“Emergency management is dead. Well, at least as most people know it. It’s time for another revolution in the professional field of emergency management that embraces the impact, expectation, challenges, and potential benefits of embracing the integration of social expectations into the general public. This is not the first time the profession of emergency managementRead… Read more »
Here in the U.S. we’re in the middle of Hurricane Season — it ends Nov. 30, 2012 this year. The season’s been off to a bit of a slow start over the Atlantic but, as we on the East Coast know too well, it’s typically the later months of summer that bring the most devastatingRead… Read more »
Few would disagree on the importance of emergency planning and management in the face of natural catastrophe or disaster. However, many Americans tend to overlook or disregard the simple process of creating such a plan for themselves or their family and implementing a disaster supply kit for such emergencies. There are numerous resources online, foundRead… Read more »
It’s about emergency planning and civil contingencies before you ask. I’m afraid however, this is not going to be a ‘read in 5 minutes’ blog post. I’m going to try, instead, to take you with me on my mind meanderings. Be patient. Grab a cup of coffee and a biscuit (just don’t bring the biscuitRead… Read more »
What works when developing a cross-agency collaborative network? A six-year long study of 266 existing collaborative networks of public safety organizations distills valuable lessons for how to design and sustain similar networks in other policy arenas. Professors Jane Fedorowicz and Steve Sawyer have authored a new report, “Designing Collaborative Networks: Lessons Learned from Public Safety,”Read… Read more »
The Strategic Foresight Initiative (SFI) is a project managed by FEMA whose goal is to engage the diverse emergency management community in a collective exploration of issues, trends, and other factors that could impact the future environment, and to support expanded strategic thinking and planning for the future. Following is information from the June 2012Read… Read more »
In honor of the one year anniversary of the tragic Joplin, Missouri tornado, FEMA is pleased to release publication P-908. The Spring 2011 Tornado MAT Report is dedicated to the memory of the victims of the April 25–28, 2011 tornadoes in the southeastern United States and the May 22, 2011 tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri.Read… Read more »
In the year’s following Hurricane Katrina, federal and state disaster response programs were subjected to a major overhaul in practices to produce a more effective and efficient structure in combating the possibility of devastation. A major consideration in these changes was the role that could [and should] be played by the private sector during aRead… Read more »
If you’re interested in use of social media by emergency responders, or ‘unconferences’, or both, you might like this blog post about BlueLight Camp in the UK: First thing in the morning on Sunday 15th April there was barely a cloud in the sky above Manchester. The sun shone, the sky was blue, and IRead… Read more »
iDisaster 2.0, a blog about social media and emergency management, has collected papers from the Social Web for Disaster Management Conference 2012 Workshop recently held in Lyon, France. This coincides with NOAA’s collaboration effort with FEMA to launch the first National Severe Weather Preparedness Week. I think they’ve done a pretty good job of preparingRead… Read more »