Center of Excellence

CDC Guidance for Responses to Influenza for Institutions of Hi-Ed 2009-2010 Year.

CDC Guidance for Responses to Influenza

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.

An Alternative Approach to Disaster Relief

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.

Letter: Military Role in Disaster Response

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.

Questions for Janet Napolitano: The Defender

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

When it comes to preventing terrorism, complacency bothers U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

Read the full article on wtop.com here: What Keeps Janet Napolitano Up At Night

The proceedings of the All-Hazards Emergency Management Higher Education Conference posted here:

All-Hazards Emergency Management Higher Education Conference (doc)

Facing California, Climate Change, Mitigation

Even if the world is successful in cutting carbon emissions in the future, California needs to start preparing for rising sea levels, hotter weather and other effects of climate change, a new state report recommends.

It encourages local communities to rethink future development in low-lying coastal areas, reinforce levees that protect flood-prone areas and conserve already strapped water supplies.

California Must Adapt to Changing Climate

From the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General.

Efforts to Identify Critical Infrastructure Assets and Systems

Executive Summary

This report fulfills a statutory requirement from Section 1001 of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act that requires the Office of Inspector General to review the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) efforts to identify critical infrastructure. Efforts to catalog the nation’s critical assets and systems are important steps to satisfying the departmental mission of securing the homeland. Our June 2006 report, Progress in Developing the National Asset Database (OIG-06-40), examined early DHS work in this area.

The National Protection and Programs Directorate is in the process of acquiring the Infrastructure Information Collection System, a replacement for the National Asset Database. Staff in the directorate expressed several concerns about the acquisition process. Additional interaction between these staff experts and the Directorate of Management offers the possibility of greater cooperation in acquiring the new system and hiring employees.

The primary means used to identify the nation’s most critical assets and systems is the annual Prioritized Critical Infrastructure List process. The department works with public and private sector experts to create the two lists, which are designed to identify the nation’s most critical assets and systems. The lists provide a reasonable means to fulfill statutory mandates, DHS critical infrastructure goals, and overall risk management activities. Public and private sector experts expressed appreciation for DHS efforts to work with partners throughout critical infrastructure identification efforts. We determined that some changes in this DHS effort would enhance efficiency, expand partnerships, and gain more resources to improve the process on an ongoing basis.

We are making 10 recommendations to improve DHS efforts to identify and catalog critical infrastructure assets and systems.

Read the entire report in PDF format here: Efforts to Identify Critical Infrastructure Assets and Systems

Tougher Evacuation Rules Please Officials

Police Will Be Able to Remove Those People Who Refuse to Leave

From Galveston to La Marque to Kemah, officials are guardedly optimistic that new state legislation will persuade more people to evacuate from flood-prone communities during a hurricane.

The legislation - House Bill 1831 - gives mayors and county judges who order an evacuation the authority to remove residents who refuse to evacuate.

If rescue teams have to pluck a person from a storm area after they refuse to evacuate, the resident also could be liable for the cost of a rescue, under the legislation that takes effect Sept. 1.

Read the rest of the article here:

Tougher Evacuation Rules Please Officials – Police Will Be Able to Remove Those People Who Refuse to Leave

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Wednesday tried to shift the tone of the country’s discussion on terrorism away from the fearmongering of the Bush administration. She also called for more public participation.

In a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations, she said the public had been treated “as a liability to be protected rather than as an asset to our nation’s collective security.”

“This approach, unfortunately, has allowed confusion, anxiety and fear to linger,” she said.

Read the entire editorial from the Las Vegas Sun here: The Only Thing to Fear

Published by the World Health Organization, this PDF is a great manual for dealing with chemical incidents.

Manual for the Public Health Management of Chemical Incidents (PDF)