. Preparedness may be the most important contribution most citizens can make to their nation’s security. Not only will civilians likely be the first on the scene of a major emergency, but the nation’s response will only be as strong as the readiness of the weakest link. We have entered the ‘pro-am’ preparedness era where the government needs to hand off some responsibility and the public needs to take it.

15) INTEGRATE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS INTO OTHER COMMUNITY ISSUES — Emergency preparedness is an important issue, particularly during crises. However, it has a better chance of becoming ingrained into American society if it is viewed as part of other preparedness topics that are a more central part of Americans daily life, including public health (immunization), security (Neighborhood Watch), infrastructure and climate change, part and parcel of just being ready for any situation.

For example, the global warming campaign can and should be a model for civilian emergency preparedness in a variety of ways. The two efforts are complementary and should be linked closer together in the public’s mind — and actions. In both, society is being asked to mobilize in order to avert or mitigate potential disasters, and both are part of strengthening the nation’s general national resilience. Yes, global warming has some skeptics, but so does emergency preparedness — ironically they are often not the same people which may conveniently add to its complementary synergy.

16) EXPAND EMERGENCY DRILLING OPPORTUNITIES TO PUBLIC –Increase chances for citizens to participate in disaster drills, which would help people focus on the issue and work through the key questions everyone should ask before a disaster (ie. How will you get information and communicate with your family? Do you know the emergency plan of your children’s school?). Most every top homeland security/emergency management official I have interviewed has told me that broader public disaster exercises would be helpful in a number of ways, but there has not been a concerted effort to expand drilling opportunities to the public.

17) DETERMINE BEST USE OF CIVILIAN DISASTER VOLUNTEERS – Craig Fugate said recently that FEMA would be reevaluating the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). I think that as part of that review government and non profit officials should be looking at how best to recruit and deploy disaster volunteers. Post-9/11 and Katrina — as well as with international incidents such as Haiti — there has been great interest among the public to be involved in crisis response. A key question is how that asset should be managed. Should it be the government? The Red Cross? Other non-profits and faith-based institutions? Business? Or a combination of the four? One hugely promising initiative is CrisisCommons which over the past year has created groups of volunteers throughout the world to bring technology to bear on disaster response issues.

Fugate said that FEMA is considering major changes in the CERT program, including creating a shorter training course which could be offered to more Americans and significantly expanding training for schools and other youth groups in order to better imbed preparedness into society for the long-term. I’ve always felt that CERT training is less about the skills you learn and more about awareness about the community and the various emergency authorities (and identifying citizen crisis organizers in advance). To me, CERT is just basic citizenship training for the 21st Century, which I think every American should get a chance to receive. I might suggest that the smaller reduced curriculum be called something along the lines of “Citizen Resilience Training”.

18) ESTABLISH AN OFFICIAL PREPAREDNESS DAY — Create a National Preparedness Day to focus public attention before disasters, including briefing citizens, conducting drills, and filling emergency kits. A helpful model is Japan’s Disaster Prevention Day held on September 1st, the anniversary of the catastrophic 1923 Tokyo earthquake. Earlier this month, 670,000 Japanese participated in emergency drills around the country. China, since its 8.0-magnitude 2008 Sichuan Province earthquake, has also held two national disaster prevention days with nationwide drills.

If we as a nation feel it is really important for the public to develop emergency plans, it would be far more effective if everyone was doing that at the same time — rather than asking individuals to do it on their own. This ‘preparedness day’ would also be the time that we all asked the questions about planning then practiced and updated those plans. It would be useful for both responders and the public. I might suggest September 11th be made the U.S.’s official Day. It would seem to be appropriate to honor the memories of those who died by action, particularly something aimed at making sure America is never as unprepared again.

19) CREATE CITIZEN PREPAREDNESS OFFICE – Establishing a national citizen preparedness/resilience office to highlight and help coordinate efforts around the U.S. and ensure citizen preparedness remains a priority. Right now, there is not an identifiable place in the federal government that has responsibility for coordinating the public’s role in preparedness. Work with American Red Cross to create an effective advocate for the general public on emergency preparedness in the same way disabled and pet groups have done for the disaster needs of their communities over the past several years.

20) BUNDLE CITIZEN PREPAREDNESS PROPOSALS TOGETHER INTO “CITIZEN PREPAREDNESS INITIATIVE” – For too long, well meaning public preparedness efforts have gotten lost or have been ignored by the public. That’s in large part because they have not been packaged and presented as being specifically directed to citizens. But if the government would assemble these small disparate proposals listed above into an overall citizen preparedness package it would have a better chance of getting attention and gaining some traction. Ultimately, making inroads on citizen preparedness is less a matter of money than it is of focus and attention.

Manning wanted to remind preparedness stakeholders, including the public, that there are two days left to contribute a new idea — or offer a comment and vote on an existing one — to the Dialogue. The website can be found at http://preparedness.ideascale.com/.

Thus far, there have been 246 suggestions, 388 comments and 2867 votes posted by 759 users. With this web-based tool, users submit their ideas, the community discusses and votes for them, with the most popular suggestions bubbling up to the top. Right now, educating the public on preparedness are two of the three recommendations with the most votes.

The Dialogue will complement the work of the Preparedness Task Force which was created at the direction of Congress. The Task Force is comprised of 35 local, state, and tribal members and 24 Federal ex officio members with diverse expertise in homeland security and emergency management. It was formed to assess the state of disaster preparedness and make recommendations for improvement throughout the nation. The panel has been meeting since April and is expected to release a report next month.

Manning says the Task Force has been looking at all aspects of the nation’s preparedness initiatives, many of which date to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security more than seven years ago. He adds that the group will be addressing some basic questions, including, “What are we trying to achieve? How do we measure effectiveness? What have been the effectiveness of grant programs?”

To contribute to the Dialogue (by the deadline of September 10th), click here. If you would prefer to submit your comments, ideas or recommendations directly to the Task Force, send them by email to FEMA-Preparedness-Task-Force@fema.gov (also by the 10th).

* Volunteering for local law enforcement agencies through the Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) Program. VIPS volunteers conduct traffic control, crowd control, and other duties that support local law enforcement

* Training to become a member of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) in your area. CERT members support first responders before, during and after a disaster occurs by providing support for preparedness awareness and using their skills to execute response protocols to assist emergency responders

* Joining a Neighborhood Watch group to assist with crime and terrorism prevention by working more closely with local law enforcement, and emphasize the importance of emergency preparedness among families and homes in your neighborhood

* Donating time to a Medical Reserve Corps Unit through volunteering with medical and public health professionals to contribute skills and expertise throughout the year as well as during times of community need

* Becoming an advocate for fire safety and prevention education in the community and assisting with administrative duties at your local fire station through Fire Corps.

* Getting involved with an American Red Cross Chapter by giving blood to ensure a safe supply, volunteering with your local chapter, getting trained to respond to local disasters like home fires, or making a donation to the Disaster Relief Fund.

* Helping other community members prepare, including those children and adults with disabilities and others with access and functional needs.

Thanks to the Hartman Inventory Blog where I originally saw this article.

In a video interview (below), Serino said that with Hurricane Earl heading up the Eastern Seaboard “today is the day for people to be prepared,” particularly in the New England area which may bear the brunt of the storm. Serino, who is from the Boston area, recommends that citizens get ready by charging their cellphones, filling their gas tanks and getting some extra cash.

FEMA Deputy Administrator Richard Serino

As of last Friday, there were 3684 members breaking the biggest previous figure of 3200 two years ago. Coalition members “have pledged to provide information, host events and/or sponsor activities for their customers, members, employees, stakeholders and communities throughout the month of September.” Marquis attributes the number to “very strong outreach effort this year by all levels of government (federal, state and local) as well as the private sector.”

If you would like to become a coalition member, click here

He told Robin Roberts that people who live in evacuation zones need to plan to evacuate if necessary, have a destination now and follow the storm closely. For those who need guidance in creating an emergency plan, he suggested checking Ready.Gov.

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate interviewed on “Good Morning America” today about Hurricane Earl.

Fugate has also been tweeting “Hurricane 101″ tips, including most recently: “if you evacuate, take your pets with you. looking for a hotel that takes pets www.petswelcome.com www.officialpethotels.com.”

Earl and Fiona Approach East Coast (Photo: NOAA)

Darryl Madden, Director, Ready Campaign

In an interview earlier this month, Madden told me there will be a special effort during the Month to get Americans to create a family emergency communications plan. To help Americans undertake the planning process, Ready.Gov and the Ad Council are offering some online tools to create a printable comprehensive Family Emergency Plan and an email/text containing basic information that can be shared with others. Madden said he also hopes the Americans will during the Month — if they have not already — check with their workplaces and kids’ schools about their emergency plans. This video is part of the blog’s “What Should We Tell The Public?” series.

Ready.Gov’s section on hurricane preparedness is here; information on flooding is here.

It turns out that in most cases the two services are being utilized in somewhat different ways by different types of external users. Twitter is being used mostly as an informational source with speed and news being paramount for more of an official audience, while Facebook pages tend to be more of a place for public discussion and community building with more depth (ie. multi-media) and emotional involvement often for average citizens. But in a crisis, the two platforms will be used similarly to distribute and solicit emergency information. Both, officials say, have been very helpful to their informational outreach to the public.

Here are the e-mail responses about Twitter and Facebook from some of the emergency management experts I contacted:

Jeremy J. Heidt, Tennessee Emergency Management Agency – ”We are seeing quite a difference in what TEMA’s social media followers and fans are looking for from our agency, but that may be due to how we are interacting on those platforms. We have 355 followers on Twitter, but a majority (>75%) of them are what I would call information gatherers, like yourself, looking for official information to share through their own distribution channels.

For example, our Twitter followers include the Associated Press and CNN Southeast Desk, as well as various federal, state and local agencies or officials. The general public makes up a small percentage of the direct audience, though they are welcome to receive the messages. TEMA primarily uses Twitter as an automatic distribution mechanism –using Google Feedburner and RSS feeds — for any information that has been updated, such as pictures or maps on Flickr, any official state news releases on TN.Gov or blog postings to TEMA’s website, as well as FEMA releases involving Tennessee and earthquake notices in the region from the U.S. Geological Service.

During the recent flooding, I repeatedly told media outlets that following TEMA on Twitter would ensure they received immediate notice of any new information that we had released. This cut down tremendously on the number of repeat phone calls from those media outlets looking for just routine updates to some previously released information. By utilizing the Twitter lists, I’m also able to get immediate feedback by watching what media outlets are saying about an event, as it is happening. We don’t have a lot of two-way conversations via Twitter though.

Tennessee Emergency Management Agency Twitter page.

The Facebook page, TNDisasterInfo, has 2,483 fans, but the daily impressions are 9,755. This site has much more grassroots appeal to its users. They are able to comment and give direct feedback via Facebook. Sixty-five percent of the fans are female, and most reside in Tennessee. I definitely think that how TEMA uses and interact through social media will continue to change.

In the future, I think emergency organizations will have to monitor social media, like Twitter or others, for ’emergency’ communications from our citizens. We need to adapt to how the public chooses to communicate, or we will lose a piece of situational awareness that is vital to any successful emergency operation.”

Gloria Huang, American Red Cross — “Yes, we definitely have a different community on Twitter versus Facebook. Our Facebook following [202,687] consists of a lot of Red Cross volunteers, donors, workers – people with some personal tie to the organization. As a result, they are incredibly interactive and love sharing and chatting with each other on our Facebook page. Because of that, we try to tailor our content on Facebook to encourage community building and we try to give them interesting topics to talk about. In contrast, our Twitter following [177,206] love to see more disaster-focused tweets. They are interested in hard facts and timely information that they can pass on. That is most of the reason why our Twitter account is so disaster-focused.

The nature of a Facebook Page is very community-oriented; our fans/followers are very happy to declare that they donated blood, or that their mother and grandmothers also volunteered, or that they recently got certified in CPR. On the flip side, the Twitter community is much more public and vast in size – if the information we tweet is current and relevant to what people are talking about (like the Haiti earthquake), it will get spread far and wide.”

Comments on the American Red Cross’ Facebook page.

Christina Stephens, Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management — “Our Twitter followers [2,636]  are interested in news. They expect to get information everyday. Facebook users [1,672] are more likely to want to engage with us and others in a discussion. Those on Facebook tend to be more emotionally connected and Twitter users more informationally connected. But in an emergency we would use them similarly getting information out and receiving feedback. And we would be instructing people to use each to alert their family and friends about their situations.”

Adam Crowe, Johnson County (Kansas) Emergency Management & Homeland Security – “There is significant overlap in the information that we post to Facebook [440] and Twitter [808]. The most significant minor differences are based around the use of multi-media. We typically post videos and pictures to facebook and merely post to Twitter a link back to the Facebook or YouTube page. The on except to this is our automated twitter feed (@jocoalert) that receives automated emergency information such as weather alerts or advisories. Our hope is that people will select to follow this account and be notified vis SMS text – thus creating a community-wide text notification system.”

Johnson County Office of Emergency Management’s Twitter feed.

Rachel Racusen, Federal Emergency Management Administration — “Our Twitter followers [16,492] tend to be interested in news and information. The Facebook page [15,409] offers more opportunity for discussion among and feedback from the public. And, we receive helpful comments on FEMA policies.”

Chi Kong Lui, American Red Cross of Greater New York –”We do see a difference between people who use Facebook versus Twitter under normal circumstances. Twitter is a bit faster paced and noisier. We don’t subject our Facebook fans to the real-time daily disaster updates that appear in our Twitter. That being said, when a major disaster or emergency strikes, the users want useful and relevant information as quickly as possible and in whatever format they can get it. So during a disaster, I think we would look to provide as much updates to both platforms as quickly as possible.”

In the brief video (below), Fugate says FEMA wanted to make the site more focused on helping the public in answer the following questions: “How do I prepare? What do I do when a disaster strikes? And how do I recover?” So, that information is now front and center on the top of the front page of the website.

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate explains why the agency overhauled its website.

We shot the video in a kitchen of the American Red Cross’ Hall of Service across from the White House just after he had spoken to the Emergency Crisis Data Summit about how FEMA was integrating new technology tools, such as the new website, to help the public access and provide disaster information. I apologize for the quality of the video, though it is less shaky than the other one I shot and posted of Fugate that same day. I had not used the Flip camera in seven months and am out of practice.

A screenshot of the new FEMA.Gov website (Credit: TechPresident)

TechPresident also has a link of the previous FEMA.Gov site here if you want to compare.

Thanks to Bill Cumming for sending me the memo; he will be writing about it on his Vacation Lane Blog.

Though Napolitano’s memo has broad policy implications, I wanted to mention (due to the focus of this blog) a particular aspect — the involvement of the public in emergency drills which has been advocated by this blog. As the beginning of the memo, Napolitano writes:

A national exercise program must focus not only on the front lines of prevention, protection, response and recovery–our nation’s first responders-but also engage elected and appointed leadership at all levels of government, the public [my italics] and the private sector.

However, the rest of the memo does not mention any civilian involvement in the exercises. Though I would imagine that this will be worked out as the drilling program is fleshed out. As I have written extensively on the blog, I feel that including the public in these drills is useful both for the first responders and citizens.

Most every top national and local government preparedness official I’ve spoken to believes that preparedness drills for the public would increase citizen readiness and engagement. The difficulty of course is organizing these events. So, if the government is going to undertake major exercises, the opportunity should not be lost to involve the citizenry. Short of an actual incident, a drill is the best way to get people to think through what they would do if something actually happened. (Of course, the surprise or “no notice” drills might be difficult to integrate civilians who are not ordinarily on site but where possible citizens should be included.) It’s an issue that this blog will be following closely.

Napolitano’s memo comes in the context of a debate in the emergency management community about drilling policy as described in an article in April by the Washington Post’s Spencer Hsu:

The decisions are playing into a quiet debate about the future of the large-scale national exercises. Convinced that the drills are the best way to determine whether the nation is prepared for a disaster, some emergency planners and state officials say they fear that as the federal government cuts costs, it may dumb down the tests so participants will pass them more easily. Shying away from the toughest problems, they say, risks repeating the mistakes that were made after Hurricane Katrina, when an unprepared White House and Louisiana governor clashed over who was in charge, how to allocate resources and whether to send in the military.

White House officials and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano say they are trying to improve the national exercises, not undercut them. The drills have grown into unrealistic, costly and over-scripted productions, Napolitano has said, an “elaborate game” rather than opportunities for officials to work through problems.

In the memo, Napolitano asked FEMA’s Fugate to:

Develop a two-year progressive exercise program that increases the total number of exercises and culminates in a full-scale, biennial intergovernmental National Level Exercise (NLE). A progressive exercise program should consist of a series of much more frequent, smaller-scale drills, tabletops, and functional exercises, culminate in a single national level full-scale exercise…

Drills should be primarily no notice, or limited notice, and be conducted periodically during the two-year cycle by partners across DHS and the interagency, focusing on testing a single specific operation or function…

The capstone event ofthe progressive exercise program should be a full-scale intergovernmental National Level Exercise combining the elements and progressive lessons ofthe various drills, tabletops, and functional exercises into a multiday, intergovernmental exercise. This should combine the functional decision-making elements with actual ’boots-on-the-ground’ responders, with exercise elements driven by field actions rather than purely by scripted injects…

I understand that under the current National Exercise Program, NLEs are conducted every 12 months, and that much work and planning has gone into NLE11. Additionally, I believe it is important that a two-year progressive series build from exercise to exercise and function as a coherent, progressive whole, based on objectives and not simply scenarios. I further direct FEMA to conduct a cyber terrorism exercise as planned for NLE 12, and with the exception of the biennial nature of the culminating exercise, to adhere to the above principles in total. In the design of a National Exercise Program, FEMA should plan for the implementation ofa two-year progressive program to commence with the beginning of calendar year 2013.

NPM, sponsored by the Ready Campaign in partnership with Citizen Corps and the Ad Council, “is designed to encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses, and communities.”

So far, there are 2,807 Coalition Members, who will be organizing preparedness activities during the month, which surpasses last year’s 2,700 (though is still short of 2008’s 3,200).

According to Madden. there will be a couple areas of special emphasis this year.

First, there will be a special effort during the Month to get Americans to create an emergency communications plan for their family. In fact, FEMA head Craig Fugate told me in an interview last week that if citizens are going “to do one thing” this National Preparedness Month it is to develop a family plan — described on most emergency management websites. In order to help Americans do the emergency planning, Ready.Gov and the Ad Council are offering some online tools to create a printable comprehensive Family Emergency Plan and an email/text containing basic information that can be shared with others.

Madden said he also hopes the Americans will — if they have not already — check in with their workplaces and kids’ schools about their emergency plans. I mentioned to him that I thought the language in this area on Ready.Gov “Make A Plan” section was not strong enough:

You may [my italics] also want to inquire about emergency plans at places where your family spends time: work, daycare and school. If no plans exist, consider volunteering to help create one.

To me, if the government believes it is important for people to create an emergency plan both to help themselves and to make the job of first responders easier during a disaster then the web site should be willing to say something stronger than they “may also want to inquire.” (”should” would be preferable.) Madden said he agreed.

Another area of focus during the Month is to highlight the growing number of ways that Americans can access(and provide disaster preparedness, response and recovery information, particularly using new technologies such as the new mobile FEMA site, m.FEMA.gov. Madden says that going beyond National Preparedness Month, the Ready Campaign will be continuing to better “tailor” FEMA’s resources to the public’s needs with more platforms and interactivity.

For more information on NPM, click here. To check the NPM activity calendar or add your event, click here. For a NPM widget, click here.  To sign up as a NPM partner, click here.

The questioner urged Fugate to move CERT from the Department of Homeland Security to FEMA’s jurisdiction. Fugate  was able to answer, with smile, “Done,” noting that he now oversees the program which trains citizen teams to assist during emergencies. That answer was easy. However, Fugate knows that determining and then making the necessary changes in CERT to make it most useful for FEMA, local authorities, the citizen volunteers and the nation will not be as simple.

Fugate said that FEMA is considering major changes in the program, including creating a shorter training course which could be offered to more Americans and significantly expanding CERT training for schools and other youth groups in order to better imbed preparedness into society for the long-term.

The CERT program faces a good news/bad news situation, according to Fugate. There are just not enough emergencies in which the civilian teams can take part in. Without activity, it is difficult to keep the citizen volunteers energized, interested and trained.

“Here’s the problem,” he explained, “People say I’ve taken all this training and there are no disasters. Well that’s good thing.” Maybe for the nation as a whole but not for the strength of the CERT program. (The C-SPAN video of Fugate’s speech is here.)

FEMA and local emergency management officials have to answer, in Fugate’s words, “a perennial question we run into: after CERT training, what’s next?”

And more importantly what’s next for the CERT program as a whole?

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate talks about the CERT program at the Red Cross’ Emergency Social Data Summit on Thursday.

As Fugate correctly diagnoses, there is need for some changes in the program. Right now, in most places there is just not enough work for CERT’s to do. It is a theme that I also hear from members around the nation who contact me through the blog, and I see from my own experience as a CERT here in New York City.

But while CERT teams are not getting enough business, Fugate is bullish about a larger market for preparedness training among the general public.

“We’re looking if there are ways we can take the CERT training and break it up. A lot of [business and social] groups have approached us and said we think this is really great but attention span of our audience won’t get you there. [At present, the CERT training is 20 hours, usually taught over 10 weeks.] But if you could give us 2-4 hours and we could give you our group what could you put together for us in that time that would empower and train people not necessary not to the level of CERT.”

From my experience both serving and reporting on CERT, the idea of spreading its resources out more broadly through the community for adults and kids makes a lot of sense.

One question is how the government should organize this new horizontal model of citizen preparedness training. What should stay under CERT? Should these new ideas (shorter training for adults, kids) be put in another high profile civilian volunteer preparedness or resilience program?

I’ve always felt that CERT training is less about the skills you learn and more about awareness about the community and the various emergency authorities (and identifying citizen crisis organizers in advance). To me, CERT is just basic citizenship training for the 21st Century, which I think every American should get a chance to receive. I might suggest that the smaller reduced curriculum be called something along the lines of “Citizen Resilience Training”.

The overarching philosophy of CERT is terrific: take advantage of citizen’s desire to want to help in crises and their ability to be useful. I believe that interest is even more robust since 9/11, Katrina and with other threats on the horizon. (The rapid  growth of the CrisisCommons citizen technology initiative over the past year is just one example of how much public interest there is to assist in emergency situations.)

An extensive survey done by the Citizen Corps (which oversees the CERT program) found that almost two-thirds (64%) of Americans say they would be willing to take a 20-hour training class to assist their community recover from disasters. The 64% figure was striking to me, because it points out an interest of many Americans to become more knowledgeable in emergency preparedness/response. That’s not to say that two-thirds of the population want to join the CERT program, but it does seem to indicate that a lot of Americans would be amenable to some sort of disaster education/training — particularly it was held in their workplace, house of worship, social club, etc.

Now, there are some communities around the U.S. where CERT teams are more fully engaged with activities than others. When I asked readers last month for their thoughts on CERT, Paul Garth from an Ojai, California team said it was up to the members themselves to go out and find things to do, which his group had. To some extent, Garth is right that CERTs themselves should try to develop ideas, but it can also be difficult because they are usually dependent on government emergency officials.

One question is whether the expectations for CERT service be more clearly delineated. There are no ‘cuts’ for anyone who passes the training, and then there are some members who go to every meeting and assignment and others who never show up. It can be difficult to keep a cohesive, engaged group going when some of the team — particularly when it involves sensitive emergency activities — are not fully committed.

It might make sense to have a better-trained CERT civilian group along the lines of another Citizen Corps program, Medical Reserve Corps, which is comprised of volunteer medical personnel. That might make government officials more comfortable in integrating CERT volunteers into its activities like a police auxiliary.

Fugate’s idea of broadening CERT-type training may be most useful when it comes to a younger generation. He believes that if the nation really wants to change social behavior on preparedness it needs to do so with the younger generation — who are not only more impressible than adults but are more likely to influence their parents and will also have a more long-term influence.

It would also be an opportunity to include preparedness into the curriculum in the schools where Fugate believes a culture of preparedness has the best chance of becoming imbedded. One useful historical model is the commitment to school-based fire education after the 1974 publication of the national “America Burning” report. In some cases, youth preparedness/CERT training can piggy back on these existing classroom programs.

Fugate mentioned that there are some excellent CERT programs for young people in parts of the nation. I recently wrote about interesting youth initiatives sponsored by READYColorado and the Colorado Division of Emergency Management, including the creation of a teenage ‘Social Media Response Team’ to help the authorities and the public during disasters. Eastern Michigan University has also taken leadership in developing Teen CERT programs in a number of states

I believe that a decision to expand CERT-type training in the schools would be welcomed on a bipartisan basis. In an interview I did with former Bush Administration Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff last year he agreed that a key to creating a long-term prepared nation is to focus on schools and kids. In the discussion, he sketched out two suggestions  – a “minimum” and a “maximum” approach. The “minimum” would be “to get the fire management and emergency management people to come together to create a program to be exported to the schools on basic preparation.”

Chertoff’s “maximum” option is that there be a more substantive course developed for U.S. schools on planning and preparation, which would include teaching “basic skills”. It would almost serve as a very limited albeit useful national basic training.

“If you’re not going to have a national service then as part of graduation from high school there should be a course over a period of time that teaches you the kind of basic things you might need in an emergency,” Chertoff says, adding “It’s going to do two things. It’s going to create a cadre of more capable people, but it is also going to demystify the process of preparation. Most people are intimidated that they don’t know how to do it. They’re afraid of being embarrassed.”

As FEMA officials examine what to do with CERT going forward, I imagine they will be undertaking an analysis of the future need and demand. Though it is a very well-intentioned idea — and I have really enjoyed and learned from my CERT work — there may well be that there a limit to what moderately trained part-time volunteers can really do in the official emergency services world. Maybe the bulk of CERT volunteers who are willing to commit just to the basic training and limited participation would be better to be transferred to the disaster services unit of Red Cross chapters from around the U.S.. which is busier with fires and local emergencies.

I recommend that FEMA  should also reach out to some CERT team leaders/members in communities around the U.S. as government officials do not always know what is going on within the CERT teams (as this blog post from state emergency management official Mark Chubb underscores).

To me, civilian CERT members can best serve the community by being, in Fugate’s words, preparedness “ambassadors” providing information and guidance to their neighbors. When it comes to citizen preparedness, there is a real need for explanation and modeling, and CERT members can be hugely helpful in part as emergency management offices don’t always have the time always the inclination to do so. Further, the growth of social media platforms underscore the value of friend-to-friend, peer-to-peer education both before and during emergencies.

I received a thoughtful e-mail last year from the State of Florida’s former CERT coordinator Bill Firestone who served under Fugate in which he elaborates on the value of the “ambassador” role.

While it’s very unlikely that most CERTers will participate in a mass casualty triage or perform in pairs in fire suppression, CERTers will talk to their neighbor, participate in their children’s schools, attend neighborhood activities. Consequently, they can reach out to people that government and non-profit preparedness messages cannot reach or it is too expensive.

In my role as a “CERTer”, here in Florida, I am reaching out to neighbors and talking to them about the network of non-profits in disaster and the importance of knowing what services and assistance they can provide before and after disaster. Here in hurricane-prone Florida I have begun to send along the url for information about the importance of completing an SBA loan application and how that is tied to receiving additional disaster assistance. Most of my neighbors that have incurred damages to their house have been told about the low-interest loans following disaster, but not aware of the other benefits to completing the application.

If you have any thoughts on FEMA’s reevaluation of CERT, I’d love to hear them.

Handing out preparedness information at a Manhattan street fair with my own youth CERT in training.

I asked him about the role of social media in disasters, how he has benefited from having (and tweeting on) his own Twitter account, and what he wants to accomplish during the upcoming National Preparedness Month in September. The four-and-half-minute video is below.

My videography does leave a little bit to be desired (the shakiness was not the result of a sudden earthquake in D.C. though there were some powerful storms in the area, and there is also short break in the interview after the first question as I fiddle with a sticky Flip camera button. (I am a little out of practice having not shot a video for the blog in 7 months.)

In the video, which was shot in the kitchen of the Red Cross’ Hall of Service, Fugate says:

* social media provides FEMA and other emergency management agencies the chance to get 2-way input from disaster survivors to better shape response to their needs in a crisis. He notes FEMA is trying to offer emergency information to the public in “flexible” formats that match how they will be using it before and during a disaster (such as on their smartphones).

* his Twitter account @CraigatFEMA (and he does his own “tweets) helps “get rid of the mystique of being an administrator of a federal agency. There always seem to be these barriers between you and interacting with people everyday.”

* for National Preparedness Month, he wants Americans to do at least one thing: create an emergency communications plan for their family. Fugate says that sometimes authorities make preparedness too complex and believes developing a family plan — described on most emergency management websites — is a good disaster readiness “first step”. (He also slips in some nice words about this blog in this answer, which were totally unsolicited but very much appreciated.)

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate talks about social media, preparedness and the public.

(UPDATE: Ed O’Keefe who writes the interesting “Federal Eye” blog for The Washington Post was at the Crisis Data event and just did a post about the Fugate interview here.)

The Ready.Gov site is now offering 8 languages in addition to English — Russian, French, Tagalog, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Haitian Creole and Spanish.

A screenshot of Ready.Gov’s Russian language site.

The Facebook post piqued my curiosity about the FEMA course whose introductory Overview explains:

“has been designed to help the citizens of this nation learn how to protect themselves and their families against all types of hazards…By reading and following the instructions in this guide you and your family can say, Yes, we are ready!”

As this is ostensibly the government’s baseline for judging whether citizens are “ready” for disasters, I thought I would read through the course material. After finishing it, I had two overall reactions:

1) there is a real need to review and refine what government authorities are telling the public about preparedness and what “we are ready” should mean for American citizens.

2) as part of that review process, it would be very useful for top federal (as well as state and local) emergency management officials to hold open forums — maybe using the “Are You Ready” class format somewhat along the lines of the Kansas City Medical Reserve Corps course writ large — in order to solicit questions and input about preparedness from Americans. These types of events would bring new attention to the subject as well as stimulate an important and overdue dialogue integrating the public in helping determine policy about public preparedness.

First, as far as the content of the “Are You Ready? An In-Depth Guide To Citizen Preparedness”, I want to highlight what I think are some significant shortcomings and disconnects. For example, right at the beginning of the course, Chapter 1.1, “Getting Informed,” instructs the public to:

Learn about the hazards that may strike your community, the risks you face from these hazards, and your community’s plans for warning and evacuation. You can obtain this information from your local emergency management office or your local chapter of the American Red Cross…

Ask local authorities about each possible hazard or emergency and use the worksheet that follows to record your findings and suggestions for reducing your family’s risk…

There is a major problem here: the government is putting far too much of the onus on the public — telling citizens it is only their responsibility to ask rather than taking the initiative to inform them if it is that important. The fact is that in many parts of the nation (including here in New York) the average citizen cannot just contact the local emergency management office and get a hazard briefing. Further down in the same chapter, the public is also told to request information that is not fully accessible or available to them:

Ask local authorities about methods used to warn your community…

Ask local authorities about emergency evacuation routes…

Ask local officials the following questions about your community’s disaster/emergency plans. Does my community have a plan? Can I obtain a copy?

The fact is that FEMA is recommending people undertake a time consuming and unfamiliar task that in many cases they actually will not be able to accomplish by themselves. Shouldn’t the government at all levels have more responsibility to take the initiative in communicating this the information to the community rather than wait until individual citizens contact them?

Ok, so how do you begin this discussion? I have an idea that was provoked by seeing the photos from this weekend’s Kansas City class: why not hold open public forums on preparedness? These national seminars would be coordinated with similar events run by state and local emergency managers. This would bring new attention to citizen readiness and provide the public with the opportunity to both ask questions and as importantly offer input. I think FEMA head Craig Fugate would do a terrific job of leading such forums as would a number of state and local officials.

As Tip O’Neill might have said, (almost) all disaster preparedness and response is local. But the federal government does have a significant role in public education, particularly when it comes to terrorism and major disasters. In fact, Homeland Security Janet Napolitano in a speech at Harvard University earlier this year made that point saying that Americans deserve a “clear appraisement” of the terror threats, “because I believe the American people want, and deserve, candor about what we face.” That appraisement still needs to be delivered. National officials also have a megaphone and platform that is necessary to get the issue on the media and political agenda.

Fugate began a review discussion of the government’s recommendations last year when he tweaked the agency’s central readiness preparedness message emphasizing family plans over supply kits. Others in the emergency management community are also increasingly asking out loud some basic questions about citizen preparedness such as ‘what really is prepared?‘ One question after going through the entire 200-page “Are You Ready?” document is whether we’re asking the public to do and know too much — in fact, I would argue that we’re both giving the public too much information but not enough of what they really need to be ready.

Whenever I attend local public events on preparedness, citizens always have specific questions about specific threats, evacuation plans, emergency communications that cannot be answered fully with general preparedness boilerplate. The fact is that government officials have not fully leveled with the public on preparedness, giving them all the information they need to be really prepared. Without having an open, interactive discussion we are not really going to make progress on really ‘getting informed’ or figuring out if “you [and I] are ready?” and what that means. I think a series of preparedness forums at a national and then state and local level would be very helpful as part of that process.

Over the past few days as Bonnie has been forming in the Atlantic, FEMA decided to send out preparedness information on its Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FEMA) for the first time in Spanish as well as English. The appearance of a bilingual announcements sparked some surprise and concern from a few commenters on the page and has launched a spirited discussion online with the balance of the posts were supportive of the approach.

For example, FEMA’s 14,022 ‘fans’ received these two posts on their feed back-to-back:

The addition of a Spanish post provoked reaction from commenters. A sample pro/con:

Chris Bartus: “…I understand it’s important to communicate but I don’t want to read the Spanish posting anymore than I want to read the German or French posting. It won’t help me.”

Michelle O’Leary: “Clear communication is essential when it comes to disaster preparedness and response and this is great, especially for those who haven’t quite mastered the (American) English language. Thanks, FEMA!”

I can understand that it was a little surprising for some of FEMA’s Facebook ‘fans’ to see a Spanish posting on their pages. But I do think it makes sense for the agency to use the full potential of social media to distribute information to specific populations. In fact, one commenter, Terry Akins, raised a bigger question that FEMA and all emergency management agencies will be wrestling with going forward:

“…I am curious how many fans does FEMA have that use Spanish as a primary language? Are you truly having effective outreach through the use of Facebook to minority communities? If so,that’s great! But I wonder how truly effective this medium is to ESOL populations…..I’d enjoy the feedback on this please.”

What I thought was particularly interesting and refreshing about the online debate was less the issue itself but that it gave the public a chance to weigh in directly with government officials in developing policy dealing with the public. It also led to discussions on other Facebook pages, including an independent Facebook site managed by Citizen Corps volunteers, which posed this further question to its users: ”To continue on the discussion about the power of FB and communication in multiple languages. What about emergency alert systems, should/shouldn’t they be communicated in multiple languages?”

I spoke to Jason Lindesmith from FEMA New Media this morning about the language debate. He said that the agency decided to disseminate Spanish versions of the preparedness information this week on Facebook since the storm was over Puerto Rico and was headed to South Florida, both areas with large Hispanic populations. Lindesmith says that the agency’s Facebook presence is still a “work in progress,” and that it will be developing ways for users to tailor their own access to various languages in the future.

Ironically, Lindesmith’s boss, Administrator Craig Fugate, could have used some Russian translation today for his Twitter feed. He tweeted (below) only in English that he is in Moscow today signing an agreement with his Ministry of the Russian Federation for Affairs of Civil Defence, Emergencies and Disaster Relief (EMERCOM).

I am supportive of this new initiative. But I received two critical comments on the post, which I think nicely represent the skepticism that a good deal of the public has about these citizen terrorism awareness campaigns. They prompted me to write this separate post pointing out the difficult (yet do-able) challenge facing DHS and FEMA in designing both the content and then carefully implementing a meaningful program.

(This skepticism will only be increased by the publication this week of a major Washington Post series, “Top Secret America”, which will raise more questions among the public about the need to further expand security. Its thesis: ”The top-secret world the government created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has become so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work.”)

The two comments I received last week on the blog post:

“Hmmm, to what extent do these programs produce valuable intelligence versus wasting law enforcement time and effort and infringing citizen privacy and rights by putting public security surveillance in the hands (and eyes) of untrained people.” (Roberto)

“FEMA is wasting tax money by interfering with local law enforcement citizens and law enforcement have already demonstrated capacity to respond but FEMA has not FEMA needs to do what it is qualified to do: write checks.” (Dr. Marchand)

These are typical of the reaction I hear from some Americans — coming from all political stripes — who question such a citizen role whether it be for philosophical or logistical reasons. It echoes the feedback Janet Napolitano heard last year at a major speech on public involvement in homeland security she made at the Council on Foreign Relations.

A small portion of her remarks that morning touched on her plans to have the agency take “a much closer look at how we can support and inform our greatest asset, individual citizens, and with them the private sector. You are the ones who know if something is not right in your communities, such as a suspicious package or unusual activity…with basic training, every one of us can become better first preventers as well as first responders.”

Afterwards, it was a little surprising but revelatory that the much of the question-and-answer portion was taken up by audience members expressing concern about that making Americans better “first preventers” might impinge on civil liberties. And, this was from a politically friendly and highly sophisticated crowd.

So, as DHS and FEMA start planning how to expand the program, I wanted to relay the input I have received on this issue. These comments have only reinforced my reporting that it will be challenging to develop and implement a program that really does capitalize on the public as a homeland asset but does so in a careful, sensitive and useful way. It will require research on how these unfamiliar threats should be best communicated to the public using new technologies.

It will need to show specifically how the public can be helpful in helping law enforcement and share more success stories as models. And, it should emphasize that any anti-terror initiative will ask the same things of the citizenry that many of us are already doing in our communities on crime prevention as part of efforts like Neighborhood Watch.

The Washington Post series will undoubtedly raise questions about creating even more security initiatives and might have an impact on the development of the national “See Something, Say Something” campaign. But I think that would be a mistake. There is a need to further involve the public as an asset in the nation’s homeland security. But what it does underscore is that any program needs to have a sharp focus, clear objectives, ongoing communication and followup if it is to work.

Throughout his tenure, Fugate has been a major advocate of personal technology (particularly smart phones) as a disaster preparedness and response tool for the public, and he smartly often shoots quick Flip videos to amplify his message through social media.

FEMA head Craig Fugate displays how disaster survivors can apply for assistance on their smart phones

“These are people who have given their time and energy, offered skills and capabilities, been leaders in providing education and training, responded to crises and disasters, or simply made a call when they saw something suspicious. As a result, they have saved lives, property, or positively impacted their communities. These are the individuals we wish to highlight and celebrate.”

If you would like to nominate someone for an “Individual Achievement Award,” send an email explaining how that person has made a difference to citizencorps@dhs.gov with “Outstanding Individual” in the subject line by August 15th.

The site also has widgets for other FEMA readiness efforts, including hurricane preparedness.

In order to help develop the new program, FEMA’s Individual and Community Preparedness Division is partnering with the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) to research how to improve the public’s response to suspicious activity. FEMA and IACP plan to present the research findings and recommendations at the police group’s Annual Conference in late October.

I think it is a terrific partnership which recognizes that the while the local “See Something, Say Something” campaigns are viewed as successful, law enforcement authorities are not yet fully tapping the public’s potential as a homeland security asset. The challenge is new, sensitive and requires some careful study both in the content and distribution which I expect it will receive from the joint FEMA/IACP research.

More details on the project should be forthcoming soon, and I will report on them here.

According to a Chicago Tribune article on the study:

“I think everybody knows, as we saw things unfolding (in the study), that there are significant gaps in the preparedness for this type of earthquake,” the study’s lead author, University of Illinois professor Amr Elnashai said Friday. “FEMA will have a very clear idea of what is missing, and hopefully they will have some type to fill some gaps.”

FEMA is working toward holding a national-level disaster drill next year that simulates a big New Madrid quake. ”This comprehensive study has not only assisted in our planning and preparedness efforts, but should serve as a reminder to the public that disaster can strike at any time, and we all need to be prepared,” FEMA spokesman Bradley Carroll said in a statement.

The study was completed late last year but was just recently released. It focuses on Missouri, Arkansas and Tennessee, where the New Madrid seismic zone lies deep underground, as well as Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Indiana and Alabama.

The Tribune article continues:

The fault zone has a long history of big earthquakes, including four in 1811 and 1812 estimated to have been magnitude 7.0 or greater. The region was sparsely populated but the quake caused land slides and waves on the Mississippi that swamped boats; it also opened deep fissures in the ground. The shaking was felt as far away as New England.

The Illinois study assumed a magnitude-7.7 quake based on recommendations from the U.S. Geological Survey, Elnashai said. About 7.2 million people wouldn’t be able to live in their homes, at least not within a few days after the initial quake, and 2 million would temporary shelter.

“Many, many, many — maybe 80 percent — of the numbers you are seeing in the report would turn into long-term dislocation,” Elnashai said. The study also concluded that nearly 715,000 buildings would be damaged and 2.6 million households would be without electricity.

The study predicts extensive damage in both St. Louis and Memphis, Tenn., the two largest cities near the fault zone. ”There are also disruptions of the transport system that we think will be debilitating,” he said. “(State and local governments) will need to fix and repair lots of bridges, more than we’re ready to handle.”

Utilities also are likely to struggle to find enough contractors to quickly repair what could be many substantial natural gas leaks, the study predicts.

The study urges state and local governments to retrofit hospitals, fire stations, police stations, nuclear power plants and other essential facilities to improve their odds of holding up in a big quake.

The study should be a planning tool for the affected states, Elnashai said. But he said it should also help convince state officials and the public that preparedness is worth considering and paying for, particularly during a recession.

Your local emergency management website (or office) is a place to start. There is also assistance at the “Determine Your Risk” page of  FEMA’s “Prepare for a Disaster” section. Among the steps it recommends taking: Identify possible hazards and emergencies (“Possible Hazards and Emergencies”); Review maps of your area FEMA Maps; Calculate your risk with assessment tools; Learn about FEMA’s mitigation activities; Identify possible hazards and emergencies. And, as we enter hurricane season, the National Weather Service’s “Storm Prediction Center” can also be helpful.

San Francisco’s 72Hours.org site