Emergency Preparedness News articles from June 2006

Emergency Preparedness News archives from June 2006

'As vital as schools and roads'.(Slants & Trends)
June 7, 2006... 'AS VITAL AS SCHOOLS AND ROADS' is how one engineer described the nation's dams (see story, p. 85) as responders brace for Hurricane Season 2006, including the possibility of catastrophic flooding. Much of the spotlight in past seasons has gone...

Investigation finds progress lagging on anthrax sampling, safer vaccine.
June 7, 2006... "We are no better off than we were in 2001 when the first anthrax attacks occurred," according to Dr. Sushil Sharma, assistant director of the Government Accountability Office and co-author of a recent GAO report examining federal agencies'...

2006 predictions.(United States. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, predicts on hurricanes)(Brief article)
June 7, 2006... The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting a "very active" north Atlantic hurricane season with 13-16 named storms, 8-10 hurricanes, and 4-6 major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher. Nine of the last 11 seasons surpassed...

Stats for the season.(Storm Season Updates)
June 7, 2006... A special edition of the U.S. Census Bureau's "Facts for Features" spotlights the number of people residing in hurricane-threatened areas and other statistics relevant to the 2006 season. Contact: Census Bureau, (301) 763-3030, pio@census.gov,...

Military responders.(Department of Defense )(Brief article)
June 7, 2006... The Department of Defense is heeding lessons learned in its response to Hurricane Katrina to improve preparations for the 2006 season, according to National Guard Chief Steven Blum. DoD will assign full-time defense coordinating officers to all...

Levee failure.(Storm Season Updates)
June 7, 2006... The National Science Foundation-sponsored team from the University of California-Berkeley has released its draft final report on the multiple mechanisms for failure of New Orleans levees during Hurricane Katrina. Contact: Robert Sanders,...

Risk-based grants raise ire on hill; lawmakers protest DHS priorities.
June 7, 2006... Almost everyone in Washington agrees that DHS funding to states and localities should be based on the risks they face for natural or manmade disasters. But as the department released its first batch of grants calculated under its new risk-based...

Risk planning from the private sector: software that asks the right questions.
June 7, 2006... Who, what, when, where, how-these questions may be the building blocks of good journalism, but they are also a crucial part of the basic checklist for a company preparing for disaster, according to John Gargett, senior product manager for ESS,...

Suiting up small jurisdictions.(Department of Homeland Security)(Brief article)
June 7, 2006... DHS has awarded 1,100 local police and fire departments grants totaling $20 million under the second phase of the fiscal year 2005 Commercial Equipment Direct Assistance Program. CEDAP is a competitive program designed to fill the gap in...

Neglected dam safety: disaster in the making, warns ASCE official.
June 7, 2006... The recent footage of severe flooding and dam failures in New England could become commonplace news across the country if more federal spending is not allocated to dam safety, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers. ASCE has...

DHS has issued limited changes to the National Response Plan to put new operations in place for the 2006 hurricane season.(Responder Resources)
June 7, 2006... DHS has issued limited changes to the National Response Plan to put new operations in place for the 2006 hurricane season. A full interagency NRP review will take place this fall. Current changes clarify command and control features such as...

With the June 1 start of hurricane season raising the stakes on FEMA's performance, the agency is publicizing the locations and supplies at its eight Logistics Centers in the continental United States and three offshore storage sites.(Responder Resources)
June 7, 2006... With the June 1 start of hurricane season raising the stakes on FEMA's performance, the agency is publicizing the locations and supplies at its eight Logistics Centers in the continental United States and three offshore storage sites. The...

Simplified guide to the incident command system for system for transportation professionals".(Responder Resources)
June 7, 2006... "Simplified Guide to the Incident Command System for Transportation Professionals" from the Federal Highway Administration introduces the ICS to stakeholders such as transportation agencies and towing and recovery companies who may be called on...

"Points of Light Foundation & volunteer center".(Points of Light Initiative Foundation)(Brief article)
June 7, 2006... "Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center" in Washington, D.C. has launched www.HelpinDisaster.org, a website dedicated to uniformly registering volunteers by skill area before disaster strikes, then make the information securely available...

"Blue Cascades III: managing extreme disasters".(Brief article)
June 7, 2006... "Blue Cascades III: Managing Extreme Disasters" details the lessons learned in Bellevue, Wash., on March 1-2 during a tabletop exercise conducted by the Pacific Northwest Economic Region and the Puget Sound Partnership for Regional...

"Fire service communications, first edition".(Responder Resources)
June 7, 2006... "Fire Service Communications, First Edition" is a training course from the APCO Institute that includes an overview of firefighting and equipment, the role of the fire service communicator, and a "how to" segment on responding to incidents such...

Verizon Wireless has opened its 2006 Hurricane Center page on its website to help consumers in hurricane-prone areas prepare for the 2006 North Atlantic hurricane season.(Responder Resources)
June 7, 2006... Verizon Wireless has opened its 2006 Hurricane Center page on its website to help consumers in hurricane-prone areas prepare for the 2006 North Atlantic hurricane season. The webpage includes hurricane preparation tips, network information, and...

Euro privacy prevails.(Briefly Noted)
June 7, 2006... The European Court of Justice has struck down an anti-terrorism air passenger data sharing agreement between the United States and the European Union, declaring that the deal violates EU privacy laws. EU's judicial arm ruled that several...

Telcos sued for spying.(Briefly Noted)
June 7, 2006... The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California has filed two lawsuits on behalf of 100,000 ACLU members statewide requesting injunctions against AT&T and Verizon to prevent them from supplying personal phone records to the National...

Treasury announces Tria rules.(Briefly Noted)(Brief article)
June 7, 2006... The Treasury Department has published rules implementing the Terrorism Risk Insurance Extension Act of 2005 in which Congress tweaked the government's approach to backing up the insurance industry in the event of a large-scale terrorist attack,...

New cargo security found lacking.(Transportation Security Administration)(Brief article)
June 7, 2006... Despite TSA's new stepped-up air cargo security rules, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) slammed the Bush Administration for missing "an important opportunity to close a major homeland security loophole" by failing to require inspection of 100 percent...

Charitable lessons learned.(Briefly Noted)
June 7, 2006... The Urban Institute has released After Katrina: Public expectation and Charities' Response, a series of papers by disaster scholars and experts examining how nonprofits responded to recent disasters and offering them strategies for improvement....

Free disaster backup.(AppRiver LLC )(Florida Chamber of Commerce )(Brief article)
June 7, 2006... The Florida Chamber of Commerce is teaming with email security service provider AppRiver LLC to give all Florida businesses free emergency email protection during the 2006 hurricane season (June 1-Oct. 31). Any business with an Internet domain...

Pack up the pets.(Briefly Noted)(Brief article)
June 7, 2006... Sixty-three percent of U.S. households--or 69.1 million homes-have a pet: the likelihood that Americans and their pets will survive a disaster depends largely on individual emergency planning, according to a new brochure from DHS, the American...

State/local govts. found unprepared to operate during avian flu pandemic.(Briefly Noted)
June 7, 2006... Only 40 percent of state and local governments have business continuity and disaster recovery plans in place to cope with an avian flu pandemic, according to a recent survey, which revealed that 65 percent of respondents point to tight budgets...

Calendar.(Calendar)
June 7, 2006... June 11-14: PRIMA 2006, Las Vegas. The conference aims to educate and train public risk management professionals at the state and local level on developing effective risk management programs. Contact: Naomi Romanchok, Public Risk Management...

Responder advice for 911 calls: prevent tragedies with training.(National Emergency Number Association)
June 21, 2006... Every minute in the United States, there are 400 calls to 911, totaling more than 200 million calls a year. "The vast majority of the calls are handled appropriately," said Patrick Halley, government affairs director for the National Emergency...

Technology demands upgrades to emergency communications.(Slants & Trends)
June 21, 2006... "The 911 system of today has been stretched to its limit due to the advancement of modern communications technology," according to Robert Cobb, director of the National Emergency Number Association's Next Generation Enhanced 911 Program. The...

U.S. emergency care system deemed unready for disaster.
June 21, 2006... The U.S. emergency care system is "fragmented and stretched to the breaking point," "severely compromised in its ability to handle disasters," and funded in a drastically uneven manner from state to state. Such are the findings of two groups...

Early detection system aims to improve bioterror/pandemic disaster response.
June 21, 2006... While the nation may be unprepared to handle the medical aspects of disaster (see story, this page), San Diego's Sharp Memorial Hospital has completed a pilot program designed to allow early detection, then swift and efficient management of, a...

Fire chief advises: hazmat training essential to avoid deadly incidents.
June 21, 2006... "While the safety of emergency responders cannot be fully guaranteed, the number of those injured or killed as a result of exposure to hazardous materials can be significantly impacted through training," according to Steven Bell, battalion...

Responders need gear, training, interoperability, FCC panel finds.(EPN News Roundup: Hurricane Preparedness/Recovery)
June 21, 2006... A familiar problem cropped up in an independent review panel's newly-released evaluation of Hurricane Katrina's effect on communications: responders' lack of equipment, training, and network interoperability seriously hampered recovery from the...

GAO Katrina/Rita investigation tally: FEMA fraud reaches seven figures.(EPN News Roundup: Hurricane Preparedness/Recovery)
June 21, 2006... With the price tag on FEMA's fraudulent Katrina payments now in the $600 million-$1.4 billion range--not counting insurance fraud and bogus damage claims--the agency needs to put some verification processes in place, according to the Government...

RAND reveals disaster recovery fact: affordable housing usually last on list.(EPN News Roundup: Hurricane Preparedness/Recovery)
June 21, 2006... "Tens of thousands of Mississippi families whose homes were damaged or destroyed by hurricanes last year will have a hard time finding replacement housing in the state unless leaders in government and the private sector take action to...

HUD accelerates efforts to bring back New Orleans public housing residents.(EPN News Roundup: Hurricane Preparedness/Recovery)
June 21, 2006... The Department of Housing and Urban Development aims to draw public housing families back to New Orleans by rehabilitating and reopening 1,000 units by August. HUD estimated that 1,000 of the 5,000 families displaced by Hurricane Katrina...

Department Of Health and Human Services.(Grants & Contracts)
June 21, 2006... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES is awarding a total of $1.2 billion through three grant programs to help strengthen preparedness for terrorism and other public health emergencies. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is...

U.S. Department of Agriculture.(Grants & Contracts)
June 21, 2006... U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE has announced that $75.7 million in Emergency Conservation Program funds are available to newly authorized businesses that help farmers, forest owners, and nursery and poultry producers rehabilitate from the 2005...

DHS and the Departments of Justice and the Treasury.(Grants & Contracts)
June 21, 2006... DHS and the DEPARTMENTS OF JUSTICE AND THE TREASURY have selected General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin as finalists in the competitive bidding process for the contract to provide the Integrated Wireless Network. IWN is intended to provide...

Guidelines for preparing for a pandemic flu.(Responder Resources)
June 21, 2006... Guidelines for preparing for a pandemic flu are available online from the American Association for Respiratory Care. The guidelines can also apply to other mass casualty events caused by manmade or natural disasters. AARC's biggest concern...

Bioterrorism Guidebook to the Seven Deadliest Diseases.(Responder Resources)
June 21, 2006... Bioterrorism Guidebook to the Seven Deadliest Diseases by Daniel Farb, M.D., details the most dangerous bioterror threats, including likely transmission routes, prevention and diagnosis, therapy options, and historical significance. The book is...

"NPRA White Paper: Hurricane Security Operations".(Responder Resources)
June 21, 2006... "NPRA White Paper: Hurricane Security Operations" is a planning and crisis response guide from the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association for operators of U.S. refineries and petrochemical plants in the event of a major hurricane. The...

Emergent Information Technologies and Enabling Policies for Counterterrorism.(Responder Resources)
June 21, 2006... Emergent Information Technologies and Enabling Policies for Counterterrorism, edited by Robert Popp and John Yen, presents contributions from experts in the counterterrorism field on using the latest technology to fight a secretive and...

The latest sediment sampling from New Orleans.(Responder Resources)
June 21, 2006... The latest sediment sampling from New Orleans is now available by zip code on the Environmental Protection Agency's Katrina website. The samples target public areas in residential neighborhoods where people are returning to their homes....

Protecting Emergency Responders, Vol. 4.(Responder Resources)
June 21, 2006... Protecting Emergency Responders, Vol. 4, from the RAND Corp., provides guidelines for personal protective equipment focusing on PPE ensemble modifications due to duration of response and exposure to hazardous materials such as pathogens,...

Cardiac death remains killer.(Briefly Noted)(Brief article)
June 21, 2006... The good news is that on-duty U.S. firefighter deaths dropped sharply from 103 in 2004 to 87 in 2005--the third lowest death toll since the National Fire Protection Association began tracking statistics in 1977. The more sobering news is that...

Grant guidance sought.(Briefly Noted)(Brief article)
June 21, 2006... Four Senators, including the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, have asked DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff to name the date by which he will issue guidance on eligibility and spending for...

Vaccine rules strengthened.(Briefly Noted)
June 21, 2006... The Department of Health and Human Services has issued rules strengthening the Smallpox Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. The rules provide medical benefits and lost employment income to eligible members of HHS-approved emergency response...

Terror risks required for nukes.(Briefly Noted)(Brief article)
June 21, 2006... The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission must consider potential impacts from a terrorist attack when conducting environmental reviews of nuclear facilities. The Sierra Club and Mothers...

Insurance discrimination claimed.(coastal communities more interested in insurance than non-coastal communities)(Survey)(Brief article)
June 21, 2006... Coastal communities paid nearly 200 percent more in national flood insurance premiums than non-coastal communities between 1970 and 2004 while collecting only 10 percent more in damages, claimed government affairs consultants Marlowe & Company....

Tsunami unpreparedness.(Briefly Noted)
June 21, 2006... State and community officials in the tsunami-vulnerable states of Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington, and Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands face significant challenges in preparing for the hazards that they face, according...

Tsunami sea level debate.(Briefly Noted)
June 21, 2006... Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility are protesting a NOAA plan to locate its new Pacific Tsunami Warning Center on Ford Island in Pearl Harbor--which PEER claims is among the areas with the highest tsunami danger-rather than the...

DHS finds nation's responders are unprepared for catastrophies.(Briefly Noted)
June 21, 2006... The drama and detail of congressional and private sector reports on the inadequate response to Hurricane Katrina have made DHS's own national preparedness assessment somewhat anticlimactic. The department concluded last week that although "most...

Disaster relief.(Briefly Noted)
June 21, 2006... Congress has passed the 2006 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Hurricane Relief, allocating $19.8 billion in disaster funding that includes direct assistance to victims for shelter and medical...