Save the Children. The Disaster Decade: Lessons Unlearned For The United States. PDF
“Commission Urges President and Congress to Make Children a Priority in Disaster Planning” from the National Commission on Children and Disasters.
This Interim Report offers solutions to close gaps in disaster planning that neglect children.
Eight Years After 9/11: Confronting the Terrorist Threat to the Homeland from the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
From the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
The Administration’s Flu Vaccine Program: Health, Safety, and Distribution.
From the House Committee on Homeland Security.
“Preparedness: State of Citizen and Community Preparedness”
Subcommittee on Emergency Communications, Preparedness, and Response, October 1, 2009.
Abstract: Purpose – As noted in the Department of Homeland Security’s National Response Framework, disasters are inherently local and ultimately the responsibility of the lowest jurisdictional level present within the impacted area. Given these parameters, this paper aims to sharpen the concept of national resilience by recommending a framework which positions community resilience as an integral variable in understanding the ability of impacted areas to effectively manage the consequences of disasters. Conceptualized as a dependent variable, community resilience is influenced by the relationships government (public) agencies develop with private sector partners and the resilience of relevant supply chains and critical infrastructures/key resources which exist in their communities.
Design/methodology/approach – The authors augment a topical literature review of academic and practitioner journals by synthesizing existing findings into a holistic framework of community resilience.
Findings – This paper argues that interdependent systems like social and economic networks will ultimately influence the ability of communities to adapt and respond to the consequences of disasters. In addressing the resilience of these systems, all levels of government must recognize and embrace the public-private interfaces that can improve their ability to manage the response and recovery phases of disaster management. While 85 percent of critical infrastructure is owned by the private sector, 100 percent of it exists within communities and impacts the ability of the nation to recover from disasters. Resilience calls upon active management and relies upon assessment and a willingness to take action in the face of adversity.
Originality/value – Resilience is discussed within economics, behavioral sciences, supply chain management and critical infrastructure protection. This paper integrates these research streams to develop a framework for shaping national resilience.
Abstract accessed at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/09600030910973724
From an email from Joann Wiszmann, Vice President Administrative Services.
—————
Welcome Back!
This email is intended to summarize some of the key points of the district’s plan for responding to possible impacts of Swine Flu and to provide employees with access to more information, if desired.
During the summer, we worked on a Continuity of Operations Plan. We focused on the possibility of widespread illness among faculty, staff and employees and also looked at our options if we had to close the facilities for a period of time. You can see a short overview of the plan at , https://intranet.pierce.ctc.edu/safety/coop/. I have attached a document entitled “What Employees Should Know” that contains specific information for employees.
We are currently in the “alert” phase of the plan. That means we are trying to get information out so we all know what to expect. In addition to reading the attachment to this email, there are several things you can do to help ensure our plan is a success.
Thank you for your help. Please contact me or HR if you have any questions or suggestions.
Joann Wiszmann
Vice President Administrative Services
Pierce College District
PHN 253-964-6506
FAX 253-964-6382
jwiszmann@pierce.ctc.edu
Dr. Richard Sylves, University of Delaware, has now completed a complete first draft of his revision to the EM Hi-Ed College Course “The Political and Policy Basis of Emergency Management.” (Dr. Sylves is the author of the original “Political and Policy Basis” course, which was one of the first college courses developed via contract for the FEMA EM Hi-Ed Program.) This course examines modern laws, programs, agencies, and institutions involved in U.S. disaster policy and emergency management.
The draft revised course will be open for an approximately 30-day public comment period beginning September 17, 2009 and concluding October 16, 2009. The draft course material can be accessed at: http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/polpolbasis.asp
Contact information for course developer:
Dr. Rick Sylves
Dept. of Political Science
Univ. of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716
Fax: 831-4452 (Be sure “Sylves” appears on sent cover sheets)
Email: sylves@udel.edu
Please copy wayne.blanchard@dhs.gov on course revision recommendations provided to Dr. Sylves.
Mark the Pierce County Emergency Management Training webpage at www.piercecountywa.org/PCDEMTraining as a Favorite and check it often for new classes that have been announced since the last Training Announcement Distribution. For those classes offered by Pierce County, out-of-county partners may register at any time and will be notified when seats become available after the identified date.
SEPTEMBER 2009 CLASSES (red denotes a highlighted session)
High Risk Populations Emergency Planning Institute - trains staff from social service agencies, long term facilities and churches about planning and creating plans for disasters.
Training for Disaster Recovery - Free Webinar Series
OCTOBER 2009 CLASSES
In addition, our Pierce County members may want to view the webpage established for "Shake-n-Quake 2009", our HLS Region 5 Exercise set for Oct 21-22. That page is located at www.piercecountywa.org/Shake-n-Quake
CDC Guidance for Responses to Influenza for Institutions of Hi-Ed 2009-2010 Year.
An Alternative Approach to Disaster Relief
There is an alternative to the Federal role in disaster relief as specified in the Disaster Relief Act (PL 93-288 as amended). This alternative would be infinitely more effective in reducing the costs of disasters and would be much fairer to the tax payers. As the FEMA Regional Director in Chicago during the 1993 Mississippi floods, my mitigation division director groused over the fact that many of the same people in the lines were there after the previous floods (plural). While we shouldn’t tell people where to live, they shouldn’t come to us for money when they get hit by a predictable disaster without the necessary insurance. The requirements for making this alternative a reality are threefold:
a. Set actuarially correct premiums for individuals, municipalities and states based on the risk; an outline for how the Federal government can build a risk model is discussed.
b. Have the Federal government serve as the “reinsurer” for losses that exceed those projected by its model; an approach is provided.
c. Change the legislation and insist that the congress not bail out people who didn’t get the insurance or otherwise reduce their risk by moving out of the high risk area.
National Governors Association, Executive Committee. A letter from Governor Douglas and Governor Manchin to Senate Committee on Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin and Ranking Member John McCain opposing efforts to provide the Secretary of Defense with expanded authorities to assist in the response to domestic disasters.
The scope and objectives are:
Building from the previous session regarding the U.S. Congress, this session describes some of the major laws regarding management of disasters and emergencies. It does so by providing a historical perspective on disaster laws and the Government’s involvement in disaster management through them. Overall, it connotes the statutory evolution of government authority and responsibility in preparing for disaster, and in response and recovery to disasters which have occurred. It also provides an examination of disaster policy as a function of greater political and policymaking trends. Excluded from this session are laws setting forth policy for specific types of disaster agents (i.e., floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc.). Those types of measures will be reviewed in disaster agent specific sessions to follow. This session includes several laws enacted after 2001, the year of the 9/11 terror attacks. Many of these laws flow out of homeland security purposes which both affect and are part of U.S. emergency management.
Read more about the program here: Political and Policy Basis of Emergency Management
The Center of Excellence Homeland Security recommends the following in preparation for the 2009 Influenza season.
Federal Guidelines Encourage Employers to Plan Now for Upcoming Influenza Season (press release)
and…
Guidance for Businesses and Employers to Plan and Respond to the 2009 - 2010 Influenza Season
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today announced more than $32 million in funding for the rebuilding of four educational buildings at the Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO)—reflecting Secretary Napolitano’s strong commitment to recovery efforts in Louisiana following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
“Expediting the recovery process for local communities affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita continues to be a top priority for the Department,” said Secretary Napolitano. “These public assistance funds represent our commitment to helping residents of the Gulf Coast rebuild as quickly and effectively as possible.”
The $32 million will be used to replace SUNO’s Old Science, New Science, Multipurpose and Clark education buildings, which suffered irreparable damage in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. In total, more than $92 million in FEMA public assistance has been obligated for SUNO - including $40 million since Secretary Napolitano last visited New Orleans and toured the campus in March. Previous funding has helped renovate the university’s cafeteria, gymnasium and maintenance buildings.
Read the full Press Release: Secretary Napolitano Announces $32 Million in Funding for Rebuilding Projects
Interview with the Homeland Security Director in the NY Times.
From the Task Force Hope Status Report Newsletter from the US Army Corps of Engineers.
Corps of Engineers Committed to its Goal: 100-Year Level Protection in June 2011 (PDF)
Excerpt from the NY Times:
Public insurance programs in some coastal states are flirting with the notion of saving millions of dollars every year by shrinking or canceling the coverage they buy from private reinsurers — the deep-pocketed companies that insure insurers whose exposure to loss exceeds the budgets of some nations.
States are the insurers in this case. And they are either tired of paying piles of cash for reinsurance policies that are rarely needed, or too broke financially to maintain coverage that has saved state residents from paying billions in hurricane damage claims. In the parlance of the insurance business, without coverage or a hedge against their expensive risks, they are “running naked.”
Read the full article here: States Shed Reinsurance and ‘Run Naked’ Through Storm Risks
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