In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

I recently read an interesting report, “A Strategy for Developing ‘A Culture of Preparedness,’” which summarizes the work of FEMA Region V’s “2009 “Preparedness Summit.” Held in Chicago in January, the Summit brought together 75 government and non-government experts from a number of fields “to generate ideas toward creating a culture of preparedness.”
James Opoka, Region [...]

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A new post, “The Best Notification,” by Rick Wimberly on EmergencyMgmt.com’s Alerts and Notifications blog summarizes an interesting report Wimberly issued this year, Notifications, Alerts, Warnings: The Next Generation.
As governments at all levels try to determine the optimal alert/warning systems, Wimberly, president of Galain Solutions, argues for a “system of systems” which encompasses myriad distribution methods:
Get five [...]

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A new American Red Cross survey has found that women seem to to be making more of an effort on H1N1 prevention than men, but that most Americans are preparing for a new flu outbreak. The poll also revealed that one in five households includes a member of has gone to work or school when [...]

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I attended a very interesting hearing on Capitol Hill late last week, “Preparedness: State of Citizen and Community Preparedness,” held by the House Subcommittee on Emergency Communications, Preparedness, and Response which is chaired by Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX).
At the hearing, Bill Jenkins Jr. from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) presented a preliminary report, Emergency Management Preliminary Observations on FEMA’s Community Preparedness Programs Related to [...]

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After I posted DHS’s 2006 “Civil Defense And Homeland Security” report last month, Bill Cumming reminded me about another study, Amanda Dory’s “Civil Security: Americans And The Challenge Of Homeland Security,” published by the Center For Strategic & International Studies (CSIS).
I read Dory’s terrific report when it was released in 2003. And, six years later, as the [...]

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A new Rand Corporation study, The Role of Nongovernmental Organizations in Long-Term Human Recovery after Disaster: Reflections from Louisiana Four Years After Hurricane Katrina, recommends more attention for “human recovery” after disasters and provide more support for non-profit group response efforts. According to the Rand press release:
Focusing on the region damaged by Hurricane Katrina four [...]

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This past weekend, I finished two good books that are definitely worth reading for anyone interested in emergency preparedness and response: Homeland Security And Federalism: Protecting America From Outside The Beltway (Praeger International) by Matt A. Mayer and A Paradise Built In Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise In Disaster (Viking) by Rebecca Solnit.
At a time [...]

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Though it divided on whether or not to maintain the color alert system, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) advisory committee yesterday unanimously recommended that the Obama Administration make the government’s terrorism warning communications more robust, specific, transparent and actionable.
The Homeland Security Advisory System Task Force was appointed earlier this summer by DHS Secretary Napolitano. [...]

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I just read an interesting report “Civil Defense and Homeland Security: A Short History of National Preparedness Efforts” which was originally issued by the Department of Homeland Security in September, 2006. I had not seen the study which offers a good, compact 35-page summary of previous public preparedness initiatives. As the Obama Administration starts revamping [...]

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In their new books, former DHS Secretaries Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff both say that there is a need to engage the American public in a discussion on risk and homeland security priorities. That’s also one of the recommendations in a recent report, “Improving Strategic Risk Management at the Department of Homeland Security,” from the [...]

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