In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

This edition of the “What Should We Tell The Public?” video series features Lt. Erica Arteseros, the coordinator of the Neighborhood Emergency Response Team (NERT) in San Francisco, the city’s equivalent of CERT.

In the video, Arteseros encourages citizens to consider volunteering for NERT or CERT because “getting involved is one of the most empowering things you can do.”

LT. ERICA ARTESEROS,  SAN FRANCISCO FIRE DEPARTMENT/NERT PROGRAM (ABOVE)

As September’s National Preparedness Month activities end, we move directly to National Cyber Security Month in October. It’s an appropriate transition. With cyber threats increasingly a central part of the nation’s homeland security portfolio the special months have some things  in common, particularly when it comes to the public. In fact, it may be time to consider integrating some cyber security preparedness steps into the government’s basic citizen readiness recommendations.

Though much of the high-tech work on this issue is being done by government and the private sector, National Cyber Security Awareness Month aims to underscore that average computer users also have a role according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS):

“The theme for National Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2009 is ‘Our Shared Responsibility’ to reinforce the message that all computer users, not just industry and government, have a responsibility to practice good ‘cyber hygiene’ and to protect themselves and their families at home, at work and at school.”

At the DHS website, computer users can find: ”a few simple steps to keep themselves safe online. By doing so, you will not only keep your personal assets and information secure but you will also help to improve the overall security of cyberspace…There are many things businesses, schools, and home users can do to practice cybersecurity during National Cybersecurity Awareness Month and beyond.” They include:

* Make sure that you have anti-virus software and firewalls installed, properly configured, and up-to-date. New threats are discovered every day, and keeping your software updated is one of the easier ways to protect yourself from an attack. Set your computer to automatically update for you.

* Update your operating system and critical program software. Software updates offer the latest protection against malicious activities. Turn on automatic updating if that feature is available.

* Back up key files. If you have important files stored on your computer, copy them onto a removable disc and store it in a safe place.

In trying to get the public to prepare for cyber threats, government — as well as industry in this case — faces some of the same obstacles as informing and readying the citizenry for other threats. Here too, there is a need to more fully illustrate the potential dangers and show how the average user can really have an impact on the nation’s cyber security effort.

In recent posts, I have highlighted a couple of major California preparedness events occurring in mid-October — “The Great California Shakeout” and “The Great Rumble”. I wanted to mention another one, the “Ojai OK Drill,” which takes place next week.

Organized by the Ojai Valley CERT, the “OK Drill” aims to improve the community’s emergency readiness. Beginning at 7pm on October 14th, residents will be asked to: review their disaster plan and check their emergency supplies; tune into their local AM Emergency Radio stations for instructions; ‘check’ on their neighbors; and post a yellow and black “OK” sign in a window facing a street or mailbox.

In an interview on Radio Ojai last month, an “OK Drill” organizer Paul Garth provides more information about the exercise. He also makes the good point that despite the big drill “preparedness is not a single event but an ongoing conversation”. In the interview, Garth discusses the impact of his CERT training — noting the level of empowerment that can come from just pulling a fire extinguisher for the first time during training and explaining his involvement in ‘Ham Radio’.

The OK Drill is a terrific example of individual citizens working with officials to create a significant preparedness event involving all stakeholders. If you would like more information, go to okdrill.blogspot.com.

OJAI VALLEY CERT MEMBERS DURING FIRE SAFETY TRAINING (ABOVE)

I had the great pleasure to be a guest on the latest episode of the “Ready Radio” show co-hosted by Robin Parker and Lise Harwin. Parker and Harwin are the impresarios (or as they might say it, imprep-e-sarios) behind the terrific Cross Blog of the Oregon Trail Red Cross.

In the segment, we discuss how I got involved in the issue of citizen preparedness, my activities as a member of the CERT program in New York City, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano’s recent speech recommending that Americans ask “What’s Our Plan?” in their community, and the Flu.Gov Citizen H1N1 Video PSA contest. The 10-minute interview comes at the beginning of the show (audio file here).

An archive of all their shows can be found on the PDX.FM website here. You can also subscribe to “Ready Radio” through iTunes.

In Denver yesterday, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano helped unveil a new video, “Recognizing 8 Signs of Terrorism” narrated by former NFL star quarterback John Elway to help citizens identify signs of terrorist activity.

The 8-minute video can be seen below or found online at www.thecell.org.

“RECOGNIZING 8 SIGNS OF TERRORISM” VIDEO (ABOVE)

Napolitano has spoken often about using the public as an asset in the nation’s homeland security yet the challenge is offering Americans guidance on exactly how to do so. This type of video is helpful in doing so. I would suggest that more law enforcement agencies around the U.S. use it or something similar to educate the public.

The video, produced with DHS grant funding, is narrated by Elway with Denver television reporter Kim Christiansen. It was produced through a partnership between the Colorado Office of Homeland Security, the Colorado Department of Agriculture, the Colorado Information Analysis Center (CIAC) and the Center for Empowered Living & Learning (The CELL) — a non-profit institution dedicated to addressing the global threat of terrorism. The video was shown during Secretary Napolitano’s tour of the CELL’s current exhibit, “Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere: Understanding the Threat of Terrorism.”

With the start of H1N1 vaccine distribution yesterday, there were a number of useful articles (and one webinar) I thought I would post and excerpt:

* “Swine Flu Reaches An Anxious Nation” – (New York Times)

“The fear of swine flu is being compounded by new worries, this time among primary care doctors who say that they are swamped by calls from patients seeking the new vaccine, and that they are ill-prepared to cope with the nationwide drive to immunize everyone, particularly children and chronically ill adults.”

* “America Takes On Swine Flu” — Opinion (NYTimes.com)

“The roll-out of the swine flu vaccination program, one of the largest such drives in U.S. history, started Monday. The federal government has ordered 250 million doses of vaccine, which will be distributed by state health officials this fall.

Yet surveys have found that a large portion of the public is uncertain about getting the vaccine, either because of concerns about potential side effects or because they sense the health warnings about the H1N1 virus are overblown. At the same time, many doctors worry that they are ill-prepared to handle the nationwide drive to immunize everyone. We asked some doctors and public health experts, will such an ambitious immunization program work? What worries you most?”

David Ozonoff, epidemiologist, Boston University

Gregory Dworkin, pediatric pulmonologist

Robert Blendon, Harvard School of Public Health

Kevin Pho, primary care doctor

* “The 0.5 Pandemic. Relax. H1N1 is not going to be nearly as bad as you may have been led to believe…Unless …” — Cover story (New York)

“Despite the widespread outbreaks, the virus seems to have evolved—not genetically, but in the minds of public-health officials. What looked like a lethal miscreant in the spring looks a little different now—still capable of causing serious disease and rare deaths in vulnerable groups, like pregnant women and young children—but not the second coming of 1918’s global pandemic. Officials just hope it stays that way.”

* “The ‘Great Flu’ vs. Today’s” – Interview with author John Barry (Boston Globe) – [Thanks to Michael Coston for flagging this article and for all his work in this area.]

“Q. What’s similar and what’s different about the two pandemics?

A. The pattern in terms of spread seems to be like not only 1918 but pandemics in 1889, 1957, where there were sputters of intermittent outbreaks, sort of like you turn an engine over and it coughs, coughs, coughs before it catches fire. In 1918, there were hints all through the spring it could be something really nasty. But so far this year, we’ve not seen clusters where a lot of people in the same area have suffered severe illness or death.”

* And finally, the video of a recent webinar, “Social Media and Technology Breakthroughs: H1N1 and Seasonal Flu Communication,” is now available. The webinar was sponsored by the Center of Excellence for Risk and Crisis Communications at Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., American Public Health Association, International Association of Emergency Managers, and the National Association of Government Communicators.

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 the National Preparedness System, which said that FEMA does not currently have an overall strategic plan for community preparedness or the ability to accurately measure the performance of its various citizen readiness initiatives.

“The operating budgets for community preparedness programs currently represent less than one-half of 1 percent of FEMA’s total budget,” the report noted. “In fiscal year 2009, FEMA’s overall budget was about $7.9 billion, of which about $5.8 million was dedicated to operating community preparedness programs and $2.1 million was for the Ready Campaign.”

FEMA’s Deputy Administrator for National Preparedness Timothy Manning who also testified on the panel, said he not yet had a chance to closely examine the brand new GAO report (though he said he didn’t disagree with much of Jenkins’ testimony to the Subcommittee). And in his own written testimony, Manning made this instructive statement: ”Since September 11, 2001, and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, the United States has invested tens of billions of dollars in bolstering government’s [his italics] preparedness, while paying little attention to personal and community preparedness.”

At the end of the hearing, Cuellar requested that Manning over the next two weeks develop a preliminary outline of a FEMA strategic plan for community and citizen preparedness that will include the vision, objectives and ways to measure success, and return to the Subcommittee to present it. Cuellar said he wasn’t blaming Manning, who was confirmed just five months ago, and the new FEMA management for the lack of a strategic plan. But by putting a quick turnaround deadline on the request, the Congressman wanted to underscore the need for fast action and for renewed focus on the issue.

Earlier in the week, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano delivered a major speech on preparedness to mark the end of National Preparedness Month. She said that in order to improve our nation’s readiness all Americans should “raise your hand and ask, ‘What’s our plan?’” at meetings of their local community organizations. In some ways, Rep. Cuellar did exactly that at the Subcommittee hearing in regard to the nation’s overall community preparedness plan.

In his testimony, Manning made this pledge: “Increasing individual and community preparedness and resiliency is a FEMA priority; it is also a national priority, and I will make it a personal priority during my tenure.”

The hearing was called in part to examine a recent Citizen Corps survey which had many interesting findings (most of which highlighted shortcomings in public preparedness) and a number of useful recommendations (most of which urged far more attention be given to the subject).

Also testifying at the hearing were Suzy C. DeFrancis, Chief Public Affairs Officer, American Red Cross and Wendy Smith, Assistant City Manager, McAllen, Texas.

In his opening remarks, Cuellar mentioned a recent post from this blog, “On Sept 11, Some Ideas To Improve Emergency Preparedness & Engagement,” and introduced it into the hearing record.

In a statement after the hearing, Cuellar explained why he requested Manning produce a preliminary plan and return to the Subcommittee within a couple weeks:

“There is a new administration overseeing FEMA and I look forward to seeing their vision for how we can create a national preparedness strategy which puts an emphasis on citizen preparedness…It’s been eight years since the attacks of 9/11 and while we’ve been fortunate to not experience an event as devastating we see local emergencies unfolding across the country everyday. Fires, floods, tornadoes, snow storms, hurricanes. During these events, Americans continue to show they’re willing to respond when disaster strikes…We need FEMA to draft a strategy on how we harness that willingness to contribute before the crisis occurs.”

In fact, even the events of the past two weeks — significant terrorism arrests in several parts of the nation, major flooding in Georgia and other Southeastern states, the American Samoa tsunami, Asian earthquakes and H1N1 spreading in all 50 states — would seem to only reinforce the need for bolstering community preparedness. And, with all these crises in the news, one might have thought this hearing would have received a good deal of attention. Yet, there was only one reporter there (Matthew Korade from CQ Homeland Security), which just seems to highlight one theme of the hearing that despite the apparent importance of community and individual preparedness the subject is often overlooked.

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 Obama Administration develops plans to bolster public engagement and resilience, ”Civil Security” is still very useful. The CSIS web site provides this overview:

During the Cold War, a comprehensive program of civil defense was designed to address Americans’ survival concerns in relation to the threat of a massive Soviet nuclear attack. Today we need a new concept — “civil security” — that recalls the nation’s experience with civil defense and updates it, addressing and enhancing the ability of Americans to recognize danger, limit damage, and recover from terrorist attacks. In so doing, we should learn from the nation’s experiences, both positive and negative, with Cold War civil defense, as well as the many related aspects of coping with natural disasters and public health emergencies.

Author Amanda Dory proposes a framework that links four key components needed to increase Americans’ resilience before and during a terrorist attack — risk education, preparedness, warning, and protective actions. She devotes a chapter to each of these components and concludes with policy recommendations that bring more coherence to disparate post-September 11 activities and initiatives as well as increased attention to the important role the American public can and should play in homeland security.

The first 20 of the report’s 97 pages are available for free here. Or “Civil Security” in its entirety can be purchased here.

During National Preparedness Month in September, the Red Cross Oregon Trail chapter ran a contest on Twitter called Just1Thing which asked twitterers to tweet just one thing they had done this month to become prepared.

Below is a list of the Just1Things that the twitterers did (I actually did just 2 things in an unsuccessful attempt to win the contest’s cool Red Cross-themed prizes, including a vintage first aid kit pictured below):

KalCobalt: Gave house keys to trusted folks so if I’m separated from home by an emergency, my kitty can be cared for!

bbenagni: September is preparedness month! In the office, we are doing mandatory management fire safety training.

LouiseHornor: If we get separated from each other or our RV, our emergency meeting place will be closest Red Cross chapter. #just1thing

OberLaw: have beefed up supplies and created redundancy – car, home, work. inventoried everything w/ expiration dates!

nika7k: am dehydrating fruits, veg, trail mixes, and backpacking soups in case we have to eat w/o power! #just1thing

Bolz42: My #just1thing for today…staying home and not getting the office sick…

jcrawfordor: Finally joining Amateur Radio Group to participate in disaster management trainings

eakunkel: I’m putting together a disaster supplies kit (http://bit.ly/RLFvb) for the folks I’m house-sitting for

artisticbaker: I’m trying to keep first aid supplies handy in our house

MelindaJoy926: I’m buying bottled water

StumptownMom: My 1 thing presch emerg plan

KalCobalt: I live alone so when I leave friends’ homes late/in bad weather I schedule a “home safe” text. No text=rescue time!

OberLaw: finished installing child locks on kitchen cabinets so stuff doesn’t fly all around.

portlandgeneral: We heart preparedness! You know we’re gonna say our #just1thing is an outage kit – battery powered light, radio, etc.

lkissler: I keep lists of emergency numbers in multiple locations: home, work, car, phone, email/online #just1thing

alancsmith: For disaster preparedness, the last thing I’ve done is to check over our first aid supplies.

saraiderin: My one thing is washing my hands often as to not spread germs.

JohnDSolomon: putting ICE contact numbers into my cellphone was #just1thing i did today

kberkery: My #just1thing is learning social media at the OEMA conference with other Emer Mgrs. So amazing, going to help is communicate! #oema

winnie3k: To be more prepared, we are canning homemade grape juice to keep in our pantry. Fruit’s a necessity in our house!

kevintron: Thanks for the reminder! Bottled 12 gallons of tap water today to slightly improve my disaster readiness.

ENeitzel: Refreshing my supply cache ie. water, books, batteries etc.

dillpicklechips: My #just1thing to get prepared is to make sure I always have nearly a full tank of gas. Disaster = HUGE lineups at stations

mariuccia: I have my portable file with copies of all my important papers in it. I can grab and go in case of an emergency.

LastSup: Does an always fully stocked liquor cabinet count? (Also, dynamo-powered flashlights to find the booze in the dark)

JohnDSolomon: In addition to listening to the Ready Radio show, I just replenished my extra battery supply

LastSup: But in all seriousness, replenishing canned-good supplies and stocking extra cook stove fuel

In an interview this week, the winner of the U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) H1N1 Flu Preparedness PSA Contest, Dr. Jon Clarke, says support on Twitter and other social media was crucial to him getting the highest number of votes. “H1N1 Rap By Dr Clarke.” was chosen from among the 10 finalists on YouTube by the more than 50,000 voters. The selection was announced by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius last week.

Clarke said his win was a “pleasant surprise” since he wasn’t exactly sure what HHS was looking for when he submitted the video and “rap music is not usually used by government.” However, he knew that his entry would appeal to a younger demographic which is a key target of public health outreach for H1N1. He told me he is planning to donate the $2500 prize to the Shriners Hospital.

Clarke has previously written health awareness raps including this one on diabetes. When not rapping, he is the Medical Director for the Long Island Railroad in New York. In addition having his PSA aired nationally, the doctor hopes to do some public appearances, including at schools, during the Fall as part of the H1N1 education effort.

“H1N1 RAP BY DR. CLARKE” (ABOVE)

Dr. Clarke’s video was ‘endorsed’ by this blog in the contest and was the top pick of experts I contacted. Since competition began, Clarke has done a number of television interviews ranging from the Fox News Channel to the “Wendy Williams Show.” But he felt that the “viral” nature of social media was key to his win, particularly since the voting took place on the web. Clarke asked me to thank the readers of this blog which he said was the first blog to support his PSA in the contest.

By the way, Clarke’s favorite PSA among the other 10 finalists was “Chainsaw”(below).

“CHAINSAW” PSA FINALIST (ABOVE)