Center of Excellence

In regards to both undergraduate and the graduate Emergency and Disaster Management Programs at the American Public University System, after “an arduous review process which consisted of an in-depth analysis of 23 standards of excellence,” has received accreditation by the Foundation of Higher Education (FoHE) for Disaster / Emergency Management and Homeland Security.

For more information contact Dr. Christopher M. Reynolds, Program Director for the Emergency and Disaster Management Programs at APUS, for more information the website is: http://www.apus.edu.

Published by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Department of Defense on Foreign Humanitarian Assistance. Download the PDF here: http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/jp3-29.pdf.

From FEMA: After The Flood: Clean Up And Stay Safe

Release Date: April 2, 2009
Release Number: 3304-002

» More Information on Minnesota Severe Storms and Flooding

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Individuals affected by the flooding that began on March 16, 2009, are urged to begin cleaning up their homes and personal property as soon as possible. Officials from Minnesota’s Homeland Security Emergency Management (HSEM) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) emphasize that it is not necessary to wait for an inspection before beginning this process.

“We encourage individuals affected by the disaster to remain cautious and return home only when it is safe to do so,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Mike Smith. “Property owners should document all losses and damages by taking photos first, or making a list, and then begin immediately removing all flood damaged personal property.”

Before making permanent repairs to your home-such as drywall, structural components, electrical systems or plumbing-make sure you get the proper permits from your local community or county permitting officials. This is especially important for those living in a Special Flood Hazard Area to ensure compliance with local floodplain management requirements.

“Our main concern is the health and safety of Minnesotans as they begin the clean-up process,” said State Coordinating Officer Kris Eide. “It is important for homeowners to get accurate information from state and local officials in order to protect themselves and their loved ones.”

The following precautions are suggestions that residents in flooded areas may want to implement:

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Confirm the water supply is safe to drink. Listen for news reports to learn whether the community’s water supply has been contaminated by the floodwaters. Remember to carry bottled drinking water and discard any food products that may have come in contact with floodwater.
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Wear protective clothing. Protect yourself during cleanup by wearing boots, gloves and masks. Clean and disinfect everything floodwater contacted.
*

Ventilate your home. Open all doors and windows to allow air to circulate and dry out your home. Dehumidify as soon as possible after a flood.
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Service damaged septic tanks, cesspools, pit and leaching systems as soon as possible. Damaged sewage systems are serious health hazards.
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Make a list of lost or damaged items. Be sure to include their age and value, and if possible, have receipts for those items available.
*

Prevent mold growth. Wash all surface areas in the house that came in contact with floodwater. Disinfect and wipe surfaces dry with paper towels to minimize bacterial contamination.
* Isolate any moldy objects. Seal moldy trash in plastic bags and remove them immediately. Objects you can save should be dried or frozen as soon as possible. Freezing inactivates mold.

For more tips on cleaning up and keeping your family safe, visit www.fema.gov/hazard/flood/, www.minnesotarecovers.org or the CDC’s flood website at www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/floods/.

FEMA coordinates the Federal government’s role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of safe.

The National Transportation Safety Board, today issued a Press Release on 2008 aviation accidents:Washington, DC - The National Transportation Safety Board today released preliminary aviation accident statistics for the 2008 calendar year, showing improvements in some
industry sectors but increased accident rates in others. “While the overall aviation safety record in the United States is among the best in the world, the 2008 accident statistics reveal a mixed picture,” said NTSB Acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker. “We are particularly concerned with the spike in fatalities in on-demand air charter operations. There’s a lot of room for improvement in this area, and as evidenced by our recent forum on emergency medical service helicopter accidents, we continue to do everything we can to identify the safety issues involved, and to advocate for the adoption of our recommendations that will make the skies safer.”

On-demand flight operations (classified by regulators as operating under the federal code 14 CFR Part 135), which include air medical, air taxi and air tour flights, logged over 3.6 million flight hours and had 56 accidents, killing 66 people - the highest number of fatalities since 2000; there were 43 fatalities in 2007.

The accident rate per 100,000 flight hours (1.52) remained virtually unchanged from 2007 (1.54).

The number of accidents involving large commercial carriers (Part 121) was 28 in both 2008 and 2007. In both scheduled and non-scheduled services, the airlines carried 753 million passengers on over 10.8 million flights without a passenger fatality.

In 2008, commuter airlines…that typically fly smaller turboprop aircraft made 581,000 flights, logging over 290,000 hours. These operators had seven accidents, none of which resulted in fatalities. This is an increase from three accidents in 2007.

In general aviation, there were 1,559 accidents, 275 of which involved fatalities, killing a total of 495 - one fewer than the previous year. The GA accident rate per 100,000 flight hours was 7.11, up from 6.92 in 2007. In the last 20 years, the highest accident rate was 9.08 in 1994; the lowest rate was 6.33 in 2006.

Federal legislation defines an aircraft accident as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft which takes place between the time any person boards the
aircraft with the intention of flight and all such persons have disembarked, and in which any person suffers death or serious injury, or in which the aircraft receives
substantial damage. The 2008 statistical tables are available at
http://www.ntsb.gov/aviation/stats.htm.

Article by David Coffey - “States Aren’t Spending Funds to Improve Communications for Emergency Workers.” originally published on the BradentonHerald.com website an March 30, 2009. Linked here: http://www.bradenton.com/politics/story/1330487.html

From the Congressional Research Service: Public Health and Medical Preparedness and Response: Issues in the 111th Congress.

Last week’s news, report releases, and the such, compiled by Steve Detwiler, an emergency manager in Florida: EM Weekly Report

March 6, 2009 (Falls Church, Va.) – The International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) and the IAEM Student Council (IAEM-SC) have launched a video to raise awareness of the benefits of becoming an active member in IAEM’s Student Council. The short video features a range of students across a diverse spectrum of ages, locations, and previous experiences. The video is available for viewing and downloading at www.iaem.com/video.asp#Students.

The video will be made available throughout the organization and used as a recruitment tool for students enrolled in emergency management related degree programs offered at universities or colleges. IAEM Student members find the organization beneficial throughout their academic career because of the resources that are made available to them, including the student sessions at the annual conference, monthly newsletter, professional networking, and leadership opportunities.

The video was filmed during the IAEM-USA 56th Annual Conference & EMEX 2008 in Overland Park, Kan., and was directed by IAEM-SC member Patrice Aria Burkes, and produced by IAEM-SC President Brian Silva.

The International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), which has members in 58 countries, is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to promoting the goals of saving lives and protecting property during emergencies and disasters. IAEM provides: access to the largest network of emergency management experts who can provide advice and assistance; the Certified Emergency Manager® program; annual scholarships; a comprehensive monthly newsletter; and more.

The IAEM Student Council (IAEM-SC) is the largest and fastest-growing Council within IAEM with more than 1,000 members in countries across the globe. They represent a diverse group of undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate students in emergency management and its related fields.

This PDF covers the Hurricane Ike aftermath: Harris County Hurricane Ike After Action Report.

From Risk to Opportunity: Insurer Responses to Climate Change 2008

Maters Thesis from Naval Postgraduate School by Kong Pin Gilbert Foo:

Exploring First Responder Tactics In A Terrorist Chemical Attack

Congressional Research Service recently published this report for Congress on the legal implications of the use of the Military in disaster scenarios.

The Use of Federal Troops for Disaster Assistance: Legal Issues

This PDF released by the Government Accountability Office covers Wildland Fire Management.

Wildland Fire Management: Actions by Federal Agencies and Congress Could Mitigate Rising Fire Costs and Their Effects on Other Agency Programs

Initial Evaluation of the Cities Readiness Initiative (PDF)

From RAND Press Release dated March 24, 2009:

A federal program designed to help metropolitan public health agencies prepare to deliver essential medicines to the public after a large-scale bioterror attack or natural disease outbreak has succeeded in improving the level of readiness, according to a new RAND Corporation study. Researchers found that the federal Cities Readiness Initiative, a program active in 72 metropolitan areas, appears to have improved agencies’ ability to rapidly and widely dispense life-saving medications and other medical supplies in the event of a large-scale bioterror attack or a naturally occurring infectious disease outbreak.

The study from RAND Health concludes there is merit in extending the program so the impact can be further monitored, although the analysis did not assess the cost-effectiveness of the effort or compare it to other public health priorities.

Researchers concluded that a key reason the Cities Readiness Initiative has helped promote improvements has been its focus on a single scenario with a well-defined numeric goal and the technical assistance it has provided to public health officials. Researchers say the initiative has helped increase the number of local public health staff members working on medication dispensing planning, strengthened partnerships between public health officials and local first-responder agencies, and helped pay for new equipment such as mobile drug dispensing units.

Other public health improvements fostered by the Cities Readiness Initiative are the development of more-detailed plans for medication dispensing, including creation of new strategies that rely less on medically trained staff and take greater advantage of nontraditional venues such as hotels, resorts, churches as well as drive-through dispensing in parking lots and fairgrounds.

The Cities Readiness Initiative was created in 2004 to improve the ability of the nation’s largest metropolitan regions to provide life-saving medications in the event of a large-scale bioterror attack or naturally occurring disease outbreak. The program has spent about $300 million on efforts thus far.

Administered by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the program helps jurisdictions improve their ability to provide antibiotics and other life-saving medications to 100 percent of a region’s population within 48 hours of a large-scale anthrax attack or large-scale infectious disease emergency. The 72 regions that have received funding account for about 57 percent of the nation’s population.

From the National Weather Service:

With drought conditions affecting much of the country, many of you may be interested in this less than 1-hour long presentation narrated by Mark Svoboda that introduces the measures and scales of drought and how drought is monitored. It also covers how drought is predicted, the impacts of drought, and provides information about drought-related resources. This content serves as a foundation to learning more about climate variability and operational climate services and prepares users for the national implementation of NIDIS, the National Integrated Drought Information System.

Understanding Drought

The following report was completed by the Battelle Human Affairs Research Centers, prepared under contract for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Citizen Evacuation in Response to Nuclear and Nonnuclear Threats (Final Report PDF).

About:
During this session, the Instructor will lead class discussion in reviewing the various elements of Homeland Security Presidential Directive-5 (HSPD-5) including the stated purpose for HSPD-5, the policy the directive established and those policies that it did not impact, the various taskings that were made by HSPD-5 of a number of Federal departments and agencies and the timeframe established in the directive for the design and implementation of the National Response Plan (NRP) and NIMS. The instructor will review the NIMS development process as conducted by FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and identified NIMS documentation sources and related publications.

For more information follow the link below:
Academic Emergency Management and Related Courses

Full article here: The Stafford Act and Priorities for Reform

Summary:
During the past fifty years, federal disaster policy in the United States has been shaped by an ongoing conflict between proponents who favor federal intervention following a disaster and those who believe disaster response should be the responsibility of state and local governments and charity. This article explores the existing federal disaster policy landscape within the United States with a focus on the Stafford Act, the cultural and political forces that produced it, and how the current system is ill equipped to aid in the response and recovery from major catastrophes. The Stafford Act defines how federal disasters are declared, determines the types of assistance to be provided by the federal government, and establishes cost sharing arrangements among federal, state, and local governments. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) carries out the provisions of the Stafford Act and distributes much of the assistance provided by the Act. With the establishment of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the threat of domestic terrorism, and large-scale natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, the limits of the Stafford Act and FEMA have been shown. We look at several areas where the shortcomings of the Stafford Act have emerged and propose directions for reform.

Full article here: The Stafford Act and Priorities for Reform