In Case of Emergency, Read This Blog

In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

A Citizen’s Eye View of Public Preparedness

Postcard From This Weekend’s “CrisisCamp”: No Swimming, Hiking Or S’Mores, But Progress On Improving Emergency Preparedness/Response…And A Lot Of Fun Too

June 15th, 2009 · 13 Comments

Though I am too old for summer camp, I did get to go away this weekend to CrisisCamp in Washington, D.C.. CrisisCamp was a gathering of about a hundred campers from all over the country and the world with an expertise or interest in crisis management/disaster preparation and response, especially in how new technology and communications [...]

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Tags: Preparedness 2.0 · Preparedness Events

Social Media’s Role In Mumbai Attack And Its Potential For Future Terror Incident Response

January 30th, 2009 · 1 Comment

I want to bring your attention to a terrific article, “New Media’s Moment In Mumbai” in Foreign Policy Journal, written by a friend of this blog, Chris Battle. Chris edits the excellent Security Debrief blog and is a partner in the Adfero Group.
In the article, Battle points out the use of social media by the terrorists in organizing [...]

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Tags: Preparedness 2.0

Citizens (& Their Cellphone Cameras) Being Enlisted By New York Police Department

September 10th, 2008 · No Comments

One of the objectives to this blog is to highlight ways that average citizens can help law enforcement authorities on terrorism and other illegal activity, particularly utilizing new personal communications technology. To me, an important tangible (as well as symbolic) example is yesterday’s announcement from the New York Police Department that it wants civilians to [...]

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Tags: See Something/Terrorism Tips

How Internet Social Media Sites Are Helping In Recovery & Rebuilding Of Post-Katrina New Orleans

August 23rd, 2008 · 1 Comment

With anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaching, CIO magazine has an interesting article titled “How Social Networking Saved New Orleans” about how web-based new media tools such as Flickr, Yahoo Groups, wikis and Google Maps have been integral in citizen efforts to help reestablish and rebuild their community. The article highlights the work of Alan Gutierrez from the nonprofit [...]

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Tags: Preparedness 2.0

Wireless Foundation Launches New Website With Very Useful, Simple Tips For Using Cell Phone/PDA In An Emergency — Government Preparedness Web Sites Should Add Immediately

August 18th, 2008 · 2 Comments

Readers of this blog know that I am a big advocate of the potential of personal technology in helping the public prepare for and respond to emergencies, whether they be small everyday incidents or major disasters. So, I am very happy to see that the Wireless Foundation, the Wireless Association’s charitable arm, has just created a terrific new [...]

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Tags: Preparedness 2.0 · Preparedness Tips

Dramatic Propane Factory Explosion In Toronto Underscores Potential Benefits, Dangers For Press, Government & Public Of Twitter, New Media In Emergencies

August 12th, 2008 · 1 Comment

The blog “Web Strategy by Jeremiah” does an interesting, multi-media analysis of the role of the social messaging service Twitter (as well as other civilian media coverage) in reporting a propane gas explosion in Toronto early Sunday morning. In the post, titled “Crises Tracking on Twitter: The Benefits -and Dangers- of New Media,” Jeremiah (Jeremiah Owyang, [...]

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Tags: Preparedness 2.0

Just Two Hours After ‘Warning’ Earthquake, L.A. Fire Department Seizes Moment To Promote Citizen Preparedness

July 29th, 2008 · 4 Comments

Though today’s 5.4 earthquake in Los Angeles was fortunately not too serious, some experts are already saying it was a “warning” of a major one to come.
But the question is whether this warning will actually spur civilian preparedness. That’s why I was happy to see the Los Angeles Fire Department quickly take advantage of the small [...]

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Tags: City Preparedness · Earthquake Preparedness · Preparedness 2.0

How Much Is Too Much When It Comes To Alerting The Public Electronically

July 20th, 2008 · 1 Comment

I received an email last week from the Arlington, Virginia Office of Emergency Management alerting subscribers that they were going to start sending fewer email/text emergency alerts.
From: “Arlington Alert”
To: “Arlington Alert Subscribers”
Subject: Policy change concerning Military Flyover Alerts
Routine ArlingtonAlert notifications regarding military flyovers are being discontinued. This change was made due to the almost [...]

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Tags: Preparedness 2.0

Global (& Local) Disease Alert Google Map

July 13th, 2008 · No Comments

If you want to monitor what infectious diseases might be in your area or just check out a cool preparedness 2.0/public health application, take a look at www.healthmap.org.
Created by a research software developer Clark Freifield and a professor of pediatrics John Brownstein from Boston’s Children’s Hospital, HealthMap ”brings together disparate data sources to achieve unified and comprehensive view of current global state of [...]

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Tags: Public Health Preparedness

In ‘”Blogger Roundtable” Interview, DHS Secretary Chertoff, FEMA Head Paulison Offer Next Administration Advice On Preparing U.S. Public For Catastrophic Emergencies

July 3rd, 2008 · 4 Comments

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a “Blogger Roundtable” on emergency preparedness with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff and Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) chief R. David Paulison held at DHS Headquarters in Washington, D.C. I joined Jonah Czerwinski of the Homeland Security Watch and Rich Cooper of Security Debrief as one of three questioners. The full transcript can be found here. 
It was a wide-ranging, [...]

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Tags: Department of Homeland Security · Media